Pathogenicity and virus shedding ability of fowl adenovirus serotype 4 to ducks

Zhihui Tang; Meng Liu; Zhangshan Gao; Mengcong Li; Jie Cao; Hongliu Ye; Suquan Song; Liping Yan

doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2021.109302

Pathogenicity and virus shedding ability of fowl adenovirus serotype 4 to ducks

Vet Microbiol. 2022 Jan:264:109302. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2021.109302. Epub 2021 Dec 7.

Authors

Zhihui Tang¹, Meng Liu², Zhangshan Gao³, Mengcong Li⁴, Jie Cao⁵, Hongliu Ye⁶, Suquan Song⁷, Liping Yan⁸

Affiliations

¹ MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China; Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Jiangsu Detection Center of Terrestrial Wildlife Disease, Institute of Immunology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: tangzhihui@njau.edu.cn.
² Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Jiangsu Detection Center of Terrestrial Wildlife Disease, Institute of Immunology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: 3287506369@qq.com.
³ MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: 2019107100@njau.edu.cn.
⁴ MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: 2019107099@njau.edu.cn.
⁵ Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Jiangsu Detection Center of Terrestrial Wildlife Disease, Institute of Immunology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: caojie19971106@163.com.
⁶ Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Jiangsu Detection Center of Terrestrial Wildlife Disease, Institute of Immunology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: 2321992331@qq.com.
⁷ MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: suquan.song@njau.edu.cn.
⁸ MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China; Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunology, Jiangsu Detection Center of Terrestrial Wildlife Disease, Institute of Immunology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: yanliping@njau.edu.cn.

PMID: 34922147
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2021.109302

Abstract

Fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) is the pathogen causing hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS) in broilers. Since June 2015, it has emerged as one of the leading causes of economic losses in the poultry industry in China. Although most studies on FAdV-4 have focused on its pathogenicity to broilers, limited studies have been performed on other natural hosts such as ducks and geese. In this study, we assessed the pathogenicity of FAdV-4 to ducks of different ages through intramuscular injection and found that infected ducks showed severe growth depression. The infected ducks also suffered from extensive organ damage and had histopathological changes in the liver, spleen, and kidney. Although the virus infection caused lymphocyte necrosis of immune organs and the development of the bursa of Fabricius (bursa) was inhibited, the humoral immune response of infected ducks to FAdV-4 remained strong. The infected ducks also had high viral load in tissues and shed virus after the challenge. Overall, our research demonstrates that FAdV-4 can infect ducks and adversely affect the productivity of animals. And the viruses shed by infected ducks can pose a potential risk to the same or other poultry flocks.

Keywords: Ducks; Fowl adenovirus; Pathogenicity; Serotype 4.

MeSH terms

Adenoviridae Infections* / veterinary
Adenoviridae Infections* / virology
Animals
Aviadenovirus* / genetics
Aviadenovirus* / pathogenicity
Ducks
Phylogeny
Poultry Diseases* / virology
Serogroup
Virus Shedding