Genetic Diagnosis and Histological Effects of Newcastle Disease Virus in liver and spleen of broiler chickens in Tikrit city

Abstract

Newcastle Disease (ND) is a viral disease that infects poultry and causes serious losses in commercial flocks worldwide. The disease had different forms of outbreak in different regions, depending on the vilogenicity of the virus. Different ranges of mortality in commercial poultry flocks correlated with respiratory signs were reported in the area of study. The aim of this study to identify the presence of NDV depending on HN gene at Tikrit city with the histopathological effect of the virus in spleen and hepatic tissues. During the period of June –July 2018, Twenty-five broiler chicken tissue (Liver and Spleen) samples of each farm were collected from two farms at Tikrit city. Clinical signs and postmortem lesions were recorded, then the samples were sent for molecular and histological study. Chickens showed signs of ND included gasping, lacrimation with postmortem lesions of inflammation. The presence of ND virus was confirmed in hepatic and spleen tissue using the conventional Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test. Histopathological study results showed signs of inflammation, degeneration, and necrosis in the liver and spleen. The study concludes that the ND virus was positively found in poultry and causes clear pathological lesions in hepatic and splenic tissues.