Biological characterisation of Australian isolates of chicken anaemia agent

Three Australian isolates of chicken anaemia agent (CAA) resisted treatment at 70 degrees C for 5 min and chloroform treatment. Although minor antigenic differences were detected using monoclonal antibodies to CAA, the Australian isolates were indistinguishable from the reference Cux-1 and Gifu-1 isolates in cross-immunofluorescence and cross-neutralisation tests employing polyclonal chicken antiserums. The Australian viruses were pathogenic for intramuscularly inoculated 1-day-old SPF chicks, but were less pathogenic for 7-day-old chicks. Thus the Australian isolates of CAA did not differ significantly in these properties from previously characterised CAA isolates from other continents.