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Updated: Jun 9, 2026
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An Ex Vivo Chicken Primary Bursal-cell Culture Model to Study Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Pathogenesis
Published on: October 4, 2018
Detection and characterization of infectious bursal disease viruses in broilers at processing
Daral J Jackwood1, Susan E Sommer-Wagner
1Food Animal Health Research Program, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691, USA. jackwood.2@osu.edu
Preventive Veterinary Medicine
|August 31, 2010
Summary
Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) was detected in 25.5% of broiler chickens entering processing plants in the Eastern U.S. These findings confirm the presence of infectious and pathogenic IBDV strains, posing a risk to poultry production.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Virology
- Poultry Health Management
- Food Safety Assurance
Background:
- Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) poses a significant economic threat to global poultry production.
- Concerns exist regarding IBDV transmission via poultry products and processing environments.
- Limited scientific data is available on IBDV prevalence in broilers pre-harvest.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the presence of infectious IBDV in broilers entering U.S. processing plants.
- To characterize the IBDV strains identified in these broilers.
- To assess the infectivity and pathogenicity of detected IBDV strains.
Main Methods:
- Collection and molecular testing (RT-PCR) of 47 pooled bursa samples from 26 processing plants.
- Nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of positive IBDV samples.
- Inoculation of specific-pathogen-free chickens with selected IBDV samples to confirm infectivity and pathogenicity.
Main Results:
- IBDV was detected in 12 (25.5%) of the pooled samples, originating from 11 different processing plants.
- Sequence analysis revealed IBDV strains were not attenuated vaccine types and were phylogenetically related to variant strains.
- Infectious and pathogenic IBDV were confirmed through experimental inoculation, causing characteristic lesions and reduced bursa/body weight ratios.
Conclusions:
- Infectious and pathogenic IBDV are present in broilers entering processing plants in the Eastern U.S.
- The detected IBDV strains are primarily non-vaccine, variant types.
- Further research is necessary to understand post-harvest factors influencing IBDV dissemination.
