Recent trends in diagnosis and control of Marek's disease (MD) in poultry

Marek's Disease (MD), caused by Marek's Disease Virus (MDV) is a highly contagious oncogenic and neuropathic disease of chickens responsible for great economic losses to the poultry industry all around the world and characterized by development of CD4+T cell lymphomas as well as infiltration of nerves and visceral organs by lymphocytes. MD is one of the most common lymphoproliferative diseases of chickens which cause mononuclear cell infiltration in one or more of the following tissues: peripheral nerves, gonads, lymphoid organs, iris, muscle, skin and other visceral organs resulting into development of tumours in visceral organs, paralysis of legs, wings and neck, grey eye (iris) or irregular pupil, vision impairment, blindness, skin lesions and immunosuppression, all of which can be accompanied by non-specific signs such as anorexia, weight loss and poor performance. Today there are evolving highly pathogenic isolates of MDV around the world capable of overwhelming the protection from currently employed vaccines. Thus MD poses a big challenge to the welfare and wellbeing of the poultry with increased condemnation of carcass, loss of productivity and quality products, leading to huge economic losses. It is also an immunosuppressive disease and causes increased susceptibility to other infections. The present review discusses in brief about the Marek's disease, its etiology, conventional and advance tools and techniques being used for its diagnosis, prevention and control strategies in poultry.