OAHN Poultry Project: Seroprevalence of Avian metapneumovirus, hemorrhagic enteritis virus, avian reovirus, Ornytobacerium rhinotracheale, Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae in commercial turkeys in Ontario (in progress)

Project Lead: Dr. Ben Schlegel

Collaborators:  Kaylee Punter

Project Proposal

The avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) has been found on every continent except Australia and it affects many avian species including poultry. Specifically, turkeys, have a high susceptibility to AMPV infection which can cause respiratory tract infection (difficulties with breathing, nasal and ocular discharge, orbital swelling) and/or a decrease in the rate and quality of egg production (1). The AMPV monitoring in Ontario is not performed in commercial poultry because the virus is thought to not be locally present. However, aMPV has been identified in waterfowl in Ontario, but it is unclear the level at which it may be transmitted to turkey farms (2). As such, we would like to address this gap in surveillance and investigate the prevalence of AMPV in turkey farms in Ontario.  Secondary infection following AMPV presence can occur due to weakened immune system exacerbating the original disease (1,3). Samples collected will also be tested for presence of other viruses and bacteria that can cause disease issues for commercial turkey production: hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV), avian reovirus (ARV), Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT), Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS). AMPV vaccination has started through an emergency pathway in 2025 in Ontario turkey flocks and we will evaluate serological responses at slaughter in both vaccinated and non-vaccinated flocks and observe for differences in metrics such as life of flock mortality and condemnation rate.

In summary, the project is aiming to:

a) Determine the prevalence of each pathogen listed above in the turkeys flocks tested,

b) Investigate levels of flock exposure and potential co-infection of the tested pathogens.

References

1. Jeanne, Brugère-Picoux, Vaillancourt Jean-Pierre, H. L. Shivaprasad, Venne Daniel, and Bouzouaia Moncef. “Manual of poultry diseases.” (2015).

2. Jardine CM, Parmley EJ, Buchanan T, Nituch L, Ojkic D. Avian metapneumovirus subtype C in Wild Waterfowl in Ontario, Canada. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2018;65(4):1098-1102. doi:10.1111/tbed.12832

3. Salles GBC, Pilati GVT, Savi BP, et al. Surveillance of Avian Metapneumovirus in Non-Vaccinated Chickens and Co-Infection with Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli. Microorganisms. 2023;12(1):56. Published 2023 Dec 28. doi:10.3390/microorganisms12010056