Studies on the Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale infection in the chickens

Kwon, Yong-Kuk; Jeon, Woo-Jin; Kim, Jae-Hong

Korean Journal of Veterinary Research 2003;43(1):121-127.

Yong-Kuk Kwon, Woo-Jin Jeon, Jae-Hong Kim

Avian Disease Division, National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service

닭에서 Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale 감염증에 대한 연구

권용국, 전우진, 김재홍

국립수의과학검역원

Abstract

Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (OR) is a bacterium responsible for a respiratory disease in turkeys and chickens, and has been identified as one of the emerging respiratory bacterial pathogens. Ten cases of four hundred cases submitted to National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service for diagnosis in 2001 and in 2002 were diagnosed as OR infection. The major clinical signs of chickens infected with OR were respiratory symptoms including sneezing, sniveling, wet eyes, and swelling of the sinus infraorbitalis at 3 to 4 weeks of age. At necropsy, gross lesions were commonly found to foamish, white, and yoghurt-like exudates in the peritonium and abdominal air sacs. Microscopically, epithelial metaplasia and proliferation of air sacs were prominant with accompaning inflammatory reactions characterized by heterophils, fibrins, and bacterial colonization. Ten field isolates were obtained from air sacs and peritonium of these affected chickens, and were identified as OR, resulted from by gram-staining, catalase, oxidase, API NE and API ZYM Kit. In additon, using a previously reported primer targeted to 16S rRNA of ORT, 784bp fragment was successfully amplified from templates extracted from the isolates and a reference strain. This report describes an occurrence of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale infection in chickens in Korea.

Key Words: Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale, infection, PCR, diagnosis, rRNA