ABSTRACT
Avian Adeno viruses and Chicken Anemia Viruses cause serious economic losses to the poultry industry of Pakistan each year. Timely and efficient diagnosis of the viruses is needed in order to practice prevention and control strategies. In the first part of this study, we investigated broilers, breeder and Layer stocks for morbidity and mortality rates due to AAV and CAV infections and any co-infections by examining signs and symptoms typical of their infestation or post mortem examination. In the second part of the study, we developed a duplex PCR assay for the detection of AAV and CAV which is capable to simultaneously detect both the viral types prevalent in Pakistan with high sensitivity and 100% specificity.
Subject(s)
Adenoviridae Infections/diagnosis , Aviadenovirus/genetics , Chicken anemia virus/genetics , Chickens/virology , Circoviridae Infections/diagnosis , DNA, Viral/analysis , Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Poultry Diseases/diagnosis , Adenoviridae Infections/epidemiology , Adenoviridae Infections/veterinary , Adenoviridae Infections/virology , Animals , Bone Marrow/chemistry , Circoviridae Infections/epidemiology , Circoviridae Infections/veterinary , Circoviridae Infections/virology , Coinfection , Pakistan , Poultry Diseases/epidemiology , Poultry Diseases/virology , Prevalence , Sensitivity and Specificity , Thymus Gland/chemistryABSTRACT
Hepatitis C is a fatal liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. In this study, blood donors, from various districts of the KPK province and the federally administered tribal area (FATA) of Pakistan were tested for anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA by ICT (Immuno-chromatographic test), ELISA and RT-PCR. Out of the 7148 blood donors, 224 (3.13%) were positive for anti-HCV antibodies by ICT, 135 (1.89%) by ELISA while 118 (1.65%) blood donors had active HCV infection as detected by RT-PCR. We suggest that ELISA should be used for anti-HCV screening in public sector hospitals and health care units.
