Year: 2017 | Month: December | Volume 7 | Issue 3
Pathomorphological Studies on Natural Cases of Marek’s Disease in Japanese Quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica)
Abstract:
The incidence of natural outbreaks of Marek’s disease in a Japanese quail flock was investigated on the basis of mortality rate, clinical signs, cytology, PCR, gross and histopathology. The mortality rate was 2 percent over a period of 20 weeks. The death started from 16 weeks onwards and continued upto 35 weeks with the highest incidence was recorded during 25–30 weeks. Cytology smears prepared from feather follicles, livers and kidneys showed infiltration of pleomorphic lymphocytes. Grossly, there was severe diffuse enlargement of organs like hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, nephromegaly along with ovarian lesions. Focal lymphomas in these organs were also noticed in few cases. Microscopically, there were pleomorphic lymphoblastic infiltration in liver, spleen, kidney, ovary and sciatic nerve tissues noticed. The final confirmation was done by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This is the first report on Marek’s disease in Japanese quails in Namakkal region which is the hub of laying chicken in Tamil Nadu.
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