Avian pneumovirus is a virus belonging to the Paramyxovirus

Paramyxovirus

Paramyxoviruses are viruses of the Paramyxoviridae family of the Mononegavirales order; they are negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses responsible for a number of human and animal diseases.-Genera:*Subfamily Paramyxovirinae**Genus Avulavirus Paramyxoviruses (from Greek para-, beyond, -myxo-,...

 family. It is a respiratory pathogen of turkeys

Turkey (bird)

A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

 and chicken

Chicken

The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

s. Turkeys are the most prone to developing the disease, especially when stocking density is high. Other domesticated fowl such as pheasant

Pheasant

Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...

s can be affected.

Transmission

Transmission (medicine)

In medicine and biology, transmission is the passing of a communicable disease from an infected host individual or group to a conspecific individual or group, regardless of whether the other individual was previously infected...

 is via the respiratory tract and the disease is widespread over most continents.

Clinical signs and diagnosis

Clinical signs being as mild respiratory symptoms such as nasal discharge

Rhinorrhea

Rhinorrhea or rhinorrhoea is a condition where the nasal cavity is filled with a significant amount of mucous fluid. The condition, commonly known as "runny nose", occurs relatively frequently and is not usually considered dangerous. Rhinorrhea is a common symptom of allergies or certain diseases,...

, tachypnoea and dyspnoea. The reproductive system can be infected and this leads to a drop in egg production.

Turkey poult

Poult

Poult primarily refers to:* A young Wild Turkey or Domestic turkey* Young poultry or fowl in general* More commonly, Poults are colloquially referred to as Turklings, a term utilized with both domestic and wild variations of Turkey....

s can be severely affected and show neurological signs and death.

Young birds that survive the infection will be stunted.

ELISA

ELISA

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay , is a popular format of a "wet-lab" type analytic biochemistry assay that uses one sub-type of heterogeneous, solid-phase enzyme immunoassay to detect the presence of a substance in a liquid sample."Wet lab" analytic biochemistry assays involves detection of an...

 enables a serological diagnosis. Viral neutralisation, indirect immunofluorescence

Immunofluorescence

Immunofluorescence is a technique used for light microscopy with a fluorescence microscope and is used primarily on biological samples. This technique uses the specificity of antibodies to their antigen to target fluorescent dyes to specific biomolecule targets within a cell, and therefore allows...

 and now PCR can detect antigen

Antigen

An antigen is a foreign molecule that, when introduced into the body, triggers the production of an antibody by the immune system. The immune system will then kill or neutralize the antigen that is recognized as a foreign and potentially harmful invader. These invaders can be molecules such as...

 in tissues.

In turkeys, viral isolation can be performed on samples from the respiratory tract and mouth.

Treatment and control

There is no specific treatment but antibiotics should be given to prevent secondary bacterial infections.

A vaccine

Vaccine

A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...

is available for turkeys and chickens and is effective in controlling the disease.

Stocking density should be reduced if possible, and ventilation maximised as another method of control.