Epidemiological study on circulation of infectious bronchitis virus strains in North Eastern Italy [Lombardy; Veneto]

Infectious bronchitis (IB) is still a major health problem in the poultry industry, as it is endemic in probably all Countries which raise chickens. Previous investigations have shown that several IB variants are present in the Italian poultry industry. In order to establish which serotypes are circulating in Veneto and Lombardy regions, an investigation was carried out during 2004 in broiler and egg-layer farms. A total of 101 samples were collected from 29 farms with 16 IBV isolations. Of these, seven isolates were identified as being of the IT-02 serotype and six as 793-B, on the basis of nucleotide sequencing La bronchite infettiva (IB) rappresenta ancora oggi uno dei principali problemi sanitari per il pollame laddove l´allevamento ha carattere intensivo. Si è dato inizio a un´indagine conoscitiva sulla epidemiologia della IB in Veneto, successivamente allargata ad alcune province della Lombardia. Dal gennaio 2004 sono stati monitorati 29 allevamenti, per un totale di 101 campioni esaminati, di cui 16 sono risultati positivi per IBV. Sette isolati sono stati identificati come sierotipo IT-02 e sei come 793-B