Hungary: Severe kidney disease in Malaysian broiler chickens

Novel Orthobunyavirus Causing Severe Kidney Disease in Broiler Chickens, Malaysia, 2014–2017

Vilmos Palya, Walkóné Kovács, Szilvia Marton, Tímea Tatár-Kis, Balázs Felföldi, Barbara Forró, Marianna Domán, Krisztián Bányai | Ceva-Phylaxia Veterinary Biologicals Co. Ltd.,Budapest, Hungary; Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest | 2019 | Emerging Infectious Disease: Vol 25, No 6. Pp. 1110-1117; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2506.181661

In recent years there have been major outbreaks caused by numerous arboviruses in domestic birds. In North-western Malaysia, sporadic cases of an unidentified disease in broiler chickens has been observed. The clinical signs of this disease include lethargy, gastrointestinal symptoms and severe kidney damage. This study identified and characterized the etiological agent of this disease. Kidney and cecal tonsil samples were collected and next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed. The NGS method included a random primed RT-PCR that was performed on the Mic Real-Time Cycler before adaptor ligation and isothermal emulsion PCR to produce clonally amplified libraries. The NGS performed identified sequences scaffold with greatest BLAST hits to the Orthobunyavirus Umbre virus (Turlock serogroup). Experimental infection of broiler chickens with the virus reproduced the clinical and pathological signs of the infected broilers in the field. The group named the novel virus Kedah fatal kidney syndrome virus (KFKSV).