Investigation of the seroprevalence of ornithobacterium rhinotracheale infection in broiler hens by ELISA

Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT), a gram-negative bacterium, is one of the most important pathogenic agents causing respiratory disease. ORT disease is an acute, highly contagious upper respiratory tract disease seen mostly in chickens and in turkeys, causing severe economic losses in poultry industry all over the world. In this study, it was aimed to determine the serological prevalence of ORT disease in broiler poultry in Aydın, İzmir and Manisa provinces causing upper respiratory tract diseases and high yield losses. Fort he sampling; 420 blood samples were used and collected from different clusters of Aydın, Izmir and Manisa. A total of 140 samples were collected from each city. Twenty-eight different serum samples were taken at the time of slaughtering from 5 different farms on each side. When a total of 420 blood serum samples were evaluated by ELISA for ORT, the positivity rate was 55.2% (232 positive - 188 negative). The positivity rate in Aydın was 40.8%, İzmir was 68.6% and the Manisa was 56.4%. When the results of the study were evaluated in general, the sero-positivity rates of all three city were found to be quite high. Considering this high level of positivity, it is necessary to plan more detailed studies about the disease in the near future. In future studies, planning serologic surveys all over the country, as well as the identification of the antibiotic resistance profile by making full identification of the agent will be helpful in combating the disease.