Seroprevalence of turkey Rhinotracheitis in commercial broiler turkey flocks in Iran

Turkey rhinotracheitis (TRT) is a contagious disease in turkey and chicken caused byAvian Metapneumovirus (aMPV) which leads to respiratory disease and decreasing flockperformance in the infected flocks. This study was carried out to examine the seroprevalence of avian metapneumovirus infection in large scale within commercial broiler turkey flocks. A total of 420 serum samples were collected from 21 meat-type turkey flocks of 12 provinces in Iran randomly and examined serologically by ELISA test (ADV, IDEXX Co. kit, USA).Results showed that 100% of flocks and sera were positive to aMPV infection. There was a positive correlation between antibody titers to TRT and the presence of respiratory signs, Food Conversion Rate and Mortality rate (P<0.05). However, a negative correlation between antibody titers to TRT and weight gain were seen (P<0.05). This study indicates that the seroprevalence of TRT is high in the Iranian meat-type turkey flocks.