The Frequency and Tissue Distribution of Ornithobac-terium rhinotracheale in different Organs of Turkeys

This study was designed to investigate the frequency and tissue distribution of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) in turkeys with respiratory syndrome in Isfahan province.

Totally, samples were taken from the trachea, lung, air sac, infraorbital sinus, hock joint, blood of heart, brain, liver, spleen, intestine, and kidney of 30 turkey flocks. After DNA extraction, a 787 bp fragment of 16S rRNA gene of ORT was amplified.

The PCR results revealed that 53% of turkeys were infected by ORT. The results showed that although ORT was mainly found in the respiratory tract, it could be systemic and infect some other organs, including the joints, brain, liver, spleen, and blood of heart, but could not infect the intestines and kidneys.

Due to the lack of a clear pattern in tissue distribution of ORT among clinical samples, it seems that other factors play a role in ORT tissue distribution, such as dose, route, type of infection, and probably prevalent serotype.