Aim: The present study was aimed to determine the prevalence of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) as well as virus isolation, identification, and molecular characterization of various strains circulating in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: A total of 371 swabs and organ samples were collected from four types of chicken including layer, Sonali (local), broiler, and broiler breeder under eight districts (Rangpur, Bogura, Tangail, Dhaka, Gazipur, Mymensingh, Jamalpur, and Cumilla) during 2014-2016 in Bangladesh. Results: Out of 371 samples, 65 samples were positive in reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for molecular identification of IBV. The overall prevalence was 17.52% recorded and among the selected types of chicken, the highest prevalence of IBV was found in layer that was 42.22% followed by 17.24% in Sonali, 14.93% in broiler breeder, and lowest prevalence was 11.94% in broiler chicken, respectively. Moreover, the prevalence of IBV was recorded highest in aged chicken at 41-60 weeks, which was 54.55% in layer, 27.27% in Sonali, and, afterward, 14.68% was found in broiler breeder, respectively. Frequency of IBV more frequently in winter (22.67%) followed by rainy (15.87%) and summer season (11.58%). The highest prevalence of IBV was found Tangail district (41.67%) followed by Mymensingh (24.42%), Gazipur (19.32%), Dhaka (15.38%), Jamalpur (16.67%), Bogura (13.68%), Cumilla (5.88%), and Rangpur (9.26%), respectively. Samples that were found high positive in IBV RT-PCR (Ct value below 30) were subjected to inoculation into chicken egg embryo to observe characteristic changes in chicken embryo. Swabs and organ samples were processed and passaged in 9-day-old embryonated chicken eggs through allantoic cavity route. IBV virus suspected samples inoculated into chicken egg embryos after 3-5 passages showed dwarfing and curling of the embryos which are characteristic lesions of IBV. Allantoic fluid was collected from all inoculated eggs and performed partial sequencing of S1 gene for three isolates. After sequencing, the phylogenetic tree was constructed from the nucleotide sequences of IBV isolates. Two of the isolates are 4/91 IBV and another one matched with QX-like IBV. Conclusion: The results revealed that the three isolates from different places in Bangladesh were identified for the 1st time as which will help for IBV control strategy.

| A total 300 blood samples were randomly collected (150 crossbred and 150 local cattle) in three consecutive seasons (summer, rainy and winter) from four selected areas, namely Nasirabad, Patia, Bayezid and Jointika under Chittagong district of Bangladesh. The effects of topography, season, age and gender were tested in both crossbred and local cattle. The PCR was performed after consequence screening by light microscopy, which exhibited that 22 samples (14 Anaplasmaspp, 6 Babesia spp and 2 for mixed infections) were positive. The overall prevalence of haemoprotozoan diseases were 9.33% in crossbred and 5.33% in local cattle, among these babesiosis, anaplasmosis were recorded 2.66% and 6.00% in crossbred cattle and 1.33% and 3.33% in local cattle, respectively. The highest prevalence of anaplasmosis was found in Patia (9.33%) followed by Bayezid (4.00%), Nasirabad (2.67%) and Jointika (2.66%) and babesiosis was recorded in Bayezid (4.00%) followed by Jointika (2.66%) and Patia (1.33%). Among three seasons the highest prevalence of anaplasmosis was recorded 12.00% in crossbred cattle followed by 6.00% in local cattle in summer whereas babesiosis was highest in summer (4.00%) in crossbred cattle followed by 2.00% in local cattle. Prevalence of anaplasmosis increased significantly (P<0.05) with the increase of age in crossbred cattle. The highest prevalence of anaplasmosis was 13.72% and 6.94% in adult crossbred and local cattle, respectively. Occurrence of babesiosis was the highest in adult (5.88%) in crossbred than young (2.78%) in local cattle, respectively. It was revealed that haemoprotozoan diseases were more common in female cattle, among these highest prevalence of anaplasmosis was recorded (6.11%) in female crossbred cattle and (4.00%) in local cattle, respectively. Positive samples were analyzed by PCR, where 9 samples were amplified among these 4 samples (1.33%) of Babesia spp and 5 samples (1.67%) of Anaplasma spp.

Chicken astroviruses (CAstV) are enteric viruses of poultry causing gastroenteritis, malabsorption, gout and white chick disease commonly known as runting-stunting syndrome (RSS). It can affect the wide range of poultry birds, especially chicken, turkey and duck worldwide. To our best knowledge there is no published report on presence of antibodies against CAstV in Bangladesh. Therefore, the study aimed to detect the presence of CAstV antibodies in broilers and sonali chickens (a cross-bread) in Bangladesh through a cross-sectional survey. A total of 454 blood samples from 66 flocks of broiler (n=343) and sonali chickens (n=111) of different ages were obtained during 2017 from four districts. The birds were healthy but were not vaccinated against CAstV. The samples were tested for specific antibodies against CAstV Group B by using commercially available ELISA kit. Overall, 16.74% (76/454) samples and 34.84% (23/66) flocks were positive for CAstV antibodies. The seroprevalence of CAstV was significantly (p=0.001) higher in sonali chickens (36.96%) than broiler (10.20%), while it was significantly higher (p=0.001) in birds of Bogura district (36.94%) than the other three districts. Regarding the age groups, seroprevalence was insignificantly (p=0.192) higher in sonali chicken before laying age (45%) than during laying age (27.45%). Regarding the seasons, CAstV infection was prevalent significantly (p=0.001) higher in winter season. Thus, the present study indicated the presence of CAstV in poultry in Bangladesh, so further studies are required to find out the magnitude of the problem in the country.

Objectives: The study intended to detect the presence and distribution of avian encephalomyelitis virus (AEV)-specific antibodies in Sonali (cross-bred) parent chickens regarding farm location, flock size, and age in Bogura district of Bangladesh, a Sonali chicken belt. Materials and methods: A total of 275 Sonali parent chickens’ blood samples were collected randomly from 39 flocks during laying age with a healthy and non-vaccination history against AEV. Blood samples were collected aseptically from the wing veins of chickens using 3-ml syringes and sera were separated. Then, the sera were transferred to the laboratory by maintaining a cool chain. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the specific antibodies against AEV present in the sera samples. Results: Overall, 70.18% of the chickens were found seropositive for AEV antibodies. Based on the location, the highest seropositivity was recorded in Bogura Sadar [91.30%, confidence intervals (CI) 79.21%–97.58%], and the lowest was in the Adomdighi sub-district (45.45%, CI 29.49%–63.08%). For flock size, AEV seropositivity was significantly ( p < 0.05) higher in the large flock (82.22%, CI 72.74%–89.48%). Regarding age groups, the seropositivity of AEV was significantly ( p < 0.05) increased with chickens’ age. Higher seropositivity was noted in chickens aged >51 weeks (89.32%, CI 81.69%–94.55%). Conclusion: The results indicate that AEV is circulating in the environment, and chickens were exposed to the field strain of AEV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on AEV in chickens in Bangladesh. Proper vaccination and standard farm biosecurity practice could minimize AEV infection in chickens. A detailed epidemiology study, detection, and characterization of the AEV would be essential for effective AEV infection control.

A study was conducted to assess the level of serum antibody titres and immune status of layer birds against Newcastle Disease virus by Haemagglutination Inhibition (HI) test in different areas of Chittagong district during November to December, 2010. Sixteen layer flocks were selected based on different ages of birds. A total of 235 serum samples were collected and tested at Microbiology laboratory of CVASU. HI test was performed using commercial Newcastle Disease vaccine (Avinew®) as a source of 4HAU virus antigen. The antibody titre (GMT) levels in 18-26 weeks age group were found to be 70.198, followed by 47.551, 34.776, 17.281 and 18.855 in 27-40, 41-57, 58-73 and >73 weeks age groups, respectively. Moreover, 100% specific immunity against ND was found in 18-26, 27-40 and 41-57 weeks age groups of birds, whereas 93.33 and 94.73% specific immunity was found in 58-73 and >73 weeks age groups, respectively. On an average, 97.87% layer birds showed specific immunity and 2.13% showed nonspecific immunity against NDV. We considered HI titre of 1:8 or above as specific immunity and less than 1:8 as non specific immunity. Highest HI titre was found at the age of 18-26 weeks and lowest titre was at 58-73 weeks of age. The lower level of HI titre seemed to be directly related to some important factors relating to vaccination which have been highlighted in this paper.