PATHOGENICITY OF QUAILS INCLUSION-BODY HEPATITIS-VIRUS (AVIAN ADENOVIRUS-1) FOR JAPANESE-QUAILS AND BROILER CHICKS

Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) and broiler (Gallus domesticus) chi cks were inoculated experimentally with IBH virus (avian adenovirus-1) derived from quails to determine its pathogenicity. Quail chicks were inoculated by the intraperitoneal route at 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 weeks of a ge. Lesions were encountered most frequently in the liver, kidneys and lungs. These included pale, swollen and mottled liver, swollen nephro tic kidneys, and congested and pneumonic lungs. The lesions were sever e in birds inoculated at 5 weeks of age. Large basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies were seen in hepatocytes and occasionally in the ren al epithelium. Tile results showed that this isolate is pathogenic for quails above 3 weeks of age. Broiler chicks were inoculated at 4 week s of age by the intraperitoneal route. The lesions produced in these c hicks were similar to those of adenovirus-induced inclusion body hepat itis. Viral antigen was also demonstrated by dot-ELISA in suspensions of liver, tissue from both quail and broiler chicks.