ANALYSIS OF INFECTIOUS LARYNGOTRACHEITIS VIRUS ISOLATES FROM ONTARIO AND NEW-BRUNSWICK BY THE POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify DNA of infecti ous laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) isolates obtained from field specim ens. The examined 47 samples included 37 isolates representing 35 case s of infectious laryngotracheitis from Ontario and 10 isolates origina ting from 10 field cases in New Brunswick. The viruses were grown in e ither embryonated chicken eggs or cell culture, the DNA extracted and amplified using primers designed from the sequence information of a 1. 1 kb BamHI fragment of the Ontario 1598 ILTV strain. Thirty-four of th e Ontario isolates and all of the New Brunswick isolates were amplifie d successfully. This suggests that the selected primers would be usefu l for the majority of the isolates encountered in outbreaks of ILTV.