Development of a polymerase chain reaction to detect Vietnamese isolates of duck virus enteritis

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the detection of duck virus en teritis (DVE) virus in tissues of infected and affected ducks, and in cell culture was developed. This required us to obtain specific nucleotide seque nce information as we could not find any specific data about the genome of the virus. We found the assay to be highly effective in detecting the virus under experimental conditions and to be easily transferred to laboratories in Vietnam where it is being used in studies on the epidemiology of the di sease. We have applied this simple and rapid diagnostic method to the detec tion of DVE isolates grown in cell culture and tissues from infected birds. The assay was also able to differentiate DVE from other avian herpesviruse s, such as Marek's disease, infectious laryngotracheitis virus and goose he rpesvirus. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.