Key result
RT-PCR identifies avian pneumovirus type A in three 1980s German turkey isolates alongside type B.
The study provides evidence for the presence of both type A and type B avian pneumovirus in Germany during the late 1980s, prior to the use of live-virus vaccines.
Documents pre-vaccine type A circulation in 1980s Europe; leaves open questions on early transmission dynamics in poultry.
Three isolates of avian pneumovirus (APV) were isolated in Germany during 1987 and 1988 from turkeys with clinical signs of turkey rhinotracheitis and one was isolated during 1990 from a broiler breeder flock with typical signs of swollen head syndrome. The isolates were typed using type-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions. The three isolates from turkeys were identified as type A, while the isolate from the broiler breeders was type B. During the late 1980s no APV live-virus vaccine was used in poultry flocks in Germany, which is indicative of the presence of both types at that time. Previous isolates detected from elsewhere in Europe during the 1980s had been only of type B.
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Hafez et al. (2000) studied Avian pneumovirus infection (turkey rhinotracheitis and swollen head syndrome) (n=4). Avian pneumovirus typing was evaluated on APV type identification. Avian pneumovirus type A was identified in three turkey isolates from Germany in 1987-1988, indicating its presence in continental Europe during the 1980s alongside type B.
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