To prevent the disease, keep age groups isolated particularly during the first five weeks of life. Typing of duck hepatitis viruses is important to identify emerging serotypes because immunisation is serotype-specific and does not confer protection against infection with heterologous serotypes. Recently developed one-step or multi-plex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods are capable to detect and distinguish between the different DHV types including the new variant DHV-1 type as well. The liver is enlarged and shows haemorrhagic spots (Figure 2).ĭiagnosis aiming to distinguish between infections caused by DHV-1, DHV-2 and DHV-3 has been regarded difficult by gross and microscopic examination. Sick ducklings develop spasmodic contractions of their legs and die within an hour in a typical “arched-backward” position (Figure 1). The onset of the disease is very rapid, it spreads quickly through the flock and may cause up to 90 per cent mortality. The disease is rarely seen in ducklings over four weeks of age. Enlarged liver with punctuate haemorrhages caused by DHV type 1ĭucklings are most susceptible to DHV at younger ages and gradually become more resistance as they grow older. Recently, in Taiwan and Korea, new serotypes of duck hepatitis virus, belonging to the same virus family as DHV-1 have been described, which showed no antigenic relationship with DHV-1 in cross-neutralization test.įigure 2. DHV types 2 and 3 are recognised as separate entities because they induce hepatitis in DHV type 1-immune ducklings, they are now classified as member of the Astroviridae family. Molecular characterisation of the DHV-1 genome recently showed that the genome organization classifies this virus as unassigned species in the family Picornaviridae. DHV-1 has, since the first outbreak in 1949 in Long Island, been reported to infect ducklings worldwide and is of most economic importance to all duck-growing farms because of high potential mortality when infection is not controlled. So far, three different viruses, duck hepatitis virus (DHV) type 1, 2 and 3, have been associated with these disease conditions.

Duck Virus Hepatitisĭuck hepatitis (DH) is a highly fatal, contagious and rapidly spreading disease of young ducklings from one to 28 days of age. Greater attention needs to be given to the study of this source of disease. It seems likely that viral diseases will assume greater future importance as causes of disease in waterfowl.

The infectious diseases described here are the most common viral diseases seen in domestic waterfowl species. There are many diseases that can affect waterfowl species. Additionally, environmental conditions may also influence disease manifestation in domestic waterfowl. One feature that is unique to waterfowl is that their environment usually involves the presence of man-made or natural bodies of water, and this may enhance the co-mingling of free-living waterfowl species with the domestic flock and ultimately, promote disease transmission. Although chickens and turkeys comprise the majority of poultry species seen by the veterinary practitioner, occasionally waterfowl such as ducks and geese are encountered.

Goose goose duck cross platform