Browsing by Author "Gowthaman, Vasudevan"
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ArticleItem Open Access Avian infectious laryngotracheitis: A neglected poultry health threat in India(Elsevier, 2016) Gowthaman, Vasudevan; Koul, Monika; Kumar, Sachin; TANUVASThe poultry sector is one of the rapidly expanding and most dynamic segments of the livestock sector globally. The world aver- age poultry meat consumption is expected to rise by 3.7 kg accounting nearly 40% of the meat consumed in 2030 [I]. The world's egg production is projected to increase from 70.4 million metric tons in 2015 to 89.9 million metric tons in 2030 at a growth rate of 1.6% per year [Z]. The incredible achievement has been brought about by the adoption of improved breeding methods. nutrition and management practices. Despite these. selective breeding policy. intensive rearing and improper vaccination of birds makes them more vulnerable to diseases. Among the prevail- ing diseases, avian infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is one of the important contagious viral respiratory diseases distributed world- wide and remains a constant threat to the poultry industry [3]. The greatest incidence of disease occurs in areas of intensive poultry production that is alarming for poultry health and welfare 14}. The Indian poultry industry is one of the fastest growing sectors and important element in the agricultural economy of the nation. ln recent years, significant expansion of the poultry population in lndia increased the risk of emergence of several viral pathogens.ArticleItem Open Access DETECTION AND PARTIAL GENETIC CHARACTERISATION OF A NOVEL VARIANT OF AVIAN NEPHRITIS VIRUS IN INDIAN POULTRY FLOCKS SHOWING DIVERSE CLINICAL SIGNS(2015-06) Gowthaman, Vasudevan; Singh, Sambu Dha; Dhama, Kuldeep; Barathidasan, Rajamani; Srinivasan, Palani; Saravanan, Sellappan; Gopalakrishnamurthy, Thippichettypalayam Ramasamy; Deb, Rajib; Mathapati, Basavaraj; Ramakrishnan, Muthannan Andavar; TANUVASAvian nephritis virus (ANV) infects poultry flocks worldwide, but no confirmed cases have been reported from India so far. In the current study, disease investigation was carried out in 21 broiler flocks at different parts of India with clinical signs of nephritis, uneven and stunted growth, diarrhoea, reduced body weight, and mortality up to 9.72%. Out of the 21 flocks screened, two were found positive for ANV in RT-PCR assay. BLAST analysis revealed that the ANV of Indian origin was closely related to ANV-1 strains reported from Japan, Hungary and China. However, comparison of a small portion (~12% of nucleotides, i.e. ~60 nts, common site for ANV-1 and ANV-3, position 2200–2260 of ORF 1a gene) of the Indian ANV sequence with ANV-3 sequences revealed 89–93% identities with different ANV-3 isolates. Phylogenetically, ANV-1 forms three clades, and the Indian ANV clustered under clade II. This study confirms the existence of ANV in Indian poultry flocks and is the first report on the molecular detection and genetic characterisation of ANV from India.ArticleItem Open Access Detection of Sub Clinical Infection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in Commercial Chicken by Indirect ELISA(2016-08) Udhayavel, Shanmugasundaram; Gopala Krishna Murthy, Tippichettypalayam Ramasamy; Gowthaman, Vasudevan; Senthilvel, Kandasamy; Sureshkumar, Ganesan; TANUVASChronic Respiratory disease in Poultry is mainly caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG). It causes huge economic loss to the poultry industry. The present research work has been undertaken to know the sero-prevalence of MG in commercial layers in Namakkal region of Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 103 commercial layer sera samples from 6 commercial layer farms were subjected to indirect ELISA. From 103 sera samples, overall prevalence found 53.40% for commercial layer chickens. The highest (100%) sero-prevalence of MG was recorded at 32 weeks and the lowest (0%) was recorded at 68 weeks of commercial layer chicken. This study demonstrated high sero-prevalence of MG in Commercial Layers. Therefore, routine monitoring of the commercial layer farms for MG infection should be recommended and mycoplasma control programmes must be strictly adhered.ArticleItem Open Access Haemorrhagic enteritis of turkeys – current knowledge(Taylor and Francis, 2017) Dhama, Kuldeep; Gowthaman, Vasudevan; Karthik, Kumaragurubaran; Tiwari, Ruchi; Sachan, Swati; Kumar, M. Asok; Palanivelu, M.; Malik, Yashpal Singh; Singh, Raj Kumar; Munir, Muhammad; TANUVASHaemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV), an adenovirus associated with acute haemorrhagic gastrointestinal disease of 6–11-week old turkeys predominantly hampers both humoral and cellular immunity. Affected birds are more prone to secondary complications (e.g. colibacillosis and clostridiosis) and failure to mount an effective vaccine-induced immune response. HEV belongs to the new genus Siadenovirus. Feco-oral transmission is the main route of entry of the virus and it mainly colonizes bursa, intestine and spleen. Both naturally occurring virulent and avirulent strains of HEVs are serologically indistinguishable. Recent findings revealed that ORF1, E3 and fib genes are the key factors affecting virulence. The adoption of suitable diagnostic tools, proper vaccination and biosecurity measures have restrained the occurrence of disease epidemics. For diagnostic purposes, the best source of HEV is either intestinal contents or samples from spleen. For rapid detection highly sensitive and specific tests such as quantitative real-time PCR based on Taq man probe has been designed. Avirulent strains of HEV or MSDV can be effectively used as live vaccines. Novel vaccines include recombinant hexon proteinbased subunit vaccines or recombinant virus-vectored vaccines using fowl poxvirus (FPV) expressing the native hexon of HEV. Notably, subunit vaccines and recombinant virus vectored vaccines altogether offer high protection against challenge or field viruses. Herein, we converse a comprehensive analysis of the HEV genetics, disease pathobiology, advancements in diagnosis and vaccination along with appropriate prevention and control strategies.ArticleItem Open Access Isolation and characterization of genotype XIII Newcastle disease virus from Emu in India(Springer, 2016-06) Gowthaman, Vasudevan; Dayal Singh, Sambhu; Dhama, Kuldeep; Aurumugam Desingu, Perumal; Kumar, Asok; Malik, Yashpal Singh; Munir, Muhammad; TANUVASNewcastle disease virus (NDV) infects at least 241 species of pet and free-living birds in addition to domesticated avian species. Wild, feral and domesticated birds are recognized reservoirs of NDV, and contribute to the epidemiology of NDV in the domesticated poultry. The biological and molecular characterization of velogenic NDV (vNDV) from emus is limited. In this study, 54 tis- sues were collected from eight Emu flocks between May 2010 and January 2012 from highly poultry-dense areas of India including Namakkal, Hyderabad and Bareilly regions. The presence of vNDV was confirmed by virus isolation, fusion (F)-gene based RT-PCR, sequencing of the cleavage site and the virulence scored. One out of eight flocks received from Hyderabad region was found positive for NDV and the in vivo pathotyping revealed the isolate to be vNDV type. The sequence analysis revealed that the isolate had cleavage site of 112-R-R-R-K-R-F-117, which is typical for vNDV. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the partial ‘F’ gene coding regions suggested that the NDV strain belongs to genotype XIII. The Emu isolate had 98–100 % nucleotide identity with the vNDVs previously reported in poultry flocks of India. The findings of present study based on the biological and molecular characteriza- tion of Emu-origin vNDV, highlights the circulation of genotype XIII in Emus for the first time in the country. There is need to understand the possible spill over of these genetically diverse NDV strains into the commercial poultry and their possible implications in disease control strategies.ArticleItem Open Access Marek’s disease: time to review the emerging threat in Indian poultry(2020) Kannaki, TR; Gowthaman, Vasudevan; TANUVASMarek’s disease (MD) is one of the re-emerging diseases in Indian poultry. MD outbreaks are reported from different parts of the country in spite of vaccination, causing major economic losses. Flock mortality of 10–40% have still been observed in vaccinated flocks during outbreaks, although MD is considered to be well controlled with vaccination. Almost 100% of the commercial poultry flocks are vaccinated in the hatchery. Bivalent (HVT+SB1 or HVT+301B/1) or monovalent (HVT) vaccines are used in India. In spite of intensive vaccination, outbreaks are still reported from different parts of the world including India. MD virus (MDV) Indian field isolates from different outbreaks during the last decade are categorised into virulent (vMDV) and very virulent (vvMDV) pathotypes, based on different serotype 1 specific gene sequencing and in vivo pathotyping. The emergence of virulence in MDV is attributed to compromised bio-security, concurrent immunosuppressive diseases and vaccination failure. MD outbreaks in vaccinated Indian poultry flocks cause annual losses of approximately 40 million Indian rupees. Country-wide surveillance and reporting of MD outbreaks and further characterisation of the Indian field isolate should be taken as a priority. Reviewing current vaccination strategy and examining the need for the introduction of more effective vaccines that give better protection against more virulent strains should be considered with equal importance along with improved biosecurity measures, management practices and more effective control of immunosuppressive diseases.ArticleItem Open Access Molecular Epidemiology of Nontyphoidal Salmonella in Poultry and Poultry Products in India: Implications for Human Health(Springer, 2015-04) Saravanan, Sellappan; Purushothaman, Venketaraman; Gopala Krishna Murthy, Thippichettypalayam Ramasamy; Kuppannan, Sukumar; Srinivasan, Palani; Gowthaman, Vasudevan; Balusamy, Mohan; Atterbury, Robert; Suresh, V. Kuchipudi; TANUVASHuman infections with non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars are increasingly becoming a threat to human health globally. While all motile Salmonellae have zoonotic potential, Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium are most commonly associated with human disease, for which poultry are a major source. Despite the increasing number of human NTS infections, the epidemiology of NTS in poultry in India has not been fully understood. Hence, as a first step, we carried out epidemiological analysis to establish the incidence of NTS in poultry to evaluate the risk to human health. A total of 1215 samples (including poultry meat, tissues, egg and environmental samples) were collected from 154 commercial layer farms from southern India and screened for NTS. Following identification by cultural and biochemical methods, Salmonella isolates were further characterized by multiplex PCR, allele-specific PCR, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) PCR and pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In the present study, 21/1215 (1.73 %) samples tested positive for NTS. We found 12/392 (3.06 %) of tissue samples, 7/460 (1.52 %) of poultry products, and 2/363 (0.55 %) of environmental samples tested positive for NTS. All the Salmonella isolates were resistant to oxytetracycline, which is routinely used as poultry feed additive. The multiplex PCR results allowed 16/21 isolates to be classified as S. Typhimurium, and five isolates as S. Enteritidis. Of the five S. Enteritidis isolates, four were identified as group D Salmonella by allele-specific PCR. All of the isolates produced different banding patterns in ERIC PCR. Of the thirteen macro restriction profiles (MRPs) obtained by PFGE, MRP 6 was predominant which included 6 (21 %) isolates. In conclusion, the findings of the study revealed higher incidence of contamination of NTS Salmonella in poultry tissue and animal protein sources used for poultry. The results of the study warrants further investigation on different type of animal feed sources, food market chains, processing plants, live bird markets etc., to evaluate the risk factors, transmission and effective control measures of human Salmonella infection from poultry products.ArticleItem Open Access Occurrence of Clostridium perfringens contamination in poultry feed ingredients: Isolation, identification and its antibiotic sensitivity pattern(Elsevier, 2017) Udhayavel, Shanmugasundaram; Thippichettypalayam Ramasamy, Gopalakrishnamurthy; Gowthaman, Vasudevan; Malmarugan, Shanmugasamy; Senthilvel, Kandasamy; TANUVASThis work has been undertaken to study the occurrence of Clostridium perfringens contamination in the poultry feed ingredients and find out its in-vitro antibiotic sensitivity pattern to various antimicrobial drugs. Two hundred and ninety-eight poultry feed ingredient samples received at Poultry Disease Diagnosis and Surveillance Laboratory, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu in South India were screened for the presence of C. perfringens. The organisms were isolated in Perfringens agar under anaerobic condition and subjected to standard biochemical tests for confirmation. In vitro antibiogram assay has been carried out to determine the sensitivity pattern of the isolates to various antimicrobial drugs. One hundred and one isolates of C. perfringens were obtained from a total of 298 poultry feed ingredient samples. Overall positivity of 33.89% could be made from the poultry feed ingredients. Highest level of C. perfringens contamination was detected in fish meal followed by bone meal, meat and bone meal and dry fish. Antibiogram assay indicated that the organisms are highly sensitive to gentamicin (100%), chlortetracycline (96.67%), gatifloxacin (93.33%), ciprofloxacin (86.67%), ofloxacin (86.67%) and lincomycin (86.67%). All the isolates were resistant to penicillin-G. Feed ingredients rich in animal proteins are the major source of C. perfringens contamination.ArticleItem Open Access Seasonal Prevalence of Poultry Diseases in Namakkal District of Tamil Nadu, India(2020) Udhayavel, Shanmugasundaram; Gopala Krishna Murthy, Thippichettypalayam Ramasamy; Gowthaman, Vasudevan; Senthilvel, Kandasamy; TANUVASThe objective of the present study is to ascertain the prevalence of poultry diseases in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu from 2011 to 2018. Necropsy examination of the sick and dead poultry birds from various poultry farms in Namakkal was carried out in Poultry Disease Diagnosis and Surveillance Laboratory (PDDSL). The diagnosis was made based on history, clinical signs, gross lesions observed during necropsy examination and by using standard microbiological techniques. During the reporting period, 20362 poultry farms were examined and a total of 35069 cases were recorded. The disease prevalence in the year 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 was 9.04%, 12.47 %, 16.19%, 19.03%, 16.38% 8.85%, 8.40% and 9.64% respectively. The disease prevalence was high in the year 2014 (19.03%) and low in the year 2017 (8.40%). Based on Season, the disease prevalence was more in summer (34.69%) when compared to winter (33.59%) and rainy seasons (31.72%). The prevalence of egg peritonitis (12.20%), infectious laryngotracheitis (11.83%), Newcastle disease (9.56%), neoplastic viral diseases (4.34%), and colibacillosis (3.42%) was spread throughout the year. Mycotoxin induced hepatitis (4.97%), coccidiosis (2.33%) and bacterial diseases such as gangrenous dermatitis (2.95%) and necrotic enteritis (2.93%) were prevalent during the winter and rainy seasons. Heat stroke (8.90%) and Fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) (2.79%) were noticed with more prevalence during the summer season.ArticleItem Open Access Sticktight flea (Echidnophaga gallinacea) infestation in desi chicken- a case report(2019-01) Udhayavel, Shanmugasundaram; Senthilvel, Kandasamy; Gopala Krishna Murthy, Tippichettypalayam Ramasamy; Gowthaman, Vasudevan; TANUVASFive numbers of 24 months old desi chicken were diagnosed with flea infestation during a clinical examination in Poultry disease diagnosis and surveillance laboratory, Namakkal. The fleas were embedded around the eyes and were identified as sticktight fleas (Echidnophaga gallinacea). The infestation was treated with manual removal of fleas combined with topical malathion dusting and environmental treatment. Subsequent recheck exams did not reveal any fleas on the affected birds or on any of the other birds housed in the same farm.