Spotlight on avian pathology: infectious bronchitis virus

Abstract

Infectious bronchitis is a highly infectious disease of the domestic chicken of all ages and type, affecting the respiratory, renal and reproductive systems. Secondary bacterial infections are common and have a serious economic and welfare impact. Many genotypic and serotypic variants of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) exist worldwide, making diagnosis difficult, and challenging control strategies. Vaccination, requiring the use of both live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines, is needed to control IBV infections; to date, attempts to develop vectored vaccines as effective as the traditional vaccines have been unsuccessful.