Chicken proventricular necrosis virus (CPNV) is a recently discovered birnavirus. Since 2011, evidence has been accumulating that it causes transmissible viral proventriculitis (TVP). A viral disease, TVP affects meat-producing chickens, and is characterised by necrotising and lymphocytic inflammatory lesions within the glandular stomach. Diseased birds can’t digest their food properly, damaging their health and causing significant economic losses for farmers. Despite the disease first being reported in 1978, its cause remained unknown for more than 30 years.
Our research and its impact
We’re collaborating with the avian infectious diseases research group from the Centre for Research into Animal Health ( CReSA) in Barcelona, Spain, which is led by Dr. Natalia Majó. Our work explores areas of pathology in CPNV (gross, histology and transmission electronic microscopy), as well as epidemiology and molecular biology.
Our team recently reported the presence of both TVP and CPNV in the UK for the first time. The study suggested that European and American CPNV viruses could belong to two different genotypes, but only very limited epidemiological data is currently available, as most TVP reports are based on small numbers of cases or experimental infections.
A single study in the United States found the typical TVP lesions in nearly half of the broiler chicken proventriculi examined microscopically, suggesting that TVP may be a very significant, under-diagnosed health and economic problem.
Given our recent findings confirming the presence of TVP and CPNV in the UK, as well as the available literature, we hypothesise that TVP has been under diagnosed and may be responsible for major economic losses due to growth retardation. Growth retardation in young boiler chickens is often attributed to runting and stunting syndrome, where diagnostic efforts are focused on examining the intestine rather than the stomachs.
We now aim to provide further insights about the epidemiology, pathogenesis and molecular biology of the disease and / or CPNV in Europe, using samples from the UK and Spain. There is currently no vaccine or treatment available, so our aim is that our findings will help in developing therapeutic and prophylactic measures in the midterm future.