Epidemiological study of swollen head syndrome and molecular detection of Avian metapneumovirus & Avian Mycoplasma

The study was carried out on 20 broiler flocks to know farm wise mortality, molecular detection of Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) by RT-PCR and detection of Avian mycoplasma (M. gallisepticum and M. synoviae). Studies on the farm incidence and mortality among twenty affected broiler flocks having total population of 84,050 birds of second to fifth week of age showed an average mortality rate of 1.63 per cent ranging from 0.34 per cent to 7.50 per cent. The week wise average mortality due to swollen head syndrome was 0.80, 1.62, 1.24 and 2.43 per cent respectively during second, third, fourth and fifth weeks of age. Molecular studies were carried out for detection of Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV)and Avian mycoplasma (MG &MS) from tissue samples of trachea and lungs of the twenty broiler flocks. All the twenty flocks were found negative for Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) as well as for Mycoplasma synoviae (MS), whereas Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) were detected form 3 (15%) broiler flocks.