The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

Georgia Veterinary Scholar Program

Georgia Veterinary Scholar	Faculty Mentor

Christina Dayton University of Georgia Class of 2007	Dr. David Suarez

Development of a Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase-PCR Assay for the H3 Hemagglutinin Subtype of Avian Influenza

Avian influenza virus (AIV) poses a serious economic threat to the poultry industry because it can cause severe disease in domestic chicken and turkeys. Infection with highly pathogenic strains of AI, which are type A influenza viruses, can cause severe drops in egg production, increased mortality, diarrhea, and respiratory disease. Avian influenza virus H3 hemagglutinin (HA) subtype, a low pathogenic strain for poultry, can also infect humans, horses, swine, and other mammals. Natural hosts include wild gulls, shorebirds, and other waterfowl, which are considered a primary source of infection for poultry. Currently, the standard for AIV detection and subtype identification includes virus isolation (VI) in embryonating chicken eggs followed by HA and neuraminidase subtyping by serological methods. Current procedures may take one to two weeks for conclusive results whereas real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RRT-PCR) can produce results in one day or less. The RRT-PCR assay for the avian H3 HA subtype was developed with hydrolysis or Taqman probes, which were targeted to a conserved region of the H3 HA gene sequence. This test was developed as a rapid, sensitive, easy to perform test to be used for screening clinical samples from live bird markets and commercial poultry flocks for AIV and for the identification of the H3 HA subtype.