| The infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) was detected for the first time in Brazil by Hipólito in 1957 in chickens sold life in the municipal market of Belo Horizonte, MG, when commercial poultry production was just starting in that country. The Massachusetts (Mass) serotype was identified. However, the clinical disease was only observed in 1975, when poultry production was intensely growing. The extensive outbreak produced the classical condition in layers and breeders, affecting egg production and quality, whereas broilers presented respiratory and "nephritis-nephrosis" signs. The disease rapidly spread to all poultry-producing regions in the country, and in 1979, both the imports and the manufacturing of live vaccines against IB strains Mass, H120 and H52,... |
