| A PCR assay was designed for amplification of the highly conserved VP3 gene and a 5' region of the VP1 gene, for the diagnosis of CAV in organ samples of broiler flocks suspected of chicken infectious anemia. A comparison of the VP3/VP1 PCR with in vivo virus isolation revealed 100% agreement of the results, with 13 positive and 3 negative samples in both assays, indicating that the VP3/VP1 PCR is a specific diagnostic method. Tissues from additional 24 broiler chicken flocks, with CAV-like lesions and clinical history were then tested only by the VP3/VP1 PCR and a reference PCR with published primers for the VP1 gene. Nineteen samples resulted positive and one negative in both PCR, while another 4 samples were positive only in the VP3/VP1 PCR. These... |
