Viruses of Economic Importance in Backyard Poultry in Guyana, South America

Poultry continues to be an economically important industry in Guyana. Despite efforts to curb outbreaks of viral infections on poultry farms in Guyana, viral diseases are thought to cause significant production losses and mortality. Currently, there is little information about the viruses circulating on poultry farms in Guyana. This study sets out to identify which viruses of backyard poultry, with worldwide and regional significance, are circulating in Guyana. Active surveillance was carried out to detect the presence/absence of antibodies for selected poultry viruses of potential economic significance in Guyana. Serum samples were collected from unvaccinated backyard poultry and tested using selected Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) detection kits. Results from the 261 samples taken from 55 backyard poultry farms showed that 98% of the birds tested positive for antibodies to chicken anemia virus (CAV), 54% for Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV), 73.5% for Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), 60% for Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV) and, 3.3% for Avian Influenza Virus (AIV). However, no samples tested positive for antibodies to Avian Leukosis Virus (ALV). This study aided in understanding viruses circulating naturally and potentially causing disease in backyard poultry in Guyana.