Epidemiological And Pathological Status Of Mycoplasma Gallisepticum In Layer Chicks At Faisalabad, Pakistan

Avian mycoplasmosis is an infectious and contagious disease that mainly infects chickens and turkeys. Due to the presence of limited information on incidence of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in Faisalabad, Pakistan and the importance of the poultry industry stimulated to study very pathogenic M. gallisepticum in layer chickens in the Faisalabad area. Diagnosis of this disease in layers was done on overall history, clinical signs, post-mortem examination, serological and molecular methods. In the current study, a total of 92 samples of blood, liver, spleen, lungs, trachea and air sacs were collected from layer chicks. The serological screening was done by using the serum plate agglutination test (SPAT) and for further confirmation at the molecular level polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed. Out of the total, 20.65 and 15.22% samples were tested positive for M. gallisepticum by SPAT and PCR, respectively. More positive results by SPAT could be due to false-positive findings. So, PCR is regarded as a confirmed and reliable technique for the detection of the disease. This study successfully described that PCR is a more specific and reliable method for the detection of M. gallisepticum as compared to other technique like SPAT. The current study also showed that a single test or technique is not considered as a confirmatory tool for the detection of any pathogen like M. gallisepticum.