Abstract

Carcasses of an indigenous adult chicken and Japanese quail from different flocks were presented to a veterinary clinic for postmortem (PM) examination in 2014 in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. PM observations revealed cutaneous, hepatic, and splenic tumors in the Indigenous chicken. The quail carcass was emaciated with hepatic tumors. Histopathology revealed severe focally extensive non encapsulated circumscribed large nodules with pleomorphic population of cells mainly composed of lymphoplasmacytic and mixed neutrophilic polymorphonuclear cells in the chicken. The pleomorphic infiltration of lymphohistioplasmacytic cells mixed with neutrophilic polymorphonuclear cells in the quail were consistent with Marek’s disease virus infection. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out and the Meq oncogene of the Marek’s disease virus (MDV) was amplified in the samples collected from the chicken and quail to confirm the presence of the virulent MDV. The samples were also subjected to PCR for detection of MDV Rispens CVI988 vaccine strain which was detected in both chicken and quail samples. The findings in this case report represent the first report of confirmatory diagnosis of MD using histopathology in an indigenous chicken and Japanese quail in Nigeria. It is also the first report of detection of MDV Rispens CVI988 vaccine strain in unvaccinated chicken and quail in Nigeria.

Key words: Marek's disease, Indigenous Chicken, Japanese quail