Volume: 55 Issue: 4
Year: 2024, Page: 688-692, Doi: https://doi.org/10.51966/jvas.2024.55.4.688-692
Received: March 13, 2024 Accepted: Sept. 13, 2024 Published: Dec. 31, 2024
Marek’s Disease (MD) in chickens, caused by the oncogenic avian herpesvirus known as Marek’s Disease
Virus (MDV), poses significant challenges to the poultry industry. This study was aimed at the molecular detection
of MDV in afflicted chickens focussing on the gross and histopathological changes. The diagnosis was confirmed by
cytological analysis of touch impression smear of the visceral organs with tumour like lesions. Employing polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) technique, the presence of the virus was detected in various tissues. Pathological examination
revealed characteristic lesions such as lymphoproliferative tumours in various organs including the spleen, liver, kidney,
proventriculus, heart and ovary. On microscopic examination, visceral organs revealed densely populated parenchyma
with infiltration of pleomorphic lymphoid cells. Out of 70 samples, 17 cases tested positive for MD. The findings provide
valuable insights into the occurrence, pathology and diagnosis of MD in chickens, contributing to better disease
management strategies and control measures of this economically important poultry disease.
Keywords: Marek`s disease, cytology, lymphocytes, methyl green-pyronine
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© 2024 Chauriya et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Chauriya B., Sajitha I. S., Prasanna K. S., Devi S.S., Anoopraj R., Divya C., Priya P.M. and Udhayakumar C.
2024. Pathological alterations and molecular identification of Marek’s disease in chicken.
J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 55 (4):688-692