ARS | Publication request: DETECTION OF TURKEY ASTROVIRUS BY RT-PCR

Submitted to: Journal of Virological Methods
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: July 3, 2000
Publication Date: October 12, 2001

Interpretive Summary: Astroviruses continue to cause outbreaks of enteric disease in young turkeys. Because turkey astroviruses are difficult to culture, diagnosis of astrovirus relies on electron microscopy and fluorescent antibody tests. These assays are expensive and technically difficult. Here we report the development of a repid RT-PCR based assay to detect turkey astrovirus from isolated tissues or feces. The test was designed to recognize both conserved and potentially divergent astrovirus genes. This allows the identification of astrovirus and a potentially different serotype from the same sample. This assay can be used diagnostically to rapidly screen commercial turkey flocks for astrovirus and will directly benefit farmers and diagnosticians.

Technical Abstract: Astroviruses are small round viruses that cause enteric disease in the young of several species. Detection and diagnosis of astrovirus infection in non-human hosts relies heavily on electron microscopy and fluorescent antibody tests. Here we report the use of RT-PCR in the detection of turkey astrovirus