First Report of Marek’s Disease Virus in Commercial Turkeys in Slovenia
Zoran Žlabravec,
Brigita Slavec,
Ema Rožmanec,
Saša Koprivec,
Alenka Dovč,
Olga Zorman Rojs
Affiliations
Zoran Žlabravec
Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals, and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Brigita Slavec
Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals, and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ema Rožmanec
Veterinarska Ambulanta PP, d.o.o., Potrčeva cesta 10, 2250 Ptuj, Slovenia
Saša Koprivec
Institute of Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Alenka Dovč
Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals, and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Olga Zorman Rojs
Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals, and Reptiles, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva ulica 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Marek’s disease (MD), caused by Mardivirus gallidalpha 2 (GaAHV-2), also known as MD virus (MDV), is a lymphoproliferative disease that primarily affects chickens. Recently, MDV has been detected in lymphomatous tumors in turkeys in various countries. Between 2021 and 2023, three cases ranging from no to severe clinical disorders (depression, lameness, and increased mortality) occurred in commercial turkey flocks in Slovenia. In all cases, MDV was detected by PCR in DNA samples extracted from organs developing tumor infiltrations. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the meq gene revealed that the GaAHV-2 detected has molecular features of a very virulent pathotype and genetic similarity with GaAHV-2 detected in chickens in Tunisia. This is the first report of MDV in commercial turkeys in Slovenia.
