Assessment of impact of Canadian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) variants on egg production and fertility in chickens

Principal Investigator

Mohamed Faizal Abdul Careem, University of Calgary

Year the work was done

2018-2023

Overall objective

  • Quantify the impact of IBV variants on egg production and propose mitigation strategies for the variants the impact layer flocks in Canada.

Specific objectives

  • Isolate major variant infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strains originating from broiler and layer flocks in Canada.
  • Determine whether the isolated Canadian variant IBV strains cause abnormalities in the reproductive tracts of young and adult chickens leading to lower egg production and fertility problems.
  • Estimate the economic impact of IBV on the Canadian poultry industry.
  • Formulate disease mitigation strategies suggesting potential vaccine candidate strains with a view of minimizing the impact of variant IBV on egg production and fertility.

This research applies to

Breeders, Hatcheries, Layers, Processors

This research was supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Poultry Research Council, Egg Farmers of Canada and Poultry Health Services.