Infectious Bursal Disease and IBDV

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is caused by infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) an avian Birnavirus first described in the USA near the town of Gumboro Delaware and thus the disease is also known as Gumboro disease.

There are 3 recognized pathogenic types of IBDV; classic virulent (cvIBDV), sub-clinical (scIBDV), and very virulent (vvIBDV). 

All three pathogenic types of IBDV cause immune suppression which leads to secondary infections and a failure to produce an immune response to vaccines. 

The cvIBDV typically cause a high morbidity and low mortality disease while the scIBDV cause very little morbidity and no mortality.  The vvIBDV cause an acute disease in chickens characterized by high morbidity and high mortality. 

New LightCycler Technolgy

Today we are using real-time RT-PCR to detect IBDV.  We are able to use probes and dyes to detect the RT-PCR products during a real-time assay.

Sequencing and Phylogenic Analysis

We determine the nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequence of the hypervariable region of VP2 (hvVP2) to identify IBDV strains. Phylogenic analysis using these sequences has provided valuable information into the ancestry of these viruses.

Our lab is committed to improving the health of poultry through research on the prevention, control and diagnosis of IBDV.

Dr. Daral J. Jackwood

Food Animal Health Research Program

Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center

1680 Madison Ave.

Wooster, Ohio 44691

Phone (330) 263-3964

Fax (330) 263-3677

jackwood.2@osu.edu