Seroepidemiological study ofHigh Pathogenic AvianInfluenza by HI test (H5, H7) in South Khorasan Province in 1395 and 1396

Introduction and Objectives: High Pathogenic AvianInfluenza (HPAI) is one of the most contagious important respiratory diseases of the poultry industry. Last year in our country, the H5N8 serotype of the virus caused widespread prevalence among poultry farms in the central provinces, causing numerous detriments and losses. At the same time, the active surveillanceprograms were placed on the agenda of clean province veterinary services.Material and Methods: The sampling consisted of 444 series of 4941 samples of laying, broiler, backyard poultry, ornamental poultry, wild birds, ostrich, turkey and quail in South Khorasan province during years1395 and 1396. The hemagglutinationinhibition test was performed using the GD-VLDIA097 antigen for two H5N2 and H7N1 serotypes to detect antibodies against these two serotypes. forSuspicious or positive samples were sent to the CVL for complementary PCR testing.Results and Discussion: The Sampling conducted for all of 11 districts in the province. The type and number of samples included: broiler 3022, laying 340, backyard poultry 409, layer 112, ostrich 735, turkey 143, partridge and quail 65, petbirds 113 and wild birds were 2 birds. Of the 4941 samples, 4928 cases were negative and 13 cases in 4 units were positive and suspected cases for H5N2. All samples were negative in H7N1. The result of the PCR trials of 13 positive or suspected samples was negative.Considering the large number of samples taken, the general inclusion of the geographical areas of the province and the variation in the type of bird species sampled, it can be concluded that H5 and H7 were not common in non-wild birds in South Khorasan province in years 95 and 96(p <0.002). The number of wild birds tested was very low and the test negative results cannot be generalized to wild birds. The majority of samples (61.1%) were from broiler chickens in the province, which were visited and sampled during active surveillance program. Therefore, the overall result of this study can be confirmed with more confidence in poultry farms in the province.