Avian Leucosis Virus

Abstract

Avian leucosis/sarcoma virus (ALSV) provokes a variety of transmissible benign and malignant tumors affecting birds. Chickens are affected by six subgroups of ALSV designed as A, B, C, D, E and J, this last one is that of the most recent world dissemination. They were the first transmissible neoplastic diseases caused by viruses shown in any species 100 years ago, and they have consequently been studied extensively as models for the role of viruses in cancer by biomedical scientists. By the 1920s, they also became the major cause of mortality and economic losses in the poultry industry, and they have been studied by veterinary scientists for understanding and controlling them. Different detection methods for ALVS including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), real-time PCR, immunofluorescence assay (IFA), virus isolation, and routine PCR, have been developed. However, ELISA can detect only the group-specific antigen p27 and cannot differentiate between endogenous and exogenous viruses. Real-time PCR and immunofluorescence assays have been developed for both antigen detection and differentiation of endogenous and exogenous ALSV.

Key words: retrovirus, avian leukosis, tumoral deseases.