Infectious bronchitis virus: a challenge for poultry

Abstract

The infectious bronchitis virus is a coronavirus that causes a highly contagious disease of the upper respiratory tract affecting chickens and hens of all ages. The disease is characterized by respiratory symptoms although it can also infect the reproductive tract causing a decrease in egg production, poor quality of the shell and abnormalities in the internal quality of the egg. The virus represents a concern from the economic point of view since it is one of the main causes of losses in the commercial production of poultry and predisposes them to secondary infections that can result in further economic losses and even death. The ability of the virus to experience short-term mutations and recombination events leads to the emergence of new genotypes/serotypes and makes diagnosis and control a challenge. This review aims to provide updated information on different aspects related to the virus, such as its general characteristics, taxonomy and classification, organization of the viral genome, viral proteins, recombinant RNA, antigenic diversity, global distribution, pathogenesis, as well as consecuences caused by the disease, its history, clinical manifestations and lesions, epidemiology, diagnosis, and prevention/control.