Characterization of fowl adenovirus serotype 4 circulating in chickens in China

Outbreaks of fowl adenovirus (FAdV) has resulted in huge economic losses in poultry industry in China since 2015. This study detected the pathogens from diseased chickens and determined that fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) and co-infection of immunosuppressive pathogens were the causes of the outbreaks. Phylogenetic analysis results indicated that these pandemic strains originated from previously FAdV-4 predecessor in China and had obtain gene mutations that might contribute to enhanced pathogenicity of these strains. Compared with early strains, the pathogenicity of novel FAdV-4 strains significantly increased, which led to systemic infections and injuries to multiple organs in the infected chickens. Our study could provide useful information for understanding of the FAdV-4 and favorable theory basis for clinical prevention and control of the disease.