Investigation of Histopathological Changes and Immune Response of Specific Pathogen-Free (SPF) Chickens after Vaccination with Infectious Bronchitis Vaccines of Genotypes GI-1, GI-13 and GI-23

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Najmeh Motamed 1
Mohammad Islampanah 2
1 Department of Poultry Vaccine Production, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran
2 1Department of Pathology and Epidemiology, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran
10.22034/ijvcs.2026.15000.1098
Abstract
Infectious bronchitis is controlled by widespread vaccination with live or inactivated vaccines, but despite numerous studies on their safety for chicks, these vaccines may cause complications such as respiratory problems in the field. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pathology and immune response induced by the vaccine with the current vaccination regimen at one day of age in specific pathogen-free (SPF) chicks. Four groups of 20 SPF chicks were vaccinated intranasally on the first day after hatching with two vaccines from two serotypes, Massachusetts and 793/B, and one group of Massachusetts with variant 2 from different vaccine companies as a bivalent vaccine. Respiratory ciliary activity, antibody response, and pathological changes in tracheal, kidney, and lung tissues were evaluated on days 5 and 8 after vaccination. Antibody response increased significantly in all treatment groups after vaccination, but the highest titer was in the H120 + variant 2 vaccine group. Pathological lesions ranging from hyperemia, degeneration to detachment of epithelial cells and then mucosal hyperplasia were evident in all groups in the trachea, lungs and kidneys. It can be concluded that the bronchitis vaccine, in addition to stimulating immunity and protection, produces lesions that are consistent with the affinity of the virus strain to the target tissue, and this should be taken into account by poultry farmers and farm veterinarians when injecting the vaccine and the occurrence of secondary bacterial infections or deaths should be prevented with supportive or preventive treatments.
Keywords
Trachea
Kidney
Histopathology
Antibody
Protection
Strain
Subjects
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Iranian Journal of Veterinary Clinical Sciences
Volume 20, Issue 1 - Serial Number 34
Spring &Summer 2026
September 2026
Pages 21-33