Nevertheless, swabs from euthanatized birds were more reflective of the microbiota captured through invasive methods than live swab. Furthermore, from two separate experiments, we also demonstrated that respiratory microbiota sampling is highly reproducible, especially in the trachea and lower respiratory tract. Our study provides new insights and perspectives on decision making when sampling and studying poultry respiratory microbiota.This study was conducted to investigate the effects of replacing in-feed antibiotics with synergistic organic acids on growth performance, health, carcass, and immune and oxidative statuses of broiler chickens under Clostridium perfringens (CP) type A challenge. Two organic acid products were tested organic acid 1 (OA1), consisting of butyrate, medium-chain fatty acids, organic acids, and phenolics; and organic acid 2 (OA2), consisting of buffered short-chain fatty acids. Six hundred 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly assigned to one of five treatments Control 1, basal diet, nonchallenged birds; Control 2, basal diet, with CP challenge; antimicrobial growth promoters (AGP), basal diet supplemented with Aureomycin (chlortetracycline), with CP challenge; OA1, basal diet supplemented with OA1, with CP challenge; and OA1OA2, basal diet supplemented with OA1 and OA2, with CP challenge. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/mrtx1719.html Each treatment had eight replicate pens of 15 birds. The experiments lasted for 29 days. The disease challenge was performed on days 15-17, with an oral gavage of 0.5 mL of CP culture (2.0 × 108 colony-forming units [CFU]/mL) for each bird. Body weights (BWs), intestinal lesion scores, immune organ indices, and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations were measured on days 19, 22, and 29, respectively, in three birds per pen. Carcass characteristics were determined on day 29. No treatment-related differences in mortality were noted before (P = 0.28) or after (P = 0.64) challenge or over the whole study period (days 0-28; P = 0.66). On day 19, the BW of Control 2 was lower than other treatments (P 0.05). On day 29, the MDA concentration of OA1 and OA1OA2 was lower than those of Control 1 and AGP (P less then 0.05). In conclusion, the addition of organic acids may protect broiler chickens from severe intestinal lesions and oxidative stress and may help reduce abdominal fat mass deposition. There is potential for organic acid-based products as alternatives for AGP in preventing necrotic enteritis in broilers.Since the early 2000s, the avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H9N2 has been widely circulating in North African countries, including Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt. For unknown reasons, H9N2 was not detected in Moroccan farms until the end of 2016, and at present, it is endemic in poultry. This study was carried out to evaluate the evolution of H9 AIVs in Morocco from 2017 to 2019. In this study, 16 H9 viruses collected from 2017 to 2019 in Morocco were isolated and sequenced. The genomic signatures and protein sequences of these isolates were analyzed. Moroccan H9 viruses were closely related to viruses isolated from African and Middle Eastern countries, and the hemagglutinin gene resembled those of viruses of G1-like lineage, and multiple mammalian host-associated mutations were detected that favor transmission from avian to mammalian hosts. Other mutations related to virulence were also identified. Our findings suggest that attention be given to the control of H9N2 influenza viruses in chickens and continuous monitoring of the prevalence and pathogenic potential of AIV H9N2 in the poultry population in Morocco.Duck Tembusu virus (DTMUV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, has been identified as a causative agent of an emerging disease in ducks. Since its first report in 2010, several clusters of DTMUV have increasingly been identified and caused outbreaks in many Asian countries. This highlights the need for improved and novel broad detection assays in order to detect all circulating clusters of DTMUV. In this study, a universal one-step reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assay targeting a highly conserved region of the NS5 gene was developed and validated for broad detection of all DTMUV clusters. The newly developed universal RT-PCR assay could specifically detect all clusters of DTMUV without cross-reactions with common duck viruses and other related flaviviruses. The assay was able to detect DTMUV as low as a 0.001 50% embryo lethal dose/milliliter. The performance of the assay was evaluated by using experimental and field clinical samples. The assay could successfully detect DTMUV in all experimentally DTMUV-infected samples and gave a higher DTMUV detection rate (36%) than the previously reported envelope-specific RT-PCR assay (30%) in field clinical samples. All the positive samples were confirmed DTMUV-positive by DNA sequencing. In conclusion, the newly developed universal RT-PCR assay exhibited high accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity in broad DTMUV detection, thus providing an improved screening assay for routine detection and epidemiologic surveillance of DTMUV.Restrictions on the use of antibiotics in poultry production have increased interest in nonantibiotic alternatives to control necrotic enteritis (NE). Volatile fatty acids, and in particular butyric acid preparations, have shown potential as aids in controlling NE. Valeric acid compounds may be a new additional alternative. This series of three trials compared the effects of tributyrin, monovalerin, which is an organic acid mixture, and bacitracin in a NE challenge model consisting of challenge with coccidiosis followed by Clostridium perfringens. Trial 1 was a pen trial comparing tributyrin at 0.5 kg/metric ton continuously in the feed, a proprietary organic acid blend at 1 kg per 1000 L as a metaphylactic treatment in the water, and bacitracin in the feed at 55 g/metric ton. Tributyrin and the organic acid mixture were at least as effective as bacitracin in controlling the growth- and efficiency-suppressing effects of the NE challenge, and the organic acid mixture reduced NE lesion scores. None of the treatroducts monovalerin and tributyrin may be useful adjuncts to reduce NE in antibiotic-free broiler production.