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Abstract
Spotty liver disease (SLD) has re-emerged as an important cause of disease in table egg layers and broiler breeders in the United States (US) and many parts of the world. Campylobacter hepaticus and C. bilis, have been reported as the etiologic agents causing multifocal lesions in infected birds' livers, resulting in reduced egg production, egg size, and increased mortality. SLD seems to have re-emerged in the US in the last six years or so and has been found in layer flocks in the Midwest and Southeast US. The disease now identified as C. hepaticus shares significant similarities with a disease first described by Peckham in 1958 called avian vibrionic hepatitis. SLD is a disease that may occur year-round with peaks in warmer wetter weather, and further outbreaks within the same laying flock when birds are in peak production are possible causing an acute drop in egg production and increased mortality. Currently, there are no approved treatments for laying flocks raised under conventional, organic, and “no antibiotics ever” (NAE) programs and the lack of vaccines to prevent SLD adds to the difficulty in preventing the disease. The pathophysiology of SLD is not well known, however when C. hepaticus infects hens, gross lesions are characterized by multifocal small round white foci on the liver surface. The aim of this study was to investigate the pathophysiology of SLD by the development of a challenge model that will allow us to learn more about the disease and scientifically evaluate some potential treatments used for the control of SLD.Data generated from this project will help understand SLD better, therefore helping in the development of treatments and vaccines against SLD. Also, in the future, this project could provide new approaches for diagnosing and controlling SLD associated with C. hepaticus in poultry production, thereby potentially reducing losses for broiler breeders and layer operations in the states where SLD has become an endemic disease.