Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus Dynamics in Poultry
Summary
Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) is an alphaherpesvirus that causes acute respiratory disease in chickens, characterised by conjunctivitis, sinusitis, respiratory distress and high morbidity. Following inhalation, the virus replicates in the epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract, damaging ciliated epithelium and disrupting mucosal barriers. Clinical signs range from mild dyspnoea to severe tracheitis with bloody exudates and high mortality in naïve flocks. ILTV establishes latency in sensory ganglia, with periodic reactivation leading to viral shedding and flock‐level persistence. Trade and movement of birds, co-infection with other respiratory pathogens and environmental stress exacerbate transmission, while recombination among vaccine and field strains can give rise to more virulent genotypes. Control relies on strict biosecurity, rapid diagnosis using molecular assays and vaccination. Conventional live‐attenuated vaccines offer good protection against clinical disease but may revert to virulence or fail to prevent viral shedding. Advances in molecular epidemiology, host–pathogen interaction studies and recombinant vaccine technologies are reshaping our understanding of viral dynamics, enabling more precise monitoring of outbreaks, the design of safer vaccine vectors and targeted control measures in diverse poultry production systems worldwide.
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Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus Dynamics in Poultry publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in infectious laryngotracheitis virus dynamics in poultry across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV): A herpesvirus of the genus Iltovirus causing contagious upper respiratory disease in chickens.
Transcriptome: The complete set of RNA molecules expressed in a cell or tissue at a specific time point.
Live-attenuated vaccine: A vaccine composed of a pathogen weakened so it elicits immunity without causing severe disease.
Ex vivo system: An experimental setup using organs or tissues maintained outside the living organism under laboratory conditions.
Glycoprotein G (gG): An ILTV envelope protein involved in virulence and modulation of host immune responses.
Recombinant vector: A genetically engineered virus used to deliver foreign antigen genes to induce protective immunity.
Extracellular matrix (ECM): A network of proteins and polysaccharides surrounding cells, providing structural support and influencing cell behaviour.
References
- Clinical assessment and transcriptome analysis of host immune responses in a vaccination-challenge study using a glycoprotein G deletion mutant vaccine strain of infectious laryngotracheitis virus. Frontiers in Immunology (2025).
- Host–virus interactions during infection with a wild-type ILTV strain or a glycoprotein G deletion mutant ILTV vaccine strain in an ex vivo system. Microbiology Spectrum (2025).
- Characterization of a Recombinant Thermostable Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) Expressing Glycoprotein gB of Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus (ILTV) Protects Chickens against ILTV Challenge. Viruses (2023).
- Infectious laryngotracheitis: Etiology, epidemiology, pathobiology, and advances in diagnosis and control – a comprehensive review. Veterinary Quarterly (2020).
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