lymphoid leukosis diagnosis

[Manahil Asad]

Can lymphoid leukosis be diagnosed on living birds or just in a necropsy?

 

[Perris]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I know someone who I think does:
@azygous can you advise on this please?

 

[dawg53]

Just in necropsy and testing, here's a link for you to read:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/neoplasms/lymphoid-leukosis-in-poultry

 

[azygous]

The only conclusive way to know if lymphoid leucosis is in your flock is by doing a necropsy. Unlike Marek's which has all kinds of outward symptoms that you can drawn a reasonable conclusion, LL's symptoms are almost all internal, and there aren't any signs at all usually until a chicken is so far along with the disease that death is imminent.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

Wanted to chime in here. Our vet in Washington was able to do a swab and send off a test for LL. Not sure if this is new but we were able to get a diagnosis this way.

 

[azygous]

Wanted to chime in here. Our vet in Washington was able to do a swab and send off a test for LL. Not sure if this is new but we were able to get a diagnosis this way.

Was this a PCR test? I know there are blood tests on live chickens for Marek's and LL, but even those aren't entirely accurate. (They test for virus DNA). But a PCR swab seems it would be barely inside the ball park for finding markers. Can you elaborate on the results? Maybe post the results of the test findings? And post the name of the lab and contact info for others interested in obtaining a test like this.

PCR tests obtained through the USPS have a much better chance of the sample being viable by the time it gets to the lab than a blood test sent the same way. I wanted to get a Marek's test by testing blood DNA, but upon finding out that there are no mail services fast enough to get the blood to the lab before it degrades, I gave up on that.

 

[azygous]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

@azygous Oh you’re right, it was a blood draw. I was mixing up another test they’d done. I’ll ask the vet for records and update. She just called me with results and two for two came back positive.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

@azygous Oh you’re right, it was a blood draw. I was mixing up another test they’d done. I’ll ask the vet for records and update. She just called me with results and two for two came back positive.

Just out of curiosity, what was the breed of these two? A lot of Legbars seem to be having issues with this. I would love to test my current flock to see who is a carrier and who isn't.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

Was this a PCR test? I know there are blood tests on live chickens for Marek's and LL, but even those aren't entirely accurate. (They test for virus DNA). But a PCR swab seems it would be barely inside the ball park for finding markers. Can you elaborate on the results? Maybe post the results of the test findings? And post the name of the lab and contact info for others interested in obtaining a test like this.

PCR tests obtained through the USPS have a much better chance of the sample being viable by the time it gets to the lab than a blood test sent the same way. I wanted to get a Marek's test by testing blood DNA, but upon finding out that there are no mail services fast enough to get the blood to the lab before it degrades, I gave up on that.

So we got our original five from MPC last year. We just lost our Mille Fleur to LL, and had two more tested while they were at the vet but don’t have symptoms (Ameraucana mix and a Cochin Bantam) who came back positive.