Duck virus enteritis in Great Britain, 1980 to 1989

Poultry Department, Central Veterinary Laboratory, New Haw, Weybridge, Surrey.

During the decade 1980 to 1989, 513 submissions of material suitable for the isolation of duck enteritis herpesvirus were received. Of these, 238 (46.4 per cent) were from suspected cases of duck viral enteritis, which was confirmed by the isolation of duck enteritis herpesvirus in 106 cases. Other viruses were isolated from 86 submissions. Ninety-eight (92.5 per cent) of the confirmed cases of the disease occurred in the months April to June, and there was a noticeable increase in the number of suspected and confirmed cases in the second half of the decade.