[Prospect of avian encephalomyelitis antibodies in breeding farms in Chile].

Ten different layer and broiler breeding farms, located in the central part of the country were sampled to detect antibodies against the Avian Encephalomyelitis Virus (AEV). Fifty embrionated eggs, per house, were examined using the Embryo Susceptibility Test. Samples of eggs from 21 houses of broiler breeder hens and 9 of breeder layers were collected from all the poultry farms studied. The antigen used in the Embryo Susceptibility Test was prepared from the van Roekel strain for AEV. The results indicated a high degree of specific immunity against the AEV in 86.7% of the sections checked. This immunity could be due to the presence of the causal of AEV in natural form, since the birds in these farms had not been vaccinated against this ornithopathy. This is the first study carried out in Chile which detected the presence of antibodies against AEV in layer and broiler breeding farms, leading to a massive vaccination program against the disease in the country.