Hemorrhagic enteritis of turkeys in California: serologic study of hemorrhagic enteritis virus antibody with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The incidence of hemorrhagic enteritis (HE) infection in California turkeys was studied by testing 2220 turkey blood samples from 173 flocks for HE virus (HEV) antibody by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Maternal antibody was detected at 1 day of age in all flocks tested, and it vanished after 3 weeks. Acquired HEV antibody appeared at 8 to 10 weeks, and 100% of the meat and breeder turkey flocks were positive after 11 weeks of age. HEV infection occurred earlier in the meat flocks than in the breeder flocks, and it also occurred earlier during summer than during the fall and winter months.