Haematological and biochemical studies in broiler chicks fed ochratoxin and inoculated with inclusion body hepatitis virus, singly and in concurrence.

Day-old broiler chicks, which had been shown to be negative for maternal antibodies against inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) virus and for viral antigen in cloacal swabs, were divided into four groups of 20 chicks each. One group was fed ochratoxin-A at 0.5 ppm from 3 to 38 days of age, another group was inoculated with 1 ml of IBH virus containing 10(6.5) EID50 per 0.2 ml. A third group was given both ochratoxin-A and infected with IBH virus. The fourth group served as the control. Anaemia was observed in all three treated groups but the changes were more pronounced in the combined group. The biochemical changes also suggested a cumulative damaging effect by ochratoxin-A and IBH virus.