Monitoring of the avian leucosis virus (A VL) within the first 49 days of life in broilers The rate of avian leukosis virus (AL V) horizontal transmission from positive newbom to negative newbom broiler chicks in the same flock was studied using 240 broilers (Ross 308 line n= 60 male and 60 female and Cobb Vantress line n=60 male and 60 female). The birds were tagged and housed in sheds (8 birds/m 2 ) at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, San Marcos University, Lima. Cloaca! swabs, taken from

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... very bird at one day of age, were tested for AL V using the ELISA p27 test. A total of 9 positives (Ross 308 n=5, Cobb Vantress n=4) were found and housed together with 111 negative birds from both lines. The remaining 120 negative birds, again from both lines, were likewise housed together as a control group. Cloaca) swabs were taken from every bird and ELISA tested at 21, 28 and 49 days of age. The greatest prevalence of AL V infection, 60.18 ± 9.03%, was found at 49 days in the group containing the infected chicks. At 21 days, the accumulated incidence of AL V infection in these birds, 34.62 ± 8.77%, reflects a horizontal transmission rate of 13.57%.