Outbreaks of egg-drop syndrome-1976 in Japan and its etiological agent.

A condition similar to egg-drop syndrome-1976 (EDS-76) occurred in 14 broiler breeding flocks in 2 farms in Japan from December 1978 to January 1980, and it was diagnosed as EDS-76 by serologic and virological investigations. Egg production fell suddenly when the hens were 30 to 55 weeks of age, and the depression lasted 3 to 7 weeks. Production fell 6 to 25%. Depressed egg production was accompanied by the laying of shell-less, soft-shelled, and thin-shelled eggs associated with loss of egg-shell pigment. Eleven isolates of hemagglutinating adenovirus were isolated from cloacal swabs (10 isolates) and a uterus (1 isolate) of hens in one farm. One isolate, cloned and named JPA-1, had the same antigenicity in serologic tests and the same biological and physicochemical properties as the BC14 strain of EDS-76 virus.