Duck orthoreovirus (DRV)

Duck orthoreovirus (DRV), commonly known as Duck reovirus, is a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus belonging to the genus Orthoreovirus in the family Reoviridae [4, 11]. It is a significant veterinary pathogen that causes severe economic losses in the poultry industry, particularly through diseases such as duck spleen necrosis disease (DSND) and hemorrhagic necrotizing hepatitis [8, 11]. The virus is characterized by a non-enveloped, icosahedral double-shell structure containing ten genomic segments that encode various structural and non-structural proteins [14, 15]. Among these, the Sigma C (σC) protein is the primary attachment protein responsible for binding to host cell receptors and is the major target for neutralizing antibodies [1, 6, 9]. DRV facilitates infection through host cell attachment, endocytosis, and subsequent replication within the cytoplasm, often leading to syncytia formation and cell death [9, 16]. Therapeutic interventions are primarily focused on the development of vaccines, including live attenuated, inactivated, and recombinant subunit vaccines targeting the σC and σB proteins [2, 10, 13]. Additionally, passive immunization using duck egg yolk antibodies (IgY) has been explored for rapid protection [10]. However, the high rate of genetic reassortment and the emergence of novel duck reovirus (NDRV) strains present significant challenges for effective disease control and vaccine cross-protection [7, 14].

Other names

Duck reovirusNovel duck reovirusNDRVMuscovy duck reovirusMDRVAvian orthoreovirusDuck spleen necrosis virus

Vaccines and therapeutic antibodies target viral capsid proteins, specifically Sigma C and Sigma B, to induce neutralizing immunity and block viral attachment and entry into host cells [2, 3, 9]. Antiviral candidates like hypericin may interfere with viral replication or assembly [10].