The role of the rural poultry sector in viral circulation and evolution: evaluation of infectious bronchitis virus and avian metapneumovirus dynamics in an Italian dealer farm

Although the steady growth of poultry production is primarily driven by intensive systems, rural farming is still present even in developed countries. Despite representing a small niche of the overall production, some of its features, such as lower managerial and biosecurity levels and the frequent exchanges of live animals among different establishments, make the rural sector a potential hotspot for the maintenance, spread and evolution of infectious agents. Nonetheless, this sector appears often underinvestigated compared to its industrial counterpart. The present longitudinal study was conducted in a multi-age, multi-species, two-site rural dealer farm in Northeast Italy, using molecular assays to assess the introduction, circulation, and genetic variability of two endemic viral pathogens, infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and avian metapneumovirus (aMPV). During the 5-month-long study period, 43 flocks of different species were periodically sampled, obtaining 130 pools of respirato...