The survival of avian reoviruses on materials associated with the poultry house environment

Two strains of avian reovirus were tested for their ability to survive on materials common to most poultry houses. The viruses survived longest and for at least 10 days on feathers, wood shavings and chicken feed, and for the shortest periods on wood (2 days), paper and cotton (4 days). There were some differences in survivability between the two strains. In most instances, the presence of faecal material increased the survival time, although in others it had the opposite effect. Reovirus survived for at least 10 days on the surface of eggshells when organic material was present. In drinking water, it survived for at least 10 weeks with little loss of infectivity. This could have implications for contamination of water supplies in poultry houses. It was shown that if cotton swabs are used for sampling, reovirus survives longer if they are pre-moistened with culture medium rather than used dry.