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Abstract The poultry industry in Egypt has been facing significant economic losses due to multiple outbreaks of inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) and hepatitis hydropericardium syndrome (HPS) in recent years. To address this issue, a three-year research study (2020-2022) was conducted to identify and characterize IBH and HPS in broiler and broiler breeders’ flocks across the country. The study investigated clinical cases of fowl adenovirus (FAdV) infection in 835 flocks (each with 10,000–20,000 birds) from 11 Egyptian provinces, for identifying and genotyping FAdVs. The examined flocks showed various symptoms, such as diarrhea, anemia, and general weakness. Necropsy revealed an enlarged, yellowish, and friable liver with necrotic foci, along with hydropericardium effusions, an enlarged, mottled spleen, enteritis, severe pancreatitis, and an inflamed bursa. DNA samples extracted from suspected isolates were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing targeting the loop1 of the hexon gene. The sequences were analyzed using BLAST and compared to adenovirus available in the GenBank database. The study found that FAdVs were present in 22.5% (146/650) broiler flock samples and 32.9% (61/185) broiler breeders’ flocks. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that FAdVs could be classified into four genotypes. FAdVs B-E were detected from 34 represented samples (n= 34); one sample had FAdV-B, three had FAdV-C, 22 had FAdV-D, and eight had FAdV-E (four with 8a and four with 8b). FAdV-D was found to be the most predominant genotype. The study also aimed to assess the effectiveness of three vaccination programs, using both commercial and autogenous vaccines, in broiler breeders’ flocks. The evaluation was done by measuring the antibody titers using ELISA. Our findings suggest that the three programs had the ability to decrease the outbreaks in breeder flocks and progenies and prevent vertical transmission. However, the flock that received an autogenous vaccine had the highest antibody titer. |