Molecular Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of Fowlpox virus in Turkeys from Tikrit, Iraq

Abstract

Fowlpox is a viral disease that affects a wide range of domestic birds including chickens, turkeys, pigeons, and other avian species, and poses notable health and economic challenges, especially in turkeys. The present study investigated the clinical manifestations of the disease, carried out molecular detection, and assessed the genetic relatedness of fowlpox virus in turkeys from Tikrit, Iraq. A total of 36 turkeys showing typical cutaneous lesions were examined, and tissue samples were collected from non-feathered areas for DNA extraction. Conventional PCR targeting the p4b gene, which encodes a major structural protein of the virus, produced a specific 578-bp amplicon in 34 samples, corresponding to a detection rate of 94.4%. Five PCR-positive samples were subsequently selected for Sanger sequencing. BLAST analysis results indicated high nucleotide similarity level of 98–99% with global isolates, especially with the Egyptian isolate (OL703787.1), with slight variation that did not affect the amino acid sequence. The sequences were deposited in GenBank (NCBI) under accession numbers PX649979, PX649980, PX649981, and PX649982. phylogenetic analysis using the Maximum Likelihood method under the Tamura–Nei model, placed the Iraqi isolates within Clade A, showing minimal genetic divergence, indicating the stability of the locally circulating strain. This study provides the first molecular evidence of fowlpox virus infection in turkeys in Iraq. It further highlights the importance of the p4b gene as a sensitive target for diagnosis and surveillance, and underscores the need to reinforce prevention and biosecurity measures to limit the spread of the virus in turkeys

Received: XX December 2025

Revised: XX January 2026

Accepted: XX April 2026

Published Online First: XX June 2026