This issue of Avian Pathology takes us to the mid-point of our 40th Anniversary year and the series of special celebratory reviews continues to be appreciated by our subscribers and also by a wider readership, thanks to the willingness of our publishers, Taylor and Francis, to make these reviews free to view. Of course subscribers have immediate free access to all articles but it is perhaps a little surprising that many members of WVPA national branches may not be aware of the favourable subscription rate that they can enjoy.
In this issue, we combine a fascinating reflection on the past 40 years and more of infectious bronchitis research. This review is by Jane Cook, Mark Jackwood and Dick Jones, whose combined years of expertise in this field may be approaching a century! Infectious bronchitis (IB) continues to be a major problem in the field and the front cover shows replication of IB virus in an immature chick's oviduct. The photomicrograph was actually one that was included by Dick Jones in his PhD thesis, which coincidentally also has its 40th Anniversary this year. It illustrates the potential for replication of some IB viruses at this site resulting in false layers, such as caused by the recently-emerged QX viruses. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. In addition to reflecting on the past this review suggests several important areas of research for the future.
Also in this issue is the text of the 2011 Houghton Lecture, which was awarded to Dr Erica Spackman of the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS. The lecture, entitled ‘Viral diagnostics: will new technology save the day?’ provided a useful overview of how diagnostics are ‘moving with the times’ and it illustrated the use, or potential use, of new developments for the diagnosis of poultry disease. The lecture was sponsored by the Houghton Trust and was delivered at the 17th Congress of the World Veterinary Poultry Association in Cancun, Mexico.
The HoughtonTrust is the Charitable body that owns Avian Pathology and royalties from sales of the journal are also used to provide International Travel Grants for young scientists. For more information go to http://www.houghtontrust.org.uk/travelgrants.shtml.