Abstract
Avian pox is a widespread infection in birds caused by genus Avipoxvirus pathogens. It is a noteworthy, potentially lethal disease to wild and domestic hosts. It can produce two different conditions: cutaneous pox, and diphtheritic pox. Here, we carry out an exhaustive review of all cases of avian pox reported from wild birds to analyze the effect and distribution in different avian species. Avian poxvirus strains have been detected in at least 374 wild bird species, a 60% increase on a 1999 review on avian pox hosts. We also analyze epizootic cases and if this disease contributes to wild bird population declines. We frequently observe very high prevalence in wild birds in remote island groups, e.g., Hawaii, Galapagos, etc., representing a major risk for the conservation of their unique endemic avifauna. However, the difference in prevalence between islands and continents is not significant given the few available studies. Morbidity and mortality can also be very high in captive birds, due to high population densities. However, despite the importance of the disease, the current detection rate of new Avipoxvirus strains suggests that diversity is incomplete for this group, and more research is needed to clarify its real extent, particularly in wild birds.
Highlights
Avian pox is an infectious disease of domestic and wild birds, caused by the transmission of viruses in the genus Avipoxvirus, family Poxviridae [1]
24 orders constituting less than 1% of avian diversity are combined into “others”; (B) the (B) the number of species detected with Avian poxvirus (APV) in each order
Prevalence studies give a useful snapshot of how the prevalence of incomplete syndromic or, perhaps individuals which have detectable APV infections, as lesions appear 2–3 weeks after virus transmission and lesions may remain only for a short period, and possibly some birds never display visible lesions: the recorded prevalence might be lower than the actual prevalence
Summary
Avian pox is an infectious disease of domestic and wild birds, caused by the transmission of viruses in the genus Avipoxvirus, family Poxviridae [1]. Most genetic lineages infect multiple, taxonomically varied host species, suggesting that adaptation to specific host taxa may be limited, at least for some strains [11,12]. Infects a broad range of avian hosts: from ostriches to humfrom 23 orders (Table S1). APV infects a broad range of avian hosts: from ostriches to mingbirds and including domestic birds,birds, raptors, parrots, waterbirds, seabirds, etc. It has hummingbirds and including domestic raptors, parrots, waterbirds, seabirds, etc. Avianofspecies), which allies), probably thiscontains group contains relatively few species avian species), are infrequently in contact with humans. Were higher or lower than infected with APV in each order (following Clements et al [14]) were higher or lower the expected level of
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