Abstract
Pyrosequencing of cDNA from brains of parrots with proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), an unexplained fatal inflammatory central, autonomic, and peripheral nervous system disease, showed 2 strains of a novel Borna virus. Real-time PCR confirmed virus presence in brain, proventriculus, and adrenal gland of 3 birds with PDD but not in 4 unaffected birds.
Highlights
Pyrosequencing of cDNA from brains of parrots with proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), an unexplained fatal inflammatory central, autonomic, and peripheral nervous system disease, showed 2 strains of a novel Borna virus
On a quest for the causative agent of PDD, we investigated 3 birds with a PDD diagnosis based on clinical history and histologic criteria (Table 1)
We have not yet determined whether purified virus induces PDD or an adaptive immune response occurs in association with disease
Summary
W.I. Lipkin); University California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System–Fresno Branch, Davis, California, USA Features consistent with PDD have been reported in >50 avian species; PDD is most commonly described in exotic companion birds such as macaws and parrots. One electron microscopic study showed the presence of spherical, 83-nm particles in macaw embryo cells after inoculation with feces from a diseased macaw; other researchers have described particles in tissue consistent in appearance with adenoviruses or paramyxoviruses. Whether any of these agents can be implicated in the pathogenesis of PDD is unknown.
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