Abstract
Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a common disease of the psittacine species and is caused by the psittacine beak and feather disease virus (PBFDV). In this study the occurrence of the disease in ring-neck parakeets and budgerigars in South Africa suffering from feathering problems, using polymerase chain reaction as a diagnostic test was investigated. The genetic variation between viral isolates was also studied. Results indicate that PBFDV can be attributed to being the cause of feathering problems in some of the ring-neck parakeets and budgerigars in South Africa. Genetic variation of isolates occurs between species and individuals. A cheap and easy to use method of blood sample collection on filter paper for diagnostic purposes was also evaluated. It proved to be less stressful to the birds and did not inhibit further processes.
Highlights
Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a viral disease that was first discovered in 1975 in cockatoos in Australia. It is caused by the psittacine beak and feather disease virus (PBFDV) which is a small (14–18 nm diameter), icosahedral, nonenveloped virus with a circular single-stranded DNA genome that has been characterised and placed in the family Circoviridae (Raidal, Firth & Cross 1993; Studdert 1993; Pass, Plant & Sexton 1994; Sexton, Penhale, Plant & Pass 1994; Ramis, Latimer, Gibert & Campagnoli 1998; Ypelaar, Bassami, Wilcox & Raidal 1999; Todd 2000)
Histopathology has been used for the routine diagnosis of PBFD, but more recently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and haemagglutination (HA) tests have been described for the detection of PBFDV and haemagglutination inhibition (HI) for the detection of antibodies to PBFDV (Riddoch, Raidal, & Cross 1996)
All samples obtained from the ring-neck parakeets and budgerigars produced PCR amplicons of the expected size of approximately 700 bp, using primer set PB F1 and PB R1
Summary
Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a viral disease that was first discovered in 1975 in cockatoos in Australia. It is caused by the psittacine beak and feather disease virus (PBFDV) which is a small (14–18 nm diameter), icosahedral, nonenveloped virus with a circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genome that has been characterised and placed in the family Circoviridae (Raidal, Firth & Cross 1993; Studdert 1993; Pass, Plant & Sexton 1994; Sexton, Penhale, Plant & Pass 1994; Ramis, Latimer, Gibert & Campagnoli 1998; Ypelaar, Bassami, Wilcox & Raidal 1999; Todd 2000).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
