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Avian Bornavirus Disease in Commercial Aviaries/Breeder

Dmcveigh

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Douglas McVeigh
Today I found out that my five-month old Blue and Gold Macaw that I just took home last Friday from a local breeder in North Carolina tested positive for Avian bornavirus. Believe it or not this is my second experience with a Borna infected parrot from a commercial aviary. My first experience was with an African Grey that I bought from a large aviary in Austin, Texas (JC Aviary). This bird came down with PDD after about three-months and unfortunately died a pretty slow death overnight in an avian hospital. The necropsy confirmed she was infected with Avian bornavirus. This was my first and only bird and also the first and only bird that had ever been in my household, so the infection did not come from my end. This experience is what lead me to have this Macaw tested immediately after I received her. I had explained my last situation to the breeder of this Macaw and was under the belief that my first experience was an unfortunate, isolated incident. I was not realistically expecting a positive test result and was shocked today when I got the call informing me of the results. With all of this being said, has anyone else had their birds tested for this virus? Are infected aviaries more of the norm rather than the exception? Has everybody had their birds tested? If so, what were the results and where did you get the bird? This virus is extremely deceptive as a bird can be extremely healthy and robust despite being infected. Birds can also potentially live many years and maybe even a full life with infection. However you cannot predict or control when the virus will effect the bird. I wonder how many breeders turn the other cheek regarding infection amongst their flock and sell their birds to naive owners anyway? I imagine most people are like me when I got my first bird, they see a happy healthy bird and are then in no rush to have them examined by the vet let alone even knowing that this virus exist. Its not like you are going to point the finger at the aviary if your bird dies of PDD years later.
 

expressmailtome

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I am sorry about your macaw, and am sorry for your loss. The breeder that I used tested their breeding birds as well as babies before they were sold. Many breeders check their birds when they first acquire them, but not all check them frequently, especially if they quarantine and test all new birds.
 

NorthernGannet

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Please excuse my lack of education on this, but is taking a blood draw from the vein the only way to test for this disease?
 

Mizzely

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Please excuse my lack of education on this, but is taking a blood draw from the vein the only way to test for this disease?
Not necessarily. It's just one tool.

 

Macawnutz

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Let's remember that NOT all ABV positive birds will develop PDD and NOT all PDD birds have ABV.

Two separate diseases.

The ABV test is a blood draw and will only show a positive result if your bird is shedding the disease at the time. Which means that if you get a negative result it could really mean nothing.
Statistics are now showing that 40% of captive birds will test positive at some point in their lives.
With that said I'm not sure why anyone tests for it unless you have symptoms and have exhausted all other diseases.

The PDD test is done at necropsy. You can get films or a biopsy but nothing is concrete until death.
 

Mizzely

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They do now have a PCR test for PDD, which can be done with a blood draw or crop/cloacal swab. They also can do a biopsy on a living bird. However, false positives are common.

 

Macawnutz

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They do now have a PCR test for PDD, which can be done with a blood draw or crop/cloacal swab. They also can do a biopsy on a living bird. However, false positives are common.

This is where people become confused. The PCR testing is actually testing for ABV. The biopsy is testing for PDD and unless you hit a lesion the results are inconclusive.
 

BrianB

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I've had my own experience with it. Some breeders don't care and some are almost overwhelming about it. I was given a pair of Patagonian conures with the full knowledge that they had ABV. They went into an outdoor aviary and had their own stainless steel food dishes. I took food out to them and their dishes were sprayed with a disinfectant before they came into the house to be washed. Everything went through the dishwasher on a sanitize cycle. I sold them with full disclosure that they were positive but healthy, and I included the health records I had. When I mentioned to a fellow breeder that they were. being shipped to another city I got grilled on what flight they were on and what day they were flying so he could make sure his birds weren't on the same flight. Then I was told that I should have just had them destroyed instead of selling them. I was honest about their condition yet chastised for not having them killed. I appreciate the passion for birds, but even vets don't recommend arbitrary culling just because a bird is positive.

I had a long conversation with an avian certified vet and there is simply a lot that isn't known about ABV. They believe there are multiple strains of it. Some may cause PDD, some may not. It doesn't answer the question as to why some birds die of PDD yet test negative for ABV, and why some birds who have ABV never die from PDD. There are more questions than answers at this point, but research continues.

It's no secret that some breeders have dirty flocks and you take a chance when you buy from them. Those breeders don't seem to care, or their flocks are so big that the few they might lose from it don't have any impact on their income. That's not someone I want to do business with.
 
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