Avian Ganglioneuritis / PDD galah cockatoo

[Lyco1983]

Hello. Our Galah cockatoo has been exhibiting sings of PDD, Avian Ganglioneuritis, and is currently undergoing testing at the vet to determine if he is positive or not. We noticed watery poops and took him for labs back in September where the labs for bornavirus and antibodies both came back negative. It's now been three months and he continues to have watery poops, and an x-ray today verified that he has a slightly-enlarged aspect of his digestive track. The doctor told us that in advanced cases the enlargement is much more severe, but in this case, it's only a small enlargement.......he said it could be nothing, or could be a very early sign of PDD / ganglioneuritis. He took another antibody test today, as well as a few stool labs. I was a bit surprised to learn that the antibody test result is yes/no, but that it is based on scale where you need X concentration of antibodies to trigger a positive result. Dr. said it's possible that back in Sept the level may have been too low, or that it may be something else completely causing the symptoms. He has also been exhibiting some very light picking at the features on his chest, under-wing and ankles, though he is nearing the end of a molt, so could be unrelated. So many unanswered questions.

At this point I'm very worried that it's PDD / avian ganglioneuritis, but if there is a silver lining, it would seem things have been caught early (whatever the illness is). In the case of PDD / AG; is this a death sentence? Are there cases of birds living long, full lives with proper treatment if caught early........decades? Or is it just a matter of time (months, a couple years) with that disease regardless of treatment? Just looking for some basic info from folks who have have experienced this......I've read everything I can find online, more looking for real experience from real people.

Keeping fingers crossed that it is nothing or somthing simple, but also trying to collect information and prepare for whatever is to come.

Thank you all.

 

[MommyBird]

It seems that AG may have other causes than ABV. I take it you are now doing the direct test they now have for AG?

Have you seen this blog?
Living with PDD/AG | ThinkParrot
I especially mention it because if you scroll all the way down theres are 4 very informative youtube links.

As far as the feather picking, it could be due to peripheral neuritis caused by AG.. Dr. Dalhausen specifically points out a pattern where feathers are
bitten off notched in a specific way in a V he finds significant (in the videos).

 

[Lyco1983]

It seems that AG may have other causes than ABV. I take it you are now doing the direct test they now have for AG?

Have you seen this blog?
Living with PDD/AG | ThinkParrot
I especially mention it because if you scroll all the way down theres are 4 very informative youtube links.

As far as the feather picking, it could be due to peripheral neuritis caused by AG.. Dr. Dalhausen specifically points out a pattern where feathers are
bitten off notched in a specific way in a V he finds significant (in the videos).

Thanks for the response. Yes I actually watched the 1st and 4th videos from that page last night. My avian vet did mention sending the antibody samples directly to Ohio to Dr. Dalhausen's lab.

Do you have any knowledge into treatment / remission? Is remission possible if you catch it early and are proactive with meds? Or are you looking at a significantly-reduced lifespan? Dr. Dalhausen mentions a Macaw in the video that (at least at the time) was 12-13 years into treatment and still around, but apart from that I've not been able to find much data.

 

[Pixiebeak]

They ruled out Avian gastric yeast ( or mega bacteria)
And mycoplasma?
Giradia
My old enemy chronic chlamydia
And I'm sure chronic kidney disease?

And can you share poop pics? Just for our education ?

 

[Lyco1983]

They ruled out Avian gastric yeast ( or mega bacteria)
And mycoplasma?
Giradia
My old enemy chronic chlamydia
And I'm sure chronic kidney disease?

And can you share poop pics? Just for our education ?

Out vet is avian certified, and is working through many potential culprits. I'm not entirely sure exactly what tests he's running, but I do know that he is running enough tests to rule non PDD/AG things out. He did mention kidney function was good.

I will share a few poop pictures when I get a chance.

 

[Lyco1983]

Pictures of his poop, a few hours after morning breakfast (Zupreem pellets) and a cashew.

 

[Pixiebeak]

The food is digested, with formed fecal matter. What im not seeing is nice creamy white urates.
In the first white stringy , second Cloudy
Third missing or Cloudy with threads if urates

Often this is linked with bacterial infection. Kidney issues....im not end all in reading poop. But I have a good poop example article I will link.

Warning
This link contains graphic photos of bird dissection and internal organs. It also contains excellent examples of different poops and reasons they look like the do.
Its pigeons but pretty much all is applicable.

Dropping Interpretation

For fanciers, often the first indication that a problem is present in their birds is a change in their droppings. All birds, including pigeons, are able to mask health problems quite well. In the...

www.auspigeonco.com.au

 

[Pixiebeak]

What color are the pellets?
Sometimes parrots are sensitive pellets or certain brands of pellets.
How does he do with veggies?

 

[Pixiebeak]

I put in my bifocals to look again. I do see sort of a membrane around fecal matter and the 2 fecal clumps. Plus the color is off So something is going on gi wise as well ....bacteria...the virus...
But with the urates...
Whst was WBC and diff?

 

[Lyco1983]

Thank you

What color are the pellets?
Sometimes parrots are sensitive pellets or certain brands of pellets.
How does he do with veggies?

Thank you for all the great insights. Bowie eats a diet primarily of Zupreem pellets (which are red, green, yellow and purple), 1-2 cashews broken up as treats and at night he'll have some sweet potato, cauliflower and/or broccoli. The poops above are from the morning after his breakfast of the Zupreem and maybe a few bits of cashews.

 

[Lyco1983]

I put in my bifocals to look again. I do see sort of a membrane around fecal matter and the 2 fecal clumps. Plus the color is off So something is going on gi wise as well ....bacteria...the virus...
But with the urates...
Whst was WBC and diff?

Does PDD/AG lead to changes in color of the poops? I do notice they are a bit of a pea-green color, different from the darker green poops of a few months ago. I also note that the poops have a liquid component that is slightly viscous, and that has a slight yellow-ish tint to it.

I'm optimistic that he may have a bacterial issue of some type that would respond to antibiotics. I'm of course worried that these are all symptoms of PDD/AG

 

[Pixiebeak]

if he had chlamydia it would only fully respond to doxycline. Other antibiotics can sometimes temporarily improve or have no effects.

Or if had some other kind of bacteria that his current or past antibiotics didn't cover.

Or he can have the virus and its weaking his immune system , allowing for repeat infections.

Im not knowledgeable with this virus other than Google. And reading a few other people's journey with it. I asked my vet about it once , her reply was its very rare to have symptomatic infections , many burds seem to resolve and the very few cases she had were in older burds. That's just one vets experience shared with me in casual conversation years ago.

Your avian veterinarian is definitely your number one resource.

And I appreciate all you share on your journey to make your burd well. Your increasing our collective knowledge. I hope you will continue to document and share.

It just as my non vet and non poop expert, those poops look to indicate infection, leaning towards bacterial. But than can be secondary to virus ...

Im going to research and see if the vurus is linked with urates looking like that...

 

[Pixiebeak]

Avian bornavirus in the urine of infected birds - PMC

Avian bornavirus (ABV) causes proventricular dilatation disease in multiple avian species. In severe clinical disease, the virus, while primarily neurotropic, can be detected in many organs, including the kidneys. We postulated that ABV could be ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Ok the virus can effect multiple organs. And secondary bacterial infections are common . Associated with the virus.