I got the results back. Instead of reasurring me it has now just confused me and made me worry even more.
Here are the result certificate:
Green-Cheeked Conure - Cian
PBFD - NOT DETECTED
POLYOMA - NOT DETECTED
Green-Cheeked Conure - Freya
PBFD - NOT DETECTED
POLYOMA - NOT DETECTED
Budgie - Bacon (Male)
PBFD - NOT DETECTED
POLYOMA - NOT DETECTED
Budgie - Cheese (Female)
PBFD - NOT DETECTED
POLYOMA - NOT DETECTED
They used Nucleic Acid Amplification Procedure to process the blood. What is this?
So do these results mean that the birds were not shedding the virus at the time the blood was taken? Or that the result was gotten because the blood sample was too small? I also read that there are many different strains of PBFD and home testing companies might not test for all the different strains, just the ones that are most likely to occur.
From what I've read, if a bird shows physical symptoms of PBFD and the blood result comes back NEGATIVE, then the bird should be taken in for a blood test and a feather biopsy or something?
Yes?
I will be phoning the vet with the results tomorrow. I'm hoping he gives some advice because I definitely want to persue this further.
As for Dende, his bloodwork showed that he did not have abnormal white blood cells. There where a few "dodgy" ones floating around but nothing to be concerned about.
His liver and kidneys were well within normal numbers but his pancreas showed numbers in the 800s instead of his usual 400s.
My vet diagnosed him with pancreatitis and he is on antibiotics (Augmentin) to prevent any secondary infections while we try and get his pancreas back to normal through diet.
Could PBFD have cause all of this!?
Shelly, I found some information that our government released that might help you. Here is the link:
Hygiene Protocols for the Prevention and Control of Diseases (Particularly Beak and Feather Disease) in Australian Birds - Chapter 8
They say that a disinfectant called Virkon S is probably most effective against PBFD and should be used to clean environments and equipment that came in contact with the virus.