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Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease

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Robert Gracia

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) is caused by a Circovirus that contains multiple variants. The virus is spread through feces, crop secretions, skin and feathers and can be transmitted both horizontally and vertically. The virus infects tissues like the bursa of Fabricius, intestines and feathers, causing feather loss, hemorrhaging and beak and nail overgrowth or necrosis. PBFD presents as either peracute, acute or chronic forms with varying symptoms ranging from rapid death to feather dystrophy and immunosuppression over years. Control involves testing and removing infected birds from aviaries, quarantining new birds, and disinfecting facilities.

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RobertGracia Psittacine BeakandFeatherDisease iscausedbyavirusknownas a Circovirus.Thisvirusisa single strandedDNA virusthatencodesforsevenproteinsandcontainsmultiplevariants. Sincethese variantsdiffergeneticallytestingforthe disease mustinclude teststhatare specifictoeach variantor teststhat detecta commonmarkerbetweenall the knownvariants,suchasa PCR assay. The virusis spreadfrominfectedbirdsviafeces,cropsecretions,andskinandfeatherdander. Transmissionof the virusisthoughttooccur byboth horizontal andvertical transmission,the former vectorbeingof more importance.Itisbelievedthe virusentersitsnew hostby eitherbeingingestedor inhaled.Once inside the hostthe virustravelstodifferenttissueswhere itcanreplicate andincrease in number.Many tissuescanbe infectedbyviral infiltration,suchas the Bursa of Fabricus,crop, thymus, intestine,esophagus,feathers,integument,andinleukocytes. The viruscausescomplicationswiththe epidermisandvariouscomponentsthatinteractatthe integumentlevelwhichcausesfeatherdysplasia, featherloss,andhemorrhage. Damage tothe epidermisof the beakcausedbythe viruscauses overgrowthandeventuallylossof structural integrity. Necrosisof tissuethatshare immune system importance suchas the Bursa of Fabricus,thymus,andleukocytes,cause immune suppressionand predisposesthe hosttoothersecondarydisease. There are three typesof clinical presentationsof Psittacine BeakandFeatherDisease;the peracute form,the acute form,and the chronic form. The peracute formaffectsveryyoungchicksand is rapidlyfatal andconsistsof septicemia,enteritis,andpneumonia. The acute formaffectsweanedchicks from7 weeksto9 months,andisdescribedbya rapid onsetof crop stasis,weakness, diarrhea, depression,featherdysplasia, regurgitation,anddeathwithin2weeks. The chronicformusuallyoccurs inbirdspast the age of 8 to 10 monthsthat are infectedwiththe PBFDvirus. Some of the classicsigns notedare a lackof powderonthe beak,delayedmolt,thickeningof the feathersheath,apteriazones, featherdystrophy,overgrownbeak,beaknecrosis,nail necrosis,hemorrhagewithinthe feathershaft, immunosuppression,secondaryinfections,anddeathwithinafew yearsdependingonthe severityof the clinical signs. Control of PBFDV is veryimportantandcan be accomplishedbyPCRtestingall birdsinyour aviaryto ensure there are nocarriers.If any birdsare infecteditsrecommendedtoremove themfrom the aviary.Priorto introducinganynewbirdstothe aviarytestingshouldbe done onall new birdsto ensure there notcarriers.Foraddedsafetya quarantine periodof atleasta monthwithanothertest priorto introductionintothe aviary,shouldbe done toensure anyrecentlyexposedbirdswill notgo undetected.Forlarge scale aviariesswabsof the facilitiescanbe done toensure novirusisin the environment.The PBFDvirusishighlyresistanttomanydisinfectantssoanaggressive decontamination protocol shouldbe followed.

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Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease

  • 1. RobertGracia Psittacine BeakandFeatherDisease iscausedbyavirusknownas a Circovirus.Thisvirusisa single strandedDNA virusthatencodesforsevenproteinsandcontainsmultiplevariants. Sincethese variantsdiffergeneticallytestingforthe disease mustinclude teststhatare specifictoeach variantor teststhat detecta commonmarkerbetweenall the knownvariants,suchasa PCR assay. The virusis spreadfrominfectedbirdsviafeces,cropsecretions,andskinandfeatherdander. Transmissionof the virusisthoughttooccur byboth horizontal andvertical transmission,the former vectorbeingof more importance.Itisbelievedthe virusentersitsnew hostby eitherbeingingestedor inhaled.Once inside the hostthe virustravelstodifferenttissueswhere itcanreplicate andincrease in number.Many tissuescanbe infectedbyviral infiltration,suchas the Bursa of Fabricus,crop, thymus, intestine,esophagus,feathers,integument,andinleukocytes. The viruscausescomplicationswiththe epidermisandvariouscomponentsthatinteractatthe integumentlevelwhichcausesfeatherdysplasia, featherloss,andhemorrhage. Damage tothe epidermisof the beakcausedbythe viruscauses overgrowthandeventuallylossof structural integrity. Necrosisof tissuethatshare immune system importance suchas the Bursa of Fabricus,thymus,andleukocytes,cause immune suppressionand predisposesthe hosttoothersecondarydisease. There are three typesof clinical presentationsof Psittacine BeakandFeatherDisease;the peracute form,the acute form,and the chronic form. The peracute formaffectsveryyoungchicksand is rapidlyfatal andconsistsof septicemia,enteritis,andpneumonia. The acute formaffectsweanedchicks from7 weeksto9 months,andisdescribedbya rapid onsetof crop stasis,weakness, diarrhea, depression,featherdysplasia, regurgitation,anddeathwithin2weeks. The chronicformusuallyoccurs inbirdspast the age of 8 to 10 monthsthat are infectedwiththe PBFDvirus. Some of the classicsigns notedare a lackof powderonthe beak,delayedmolt,thickeningof the feathersheath,apteriazones, featherdystrophy,overgrownbeak,beaknecrosis,nail necrosis,hemorrhagewithinthe feathershaft, immunosuppression,secondaryinfections,anddeathwithinafew yearsdependingonthe severityof the clinical signs. Control of PBFDV is veryimportantandcan be accomplishedbyPCRtestingall birdsinyour aviaryto ensure there are nocarriers.If any birdsare infecteditsrecommendedtoremove themfrom the aviary.Priorto introducinganynewbirdstothe aviarytestingshouldbe done onall new birdsto ensure there notcarriers.Foraddedsafetya quarantine periodof atleasta monthwithanothertest priorto introductionintothe aviary,shouldbe done toensure anyrecentlyexposedbirdswill notgo undetected.Forlarge scale aviariesswabsof the facilitiescanbe done toensure novirusisin the environment.The PBFDvirusishighlyresistanttomanydisinfectantssoanaggressive decontamination protocol shouldbe followed.