Perplexing Parakeet Problem

Brieuc CossicAnatomic Pathology Resident

Advisor: Dr. Teresa SouthardCornell University

HISTORY• Female, 50 g, 2 year old, opal red-rumped parakeet

(Psephotus haematonotus)

• Part of a larger flock with 7 recently-acquired birds• All 7 birds developed severe respiratory distress• All 7 + 6 parakeets died• No improvement with antibiotics

Caudal Cranial

Beak

Choanal slit

H&E Giemsa

Findings

Head, nasal cavity, infraorbital sinuses and feathered skin:

Moderate, multifocally extensive, proliferative lymphoplasmacytic and heterophilic rhinitis, sinusitis and dermatitis with intra-cytoplasmic eosinophilic Bollinger bodies

Condition: Avian pox, mixed diphtheric and cutaneous form

Ancillary testing

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded pieces of tissue submitted for PCR:

University of Georgia, Fowlpox PCR: Negative

Discussion

• Cause of death

– Respiratory distress, occlusion of the upper respiratory tract

– Anorexia, dehydration

Parakeets die-off- Similar lesions reported in birds quarantined in south

Florida

- Our birds may have:- Contracted the virus in Florida- Contracted the virus in upstate New-York

The stress of the travel and the introduction in a new flock may have facilitated the infection

Avipoxviruses

• Described in 278 bird species from 70 families and 20 orders (32 psittacines):– Poultry industry– Pet birds industry– Endangered species– Ecosystems

• Worldwide distribution

Avipoxviruses

• Double stranded DNA virus• Two major forms: cutaneous and diphtheric• Production of epidermal growth factor-like• Transmission is usually direct– Indirect is less common (fomites, mosquitos, mites)

Ancillary tests results

• PCR negative:

- Time in formalin / fixation- Time in decalcification solution- Sequence of the primers

Psittacinepox and fowlpox are in different clades

Jarmin et al., (2006)

Giemsa

Tripathy et al., 1973. Immunoperoxidase technique for detection of Fowlpox Antigen. Avian diseases, 17(2):274-278.

Hernandez et al., 2001.

Electronic microscopy

- Membrane-bound inclusions- Convoluted outer membrane- Lateral bodies- Biconcave central core

Bollinger bodies

Dr. Otto Bollinger German pathologist (1843-1909). Wikipedia.

Otto Bollinger, (1873), was the first to demonstrate a relationship between the lesions and the inclusions bodies, several years before the discovery of the first virus by Dmitry Ivanosky, in 1892

Acknowledgments

• Dr. Teresa Southard• Dr. Nicholas Wolfer for submitting this case• Drs. Elizabeth Buckles and Jarra Jagne for their

help• Necropsy and histology staff

References• Beaufrere H., Bhaskaran M., Jankowski G, et al. 2009. What's your

diagnosis? Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery 23(4):325-328• Hernandez M., Sanchez C., Margarita E.G., et al., 2001. Avian pox

infection in Spanish Imperial eagles (Aquila adalberti). Avian Pathology, 30:1, 91-97

• Jarmin S., Manvell R., Gough R.E., et al. 2006. Avipoxvirus phylogenetics: identification of a PCR length polymorphism that discriminates between the two major clades. J, of General Virol. 87(8), 2191-2201.

• Van Riper C. and Forrester D., 2007. Avian Pox. In: Infectious Disease of Wild birds. Thomas N.J., Hunter D.B., Atkinson C.T. Eds: Wiley-Blackwell, 131-176.

Questions?