First detection of avian polyomavirus by PCR from Alexandrine Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria) in Korea

In early April 2014, a month-old Alexandrine Paraqeet (Psittacula eupatria) that was raised in a domestic aviary located in Gyungju-si, Korea was suddenly died and submitted to Animal Disease Intervention Center, Kyungpook National University in order to diagnose the causative agent. In post-mortem examination, the bird had abnormally developed feathers on the neck and abdomen region and subcutaneous hemorrhages on the neck and cheek adjacent to the beak. At necropsy, the bird had hemorrhage on the muscle of the femoral region, ascites, multi-focal hemorrhages on the epicardium, and diffuse hemorrhages on the sub-serosa of proventriculus and gizzard, suggesting typical avian polyomavirus (APV) infection. The partial large tumor (T) antigen gene of APV was detected by PCR from tissues of the heart, lung, liver, kidney, proventriculus and feathers of the APV-suspected birds. However, other pathogenic virus-specific nucleic acid common with psittacine birds such as avian bornavirus, psittacine beak and feather disease virus and psittacid herpesvirus were not detected from the mixed tissue samples of the bird, indicating this case is due to single infection of APV. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the partially amplified large T antigen DNA was confirmed to have 99~100% homology with that of the previously reported APV strains. This case report describes the first detection of APV in Alexandrine Paraqeet in Korea.

대본청 앵무(Psittacula eupatria )로부터 PCR에 의한 avian polyomavirus 최초 검출