title: Prevalence of pigeon circovirus infections in feral pigeons in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
abstract: Pigeon circovirus (PiCV) was detected by real-time PCR in cloacal swabs, pharyngeal swabs, and serum samples taken from 74 feral pigeons (Columba livia var. domestica) that were caught at various locations in the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. PiCV infections were detected in the majority of the tested birds. The highest (74.3%) detection rate was observed in the cloacal swabs and the lowest (31.1%) in serum samples. PiCV DNA was more readily detected in the cloacal swabs, pharyngeal swabs, and serum samples of birds younger than 1 yr. Molecular analysis of partial open reading frame V1 sequences showed that PiCV strains detected in feral pigeons share high nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities with PiCV strains detected in ornamental, racing, meat, and feral pigeons.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Health, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Cesta v Mestni log 47, 1115 Ljubljana, Slovenia. uros.krapez@vf.uni-lj.si
authors.forename: Uros
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Krapez
authors.forename: Brigita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Slavec
authors.forename: Adela Fratnik
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Steyer
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pintaric
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dobeic
authors.forename: Olga Zorman
authors.initials: OZ
authors.lastname: Rojs
authors.forename: Alenka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dovc
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D018173:Circoviridae Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D017925:Circovirus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D002988:Cloaca / Q000821:virology; D010856:Columbidae; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010614:Pharynx / Q000821:virology; D015995:Prevalence; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein / Q000662:veterinary; D017524:Slovenia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral