title: Survey of bornaviruses in pet psittacines in Brazil reveals a novel parrot bornavirus.
abstract: Avian bornaviruses are the causative agents of proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), a fatal neurological disease considered to be a major threat to psittacine bird populations. We performed a survey of the presence of avian bornaviruses and PDD in pet psittacines in Brazil and also studied PDD's clinical presentation as well as the genomic variability of the viruses. Samples from 112 psittacines with clinical signs compatible with PDD were collected and tested for the presence of bornaviruses. We found 32 birds (28.6%) positive for bornaviruses using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Twenty-one (65.6%) of the 32 bornavirus-positive birds presented neurological signs, seven (21.9%) presented undigested seeds in feces, four (12.5%) showed proventricular dilatation, six (18.8%) regurgitation, three (9.4%) feather plucking and three (9.4%) sudden death. The results confirm that avian bornaviruses are present in pet psittacines in Brazil, and sequence analysis identified a distinct virus, named parrot bornavirus 8 (PaBV-8).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Natalia A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Philadelpho
authors.affiliation: Institute for Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Str. 11, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rubbenstroth
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marta B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: ajpferr@usp.br.
authors.forename: Antonio J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Piantino Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D028981:Bornaviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D018701:Mononegavirales Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D010311:Parrots / Q000821:virology*; D011563:Psittaciformes / Q000821:virology*
keywords: Avian bornaviruses; Bornaviridae; PaBV-8; Proventricular dilatation