title: Incidence and detection of beak and feather disease virus in psittacine birds in the UAE.
abstract: Beak and feather disease is caused by Circovirus, which affects actively growing beak and feather cells of avian species. The disease affects mainly young birds while older birds may overcome the disease with few lasting effects. Due to lack of treatment, the only way to control the disease is through hygiene and early diagnosis. As a diagnostic tool, we have established a Taqman probe based real-time PCR assay to detect the presence of the viral genome in psittacine birds in UAE and reported the incidence of circovirus in different species of psittacine birds. The sensitivity of our assay was found to be very high with detection limit of up to 3.5 fg of DNA in the sample. The mean prevalence of circovirus was found to be 58.33% in African Grey Parrots, 34.42% in Cockatoos, 31.8% in amazon parrots and 25.53% in Macaws. The Taqman assay is a quick, reliable and sensitive detection method that has been instrumental in identifying this disease that was not previously reported in the region.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory, P.O. Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hakimuddin
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory, P.O. Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abidi
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory, P.O. Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Jafer
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory, P.O. Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wernery
authors.affiliation: German Veterinary Clinic, P.O. Box 34867, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Ch
authors.initials: Ch
authors.lastname: Hebel
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory, P.O. Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khazanehdari
keywords: Circovirus; Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) virus; Psittacine birds; Real-time PCR; Sequencing