Psittacosis—also known as parrot fever, and ornithosis—is a zoonotic infectious disease in humans caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia psittaci and contracted from infected parrots, such as macaws, cockatiels, and budgerigars, and from pigeons, sparrows, ducks, hens, gulls and many other species of birds. The incidence of infection in canaries and finches is believed to be lower than in psittacine birds.
Borna disease, also known as sad horse disease, is an infectious neurological syndrome of warm-blooded animals, caused by Borna disease viruses 1 and 2 (BoDV-1/2). BoDV-1/2 are neurotropic viruses of the species Mammalian 1 orthobornavirus, and members of the Bornaviridae family within the Mononegavirales order.
Bornaviridae is a family of negative-strand RNA viruses in the order Mononegavirales. Horses, sheep, cattle, rodents, birds, reptiles, and humans serve as natural hosts. Diseases associated with bornaviruses include Borna disease, a fatal neurologic disease of mammals restricted to central Europe; and proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) in birds. Bornaviruses may cause encephalitis in mammals like horses or sheep. The family includes 11 species assigned to three genera.
Virulent Newcastle disease (VND), formerly exotic Newcastle disease, is a contagious viral avian disease affecting many domestic and wild bird species; it is transmissible to humans. Though it can infect humans, most cases are non-symptomatic; rarely it can cause a mild fever and influenza-like symptoms and/or conjunctivitis in humans. Its effects are most notable in domestic poultry due to their high susceptibility and the potential for severe impacts of an epizootic on the poultry industries. It is endemic to many countries. No treatment for VND is known, but the use of prophylactic vaccines and sanitary measures reduces the likelihood of outbreaks.
Gastrointestinal diseases refer to diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, namely the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum, and the accessory organs of digestion, the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
Infectious bursal disease (IBD), also known as Gumboro disease, infectious bursitis, and infectious avian nephrosis, is a highly contagious disease of young chickens and turkeys caused by infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), characterized by immunosuppression and mortality generally at 3 to 6 weeks of age. The disease was first discovered in Gumboro, Delaware in 1962. It is economically important to the poultry industry worldwide due to increased susceptibility to other diseases and negative interference with effective vaccination. In recent years, very virulent strains of IBDV (vvIBDV), causing severe mortality in chicken, have emerged in Europe, Latin America, South-East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Infection is via the oro-fecal route, with affected birds excreting high levels of the virus for approximately 2 weeks after infection. The disease is easily spread from infected chickens to healthy chickens through food, water, and physical contact.
Marek's disease is a highly contagious viral neoplastic disease in chickens. It is named after József Marek, a Hungarian veterinarian who described it in 1907. Marek's disease is caused by an alphaherpesvirus known as "Marek's disease virus" (MDV) or Gallid alphaherpesvirus 2 (GaHV-2). The disease is characterized by the presence of T cell lymphoma as well as infiltration of nerves and organs by lymphocytes. Viruses related to MDV appear to be benign and can be used as vaccine strains to prevent Marek's disease. For example, the related herpesvirus found in turkeys (HVT), causes no apparent disease in the birds, and continues to be used as a vaccine strain for prevention of Marek's disease.
Aviadenoviruses are adenoviruses that affect birds—particularly chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and pheasants. There are 15 species in this genus. Viruses in this genus cause specific disease syndromes such as Quail Bronchitis (QB), Egg Drop Syndrome (EDS), Haemorrhagic Enteritis (HE), Pheasant Marble Spleen Disease (MSD), and Inclusion Body Hepatitis (IBH). Avian adenoviruses have a worldwide distribution and it is common to find multiple species on a single farm. The most common serogroups are serogroup 1, 2 and 3.
Neurosyphilis is the infection of the central nervous system in a patient with syphilis. In the era of modern antibiotics, the majority of neurosyphilis cases have been reported in HIV-infected patients. Meningitis is the most common neurological presentation in early syphilis. Tertiary syphilis symptoms are exclusively neurosyphilis, though neurosyphilis may occur at any stage of infection.
Astroviruses are a type of virus that was first discovered in 1975 using electron microscopes following an outbreak of diarrhea in humans. In addition to humans, astroviruses have now been isolated from numerous mammalian animal species and from avian species such as ducks, chickens, and turkey poults. Astroviruses are 28–35 nm diameter, icosahedral viruses that have a characteristic five- or six-pointed star-like surface structure when viewed by electron microscopy. Along with the Picornaviridae and the Caliciviridae, the Astroviridae comprise a third family of nonenveloped viruses whose genome is composed of plus-sense, single-stranded RNA. Astrovirus has a non-segmented, single stranded, positive sense RNA genome within a non-enveloped icosahedral capsid. Human astroviruses have been shown in numerous studies to be an important cause of gastroenteritis in young children worldwide. In animals, Astroviruses also cause infection of the gastrointestinal tract but may also result in encephalitis, hepatitis (avian) and nephritis (avian).
Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a viral disease affecting all Old World and New World parrots. The causative virus—beak and feather disease virus (BFDV)—belongs to the taxonomic genus Circovirus, family Circoviridae. It attacks the feather follicles and the beak and claw matrices of the bird, causing progressive feather, claw and beak malformation and necrosis. In later stages of the disease, feather shaft constriction occurs, hampering development until eventually all feather growth stops. It occurs in an acutely fatal form and a chronic form.
The white-crowned parrot, also known as the white-crowned pionus in aviculture, is a small parrot which is a resident breeding species ranging from eastern Mexico to western Panama.
Bird fancier's lung (BFL), also known as bird breeder's lung, is a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. It can cause shortness of breath, fever, dry cough, chest pain, anorexia and weight loss, fatigue, and progressive pulmonary fibrosis. It is triggered by exposure to avian proteins present in the dry dust of droppings or feathers of a variety of birds. The lungs become inflamed, with granuloma formation. It mostly affects people who work with birds or own many birds.
Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is a bacterium belonging to the class Mollicutes and the family Mycoplasmataceae. It is the causative agent of chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in chickens and infectious sinusitis in turkeys, chickens, game birds, pigeons, and passerine birds of all ages.
In 2008, by pyrosequencing of cDNA from the brains of several parrots suffering from proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), Honkavuori et al. identified the presence of a novel bornavirus.
Avian orthoreovirus, also known as avian reovirus, is an orthoreovirus from the Reoviridae family. Infection causes arthritis and tenosynovitis in poultry. It can also cause respiratory disease.
Pacheco's disease is a highly infectious and acute bird disease caused by a species of herpesvirus, Psittacid alphaherpesvirus 1 (PsHV-1). All psittacine species are susceptible to Pacheco's disease, mainly those in zoological collections and aviaries in any geographic regions. Specifically, Pacheco's disease has a high occurrence rate in Amazon parrots, followed by African grey parrots, parrots, macaws, cockatoos and conures. Due to a very high mortality rate within these susceptible species, concerns are brought to companion bird markets and breeders.
The American Federation of Aviculture, Inc. (AFA) is a national organization dedicated to aviculture, whose purpose is to educate the public and assist members regarding best practices for keeping and living with exotic birds. Local affiliate bird clubs throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico, along with national and international specialty organizations; comprise the Federation. The American Federation of Aviculture is registered as a non-profit 501(c)3 educational organization, with a business office located in Austin, Texas.
The avian immune system is the system of biological structures and cellular processes that protects birds from disease.
The Catalina macaw, sometimes known as the rainbow macaw is a first generation hybrid between the blue-and-gold macaw and scarlet macaw. As catalina macaws are hybrids, they do not have a true scientific name. The best way to represent these birds in taxonomy is by the expression Ara ararauna × Ara macao.
