Wednesday, July 30, 2008
New Information on PDD! We are one step closer!
Source: Kristen Bole
kbole@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
29 July 2008
UCSF researchers identify virus behind mysterious parrot disease
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have identified a virus behind the mysterious infectious disease that has been killing parrots and exotic birds for more than 30 years.
The team, led by UCSF professors Joseph DeRisi, PhD, and Don Ganem, MD, also has developed a diagnostic test for the virus linked to Proventricular Dilation Disease, or PDD, which will enable veterinarians worldwide to control the spread of the virus.
Results of the study will be published in “Virology Journal” and will appear online in August. The findings also will be presented in full at the August 11 annual meeting of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, in Savannah, GA.
The new virus, which the team named Avian Bornavirus (ABV), is a member of the bornavirus family, whose other members cause encephalitis in horses and livestock. Working with veterinarians on two continents, the group isolated this virus in 71 percent of the samples from infected birds, but none of the healthy individuals.
“This discovery has potentially solved a mystery that has been plaguing the avian veterinary community since the 1970s,” said DeRisi, a molecular biologist whose laboratory aided in the 2003 discovery of the virus causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in humans. “These results clearly reveal the existence of an avian reservoir of remarkably diverse bornaviruses that are dramatically different from anything seen in other animals.”
The discovery could have profound consequences on both domesticated parrots and in the conservation of endangered species, according to DeRisi and Ganem, both Howard Hughes Medical Investigators at UCSF. Those species include the Spix’s Macaw, currently one of the most endangered birds in the world, whose number has dwindled to roughly 100 worldwide and whose continued existence is threatened by PDD.
The research was spearheaded by Amy Kistler, a postdoctoral fellow in the DeRisi and Ganem labs. Together with veterinarians Susan Clubb, in the United States, and Ady Gancz in Israel, Kistler analyzed affected birds using UCSF’s ViroChip technology.
The ViroChip, which DeRisi and Ganem developed, is a high-throughput screening technology that uses a DNA microarray to test viral samples. The team was able to recover virus sequence from a total of 16 diseased birds from two different continents. The complete genome sequence of one isolate was captured using ultra deep sequencing.
The virus they identified is highly divergent from all previously identified members of the “Bornaviridae” family and represents the first full-length bornavirus genome ever cloned directly from avian tissue. Analysis of the Avian Bornavirus genome revealed at least five distinct varieties.
PDD is a fatal disease that causes nervous system disorders in both domesticated and wild birds in the psittacine, or parrot, family worldwide. The disease has been found in 50 different species of parrots, as well as five other orders of birds, and is widely considered to be the greatest threat to captive breeding of birds in this family, the researchers said.
The disorder often leads to the birds’ inability to swallow and digest food, with resulting wasting; many birds also suffer from neurologic symptoms such as imbalance and lack of coordination. Regardless of the clinical course the disease takes, it is often fatal.
Scientists have theorized for decades that a viral pathogen was the source of the disease, but until now, no one had been able to identify the likely culprit.
“This provides a very compelling lead in the long-standing search for a viral cause of PDD,” Ganem said. “With the development of molecular clones and diagnostic tests for ABV, we can now begin to explore both the epidemiology of the virus and how it is linked to the disease state.”
Co-authors on the paper include Amy L. Kistler, Peter Skewes-Cox, Kael Fisher, Katherine Sorber, Charles Y. Chiu and Alexander Greninger, from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Medicine at UCSF; Ady Gancz, from The Exotic Clinic, Herzlyia, Israel; Susan Clubb, Rainforest Clinic for Birds and Exotics, Loxahatchee, Fla.; Avishai Lublin, Sara Mechani and Yigal Farnoushi, of the Division of Avian and Fish Diseases, Kimron Veterinary Institute, bet Dagan, Israel; and Scott B. Karlene, of the Lahser Interspecies Research Foundation, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
The research was supported by funding to DeRisi and Ganem from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Funding for US specimen collection and veterinary care was provided by the Lahser Interspecies Research Foundation.
The DeRisi Laboratory is part of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, known as QB3, a cooperative effort among private industry and more than 180 scientists at UCSF, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. The collaboration harnesses the quantitative sciences to integrate and enhance scientific understanding of biological systems at all levels, enabling scientists to tackle problems that have been previously unapproachable.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. For further information, please visit www.ucsf.edu.
kbole@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
29 July 2008
UCSF researchers identify virus behind mysterious parrot disease
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have identified a virus behind the mysterious infectious disease that has been killing parrots and exotic birds for more than 30 years.
The team, led by UCSF professors Joseph DeRisi, PhD, and Don Ganem, MD, also has developed a diagnostic test for the virus linked to Proventricular Dilation Disease, or PDD, which will enable veterinarians worldwide to control the spread of the virus.
Results of the study will be published in “Virology Journal” and will appear online in August. The findings also will be presented in full at the August 11 annual meeting of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, in Savannah, GA.
The new virus, which the team named Avian Bornavirus (ABV), is a member of the bornavirus family, whose other members cause encephalitis in horses and livestock. Working with veterinarians on two continents, the group isolated this virus in 71 percent of the samples from infected birds, but none of the healthy individuals.
“This discovery has potentially solved a mystery that has been plaguing the avian veterinary community since the 1970s,” said DeRisi, a molecular biologist whose laboratory aided in the 2003 discovery of the virus causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in humans. “These results clearly reveal the existence of an avian reservoir of remarkably diverse bornaviruses that are dramatically different from anything seen in other animals.”
The discovery could have profound consequences on both domesticated parrots and in the conservation of endangered species, according to DeRisi and Ganem, both Howard Hughes Medical Investigators at UCSF. Those species include the Spix’s Macaw, currently one of the most endangered birds in the world, whose number has dwindled to roughly 100 worldwide and whose continued existence is threatened by PDD.
The research was spearheaded by Amy Kistler, a postdoctoral fellow in the DeRisi and Ganem labs. Together with veterinarians Susan Clubb, in the United States, and Ady Gancz in Israel, Kistler analyzed affected birds using UCSF’s ViroChip technology.
The ViroChip, which DeRisi and Ganem developed, is a high-throughput screening technology that uses a DNA microarray to test viral samples. The team was able to recover virus sequence from a total of 16 diseased birds from two different continents. The complete genome sequence of one isolate was captured using ultra deep sequencing.
The virus they identified is highly divergent from all previously identified members of the “Bornaviridae” family and represents the first full-length bornavirus genome ever cloned directly from avian tissue. Analysis of the Avian Bornavirus genome revealed at least five distinct varieties.
PDD is a fatal disease that causes nervous system disorders in both domesticated and wild birds in the psittacine, or parrot, family worldwide. The disease has been found in 50 different species of parrots, as well as five other orders of birds, and is widely considered to be the greatest threat to captive breeding of birds in this family, the researchers said.
The disorder often leads to the birds’ inability to swallow and digest food, with resulting wasting; many birds also suffer from neurologic symptoms such as imbalance and lack of coordination. Regardless of the clinical course the disease takes, it is often fatal.
Scientists have theorized for decades that a viral pathogen was the source of the disease, but until now, no one had been able to identify the likely culprit.
“This provides a very compelling lead in the long-standing search for a viral cause of PDD,” Ganem said. “With the development of molecular clones and diagnostic tests for ABV, we can now begin to explore both the epidemiology of the virus and how it is linked to the disease state.”
Co-authors on the paper include Amy L. Kistler, Peter Skewes-Cox, Kael Fisher, Katherine Sorber, Charles Y. Chiu and Alexander Greninger, from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Medicine at UCSF; Ady Gancz, from The Exotic Clinic, Herzlyia, Israel; Susan Clubb, Rainforest Clinic for Birds and Exotics, Loxahatchee, Fla.; Avishai Lublin, Sara Mechani and Yigal Farnoushi, of the Division of Avian and Fish Diseases, Kimron Veterinary Institute, bet Dagan, Israel; and Scott B. Karlene, of the Lahser Interspecies Research Foundation, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
The research was supported by funding to DeRisi and Ganem from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Funding for US specimen collection and veterinary care was provided by the Lahser Interspecies Research Foundation.
The DeRisi Laboratory is part of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, known as QB3, a cooperative effort among private industry and more than 180 scientists at UCSF, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. The collaboration harnesses the quantitative sciences to integrate and enhance scientific understanding of biological systems at all levels, enabling scientists to tackle problems that have been previously unapproachable.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. For further information, please visit www.ucsf.edu.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Nancy's Favorite Parrot Recipe
I love this recipe on so many levels! It's so great for the birds and its so easy to keep and make. It doesn't matter how many birds you have you can make as much or as little as you want and it keeps well! First in its dry state and then once cooked it will last for a week in the fridge or you can freeze it. All the items can be purchased from bulk barn or any dry/bulk food stores making it easy to get. You can also add extras to it and change it to keep it tasting slightly different to give the birds a change. Spice it up for those that like it spicy, or throw in some veggies or fruit. The possibilities are endless.
It also is a great way to hide vitamins or medications as long as you are certain your birds will gobble it up. I have only come across one bird that has ever screwed his nose up at this recipe! Its great for budgies right through to macaws.
MASH for Parrots
May not be exactly the same each batch.
Purchase equal amount of each (no need to purchase lot of each as once it is all together it sure makes alot):
Sunflower seeds, hulled, raw
Slivered almonds
Banana chips (broken into small pieces)
Brown rice
Pasta (veggie wagon wheels) or (wacky pasta which is what I prefer as it has added veggies including spinach, tomatoe and beet flour as well as awesome shapes and colors)
Pasta (veggies shells)
Kasha (toasted buckwheat)
Rye flakes
Green split peas
Yellow split peas
Red lentils
Green lentils
Golden flax seed
Sesame seed (raw hulled)
3-grain cereal
dehydrated veggie flakes (used for soup)
dried cranberries and/or dried blueberries
quinoa
pot barley
coconut (unsweetened)
hard wheat kernels and/or soft wheat kernels
hulled pumpkin seeds
hulled millet
orzo pasta
Mix everything together and store in an air tight container.
To use: bring 2 cups of water to a boil
Add 1-cup mixture and simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes (Just make sure to use two parts water to one part of the mix).
Mixture may appear quite wet but will firm up as it cools
Store in refrigerator for about a week or for a single bird, freeze in ice cube trays then snap out and store in freezer bag.
Serve warm alone or mixed with veggies, fruits, vitamins or medication. Spice it up any way your birds like!
Makes a good bedtime or breakfast treat.
It also is a great way to hide vitamins or medications as long as you are certain your birds will gobble it up. I have only come across one bird that has ever screwed his nose up at this recipe! Its great for budgies right through to macaws.
MASH for Parrots
May not be exactly the same each batch.
Purchase equal amount of each (no need to purchase lot of each as once it is all together it sure makes alot):
Sunflower seeds, hulled, raw
Slivered almonds
Banana chips (broken into small pieces)
Brown rice
Pasta (veggie wagon wheels) or (wacky pasta which is what I prefer as it has added veggies including spinach, tomatoe and beet flour as well as awesome shapes and colors)
Pasta (veggies shells)
Kasha (toasted buckwheat)
Rye flakes
Green split peas
Yellow split peas
Red lentils
Green lentils
Golden flax seed
Sesame seed (raw hulled)
3-grain cereal
dehydrated veggie flakes (used for soup)
dried cranberries and/or dried blueberries
quinoa
pot barley
coconut (unsweetened)
hard wheat kernels and/or soft wheat kernels
hulled pumpkin seeds
hulled millet
orzo pasta
Mix everything together and store in an air tight container.
To use: bring 2 cups of water to a boil
Add 1-cup mixture and simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes (Just make sure to use two parts water to one part of the mix).
Mixture may appear quite wet but will firm up as it cools
Store in refrigerator for about a week or for a single bird, freeze in ice cube trays then snap out and store in freezer bag.
Serve warm alone or mixed with veggies, fruits, vitamins or medication. Spice it up any way your birds like!
Makes a good bedtime or breakfast treat.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Racoon Fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris) is Deadly to Birds! Beware of natural tree limbs.
I recieved a call from a friend. She was very distraught and rightly so! Two of her birds, an african grey and an umbrella cockatoo that she adopted from PASO had started to develop some strange symptoms about two months ago. She described them as wobbly and off balance. The african grey exhibited the behaviours about two weeks prior to the umbrella. Of course panic ensues as you are unsure if you have a contagion in your aviary.
Unsure as what might be the cause, they removed the bedding from the bird room and changed their diets etc and immediately had the birds vet checked.
The symptoms only got worse with time. The vet was unsure but guessed Racoon fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris)as the culprit. Slowly and agonizingly she watched as the two birds got worse and worse over time. There is no cure or treatment for this condition and all other options were exhausted.
They have created a beautiful bird room for their dozen or so birds and fearing that others would get sick was always on their minds, specially because they were unsure of the cause and now having two sick birds! It must have been a horrible feeling that few of us have had to experience.
Eventually the African Grey got worse and started to vomit and could no longer perch. The umbrella developed the same symptoms two weeks behind.
Eventually they had to make that horrible choice in having to put down the african grey to end his suffering. A necropsy was performed in hopes that they would be able to save the umbrella from the same fate.
It was determined that it was infact Racoon Fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris)that was killing the birds.
The family blamed themselves and looked back at how these events could have been caused. They did bring some natural perches from outside into their bird room for the birds to enjoy but felt they had taken the proper precautions in preparing the wood.
They used a pressure washer to clean the limbs and left them out to bake in the sun for a few days, believing this would make the wood safe for the birds.
Sadly, that was not the case. As it is believed that this was the only way for the racoon round worm to have permeated the bird room.
If you plan on using natural branches for your birds, please make sure to follow all the steps listed below:
- Make sure that the wood is on the safe woods to use list as posted on this website
- Do not use wood that is picked up from the side of the road as it could have herbicides are traffic residue on it
- Do not use woods that have been sprayed with a herbicide or pesticide
- Thoroughly clean the limbs with a brush or pressure washer to remove debris, dirt and bugs
- Soak in a 10% bleach solution over night then allow to dry completely which will disinfect the wood
- Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hr which should kill any remaining bacteria or bugs
- Do not keep the wood outside after these steps as further contamination can occur
Our hearts go out to the family for their loss and we thank them for allowing us to post this information in hopes of averting another tradegy.
Nancy Daniels and Family
Unsure as what might be the cause, they removed the bedding from the bird room and changed their diets etc and immediately had the birds vet checked.
The symptoms only got worse with time. The vet was unsure but guessed Racoon fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris)as the culprit. Slowly and agonizingly she watched as the two birds got worse and worse over time. There is no cure or treatment for this condition and all other options were exhausted.
They have created a beautiful bird room for their dozen or so birds and fearing that others would get sick was always on their minds, specially because they were unsure of the cause and now having two sick birds! It must have been a horrible feeling that few of us have had to experience.
Eventually the African Grey got worse and started to vomit and could no longer perch. The umbrella developed the same symptoms two weeks behind.
Eventually they had to make that horrible choice in having to put down the african grey to end his suffering. A necropsy was performed in hopes that they would be able to save the umbrella from the same fate.
It was determined that it was infact Racoon Fecies Roundworm (Baylisascaris)that was killing the birds.
The family blamed themselves and looked back at how these events could have been caused. They did bring some natural perches from outside into their bird room for the birds to enjoy but felt they had taken the proper precautions in preparing the wood.
They used a pressure washer to clean the limbs and left them out to bake in the sun for a few days, believing this would make the wood safe for the birds.
Sadly, that was not the case. As it is believed that this was the only way for the racoon round worm to have permeated the bird room.
If you plan on using natural branches for your birds, please make sure to follow all the steps listed below:
- Make sure that the wood is on the safe woods to use list as posted on this website
- Do not use wood that is picked up from the side of the road as it could have herbicides are traffic residue on it
- Do not use woods that have been sprayed with a herbicide or pesticide
- Thoroughly clean the limbs with a brush or pressure washer to remove debris, dirt and bugs
- Soak in a 10% bleach solution over night then allow to dry completely which will disinfect the wood
- Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hr which should kill any remaining bacteria or bugs
- Do not keep the wood outside after these steps as further contamination can occur
Our hearts go out to the family for their loss and we thank them for allowing us to post this information in hopes of averting another tradegy.
Nancy Daniels and Family
Labels: behaviour, parrot rescue, racoon feces, safe parrot toys, safe woods for parrots
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