Poxvirus Infection in a Colony of Laboratory Pigeons (Columba livia).

Poxvirus Infection in a Colony of Laboratory Pigeons (Columba livia).
Comp Med. 2019 Mar 18;:
Authors: Hibl BM, Blackwood RS, Simons BW, Collins DE
Abstract
Pigeons (Columba livia) are used in biomedical research for studies of vision, cognition, neuronal pathways, and spatialorientation. Because there are few commercial laboratory sources, research pigeons are typically acquired from local fancierbreeders or bred onsite. For acquired pigeons, the health and vaccine status is often unknown. A juvenile pigeon, born onsiteand living in an enclosed outdoor loft, presented with small, bleeding, wart-like lesions on the medial aspects of digits 1and 4. Topical treatment was initiated. Within a week, 4 fledglings were reported for small, dark papular lesions on the face,head, neck, and beak, and shortly thereafter, 2 additional juvenile pigeons developed similar lesions. The fledglings wereeuthanized, and histologic examination revealed numerous intralesional eosinophilic cytoplasmic viral inclusions (Bollinger bodies) confirming a diagnosis of poxvirus infection, likely pigeon pox. Although usually self-limiting, pigeon pox can cause moderate to severe lesions in fledgling and juvenile birds. Vaccination with a modified live poxvirus labeled for chickens was used to create herd immunity to pigeon poxvirus. Since vaccination of our entire flock and implementation of more stringent health protocols, all lesions have resolved, and no new les...

Source: Comparative Medicine - March 17, 2019 Category: Zoology Authors: Hibl BM, Blackwood RS, Simons BW, Collins DE Tags: Comp Med Source Type: research