Avian pox in blue-fronted Amazon parrots

J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1981 Dec 1;179(11):1218-22.

Abstract

During a 1-month period at a quarantine station, an epornitic of avian pox occurred in blue-fronted Amazon parrots (Amazona aestiva). Clinical signs included conjunctivitis, blepharitis, and varying degrees of anorexia and respiratory distress. Lesions included periocular ulcerations and scabs and necrotic plaques in the oral cavity. Histologically, the lesions consisted of epithelial hyperplasia, secondary inflammatory changes, and eosinophilic inclusions which, by electron microscopy, were shown to contain poxvirus. When chicken embryos were inoculated with material from eyelid scabs and pharyngeal plaques, lesions of avian pox developed on the chorioallantoic membrane. The death rate of infected birds was high because of secondary bacterial and fungal infections, but uncomplicated cases were usually self-limiting. Periocular lesions also developed in 2 other species of psittacine birds housed in the same facility.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Esophagus / pathology
  • Fowlpox / pathology*
  • Parrots*
  • Psittaciformes*