Lesions and viral loads in racing pigeons naturally coinfected with pigeon circovirus and columbid alphaherpesvirus 1 in Australia.

ABSTRACT: Columbid alphaherpesvirus 1 (CoHV1) is associated with oral or upper respiratory tract lesions, encephalitis, and occasional fatal systemic disease in naive or immunosuppressed pigeons. Clinical disease is often reported with CoHV1 and coinfecting viruses, including pigeon circovirus (PiCV), which may cause host immunosuppression and augment lesion development. A natural outbreak of CoHV1 and PiCV coinfection occurred in a flock of 60 racing rock pigeons (Columba livia), in which 4 pigeons succumbed within 7 d of clinical onset. Lesions included suppurative stomatitis, pharyngitis, cloacitis, meningitis, and tympanitis, with eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies consistent with herpesviral infection. In addition, large numbers of botryoid intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies were

SUBMITTER: Nath BK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10185993 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature