Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) persists in tissues of asymptomatic wild Crimson Rosellas

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 1017 - 9
• Main Authors: Blanch-Lázaro, Berta, Chamings, Anthony, Ribot, Raoul F. H., Bhatta, Tarka Raj, Berg, Mathew L., Alexandersen, Soren, Bennett, Andrew T. D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 17.09.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 45/23; 45/77; 631/158; 631/158/672; 631/326/596; Adults; Age groups; Animals; Asymptomatic; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biosecurity; Bird Diseases - epidemiology; Bird Diseases - virology; Birds; Circoviridae Infections - veterinary; Circoviridae Infections - virology; Circovirus - genetics; Circovirus - isolation & purification; Circovirus - physiology; Conservation; Endangered & extinct species; Epidemiology; Feathers; Infections; Infectious diseases; Life Sciences; Parrots - virology; Species extinction; Spleen; Tropism; Viruses
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06652-1

Infectious diseases can drive populations and species to extinction. Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) is a circovirus of global conservation concern that can infect all Psittaciformes and some other species. Yet some parrot species, such as Crimson rosellas ( Platycercus elegans ), can live successfully with high BFDV prevalence (>40%) with no clinical signs reported in infected individuals. We assessed BFDV load in 10-12 tissues per bird, from n  = 66  P. elegans , to reveal tissue tropism and BFDV persistence in tissues. Here we show that in 94% of individuals, BFDV was detected in one or more tissues. While BFDV replicated to high levels in subadults, in adults (some confirmed seropositive) the virus persisted in various tissues at much lower levels. Our findings reveal that BFDV is much more common in wild P. elegans than previously thought and suggest that current screening practices (mostly on blood) may substantially underestimate BFDV infection estimates, with implications for biosecurity and conservation programs globally. The study reveals that more than 90% of individuals of a common Australian parrot have detectable BFDV in at least one tissue, and suggests that current screening approaches may substantially underestimate prevalence of this virus in birds globally.