Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) persists in tissues of asymptomatic wild Crimson Rosellas
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 suc...
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Published in | Communications biology Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 1017 - 9 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
17.09.2024
Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | 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. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2399-3642 2399-3642 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s42003-024-06652-1 |