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1 October 1995 A SURVEY FOR SELECTED VIRAL, CHLAMYDIAL, AND PARASITIC DISEASES IN WILD DUSKY-HEADED PARAKEETS (ARATINGA WEDDELLII) AND TUI PARAKEETS (BROTOGERIS SANCTITHOMAE) IN PERU
Kirsten V. K. Gilardi, Linda J. Lowenstine, James D. Gilardi, Charles A. Munn
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Abstract

Thirty-eight free-ranging dusky-headed parakeets (Aratinga weddellii) and 13 tui parakeets (Brotogeris sanctithomae) were caught and released in Parque Nacional del Manu in southeastern Peru from 19 July to 5 August 1993. Blood and fecal samples were collected and sera were evaluated for titers to Pacheco's disease herpesvirus, psittacine polyomavirus, paramyxovirus-1, and Chlamydia psittaci. Fecal samples were examined for evidence of ascarid or coccidial infection by fecal flotation, and blood smears were examined for hemoparasites. Five (50%) of 10 A. weddellii serum samples tested by complement fixation (CF) for psittacine polyomavirus antibodies were positive, and three (19%) of 16 A. weddellii samples tested by virus neutralization (VN) for psittacine polyomavirus antibodies were positive, yielding a total of 8 (38%) of the 21 A. weddellii samples positive for psittacine polyomavirus. Based on CF for herpesvirus, four (11%) of 38 A. weddellii samples had antibodies against herpesvirus. All B. sanctithomae were negative for psittacine polyomavirus and psittacine herpesvirus. Thirty-five of the A. weddellii tested were negative for Chlamydia psittaci by CF, latex agglutination, and elementary body agglutination, and all B. sanctithomae were negative for Chlamydia psittaci by the CF test. Nine A. weddellii and eight B. sanctithomae evaluated for paramyxovirus-1 titers by the hemagglutination inhibition test were negative. All fecal samples were negative for ascarids or coccidia by fecal flotation, and all blood smears were negative for hemoparasites by direct microscopic examination. This is the first known description of psittacine polvomavirus and psittacine herpesvirus in free-ranging parrots. Serologic evidence of Pacheco's disease herpesvirus in wild A. weddellii is interesting in light of the fact that Aratinga spp. are considered to be possible carriers of this virus in captivity.

Gilardi, Lowenstine, Gilardi, and Munn: A SURVEY FOR SELECTED VIRAL, CHLAMYDIAL, AND PARASITIC DISEASES IN WILD DUSKY-HEADED PARAKEETS (ARATINGA WEDDELLII) AND TUI PARAKEETS (BROTOGERIS SANCTITHOMAE) IN PERU
Kirsten V. K. Gilardi, Linda J. Lowenstine, James D. Gilardi, and Charles A. Munn "A SURVEY FOR SELECTED VIRAL, CHLAMYDIAL, AND PARASITIC DISEASES IN WILD DUSKY-HEADED PARAKEETS (ARATINGA WEDDELLII) AND TUI PARAKEETS (BROTOGERIS SANCTITHOMAE) IN PERU," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 31(4), 523-528, (1 October 1995). https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-31.4.523
Received: 26 September 1994; Published: 1 October 1995
KEYWORDS
Aratinga weddellii
Brotogeris sanctithomae
Chlamydia psittaci
dusky-headed parakeet
herpesvirus
parrot
polyomavirus
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