Hygiene Protocols for the Prevention and Control of Diseases (Particularly Beak and Feather Disease) in Australian Birds
Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2006

Previous > Contents > Next1. Acronyms for Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease and Beak and Feather Disease Virus
There has been confusion about the acronymns that may be applied to PBFD and its causative virus. PBFD has also been called psittacine circovirus disease, or PCD. However, the latter acronym clashes with that of porcine circovirus disease. Additionally, the acronym PCV (psittacine circovirus) clashes with that of porcine circovirus.

The family Circoviridae contains two genera; Circovirus and Gyrovirus. Chicken anaemia virus (CAV) is the only member of the Gyrovirus genus. There are three official members of the Circovirus genus, the two porcine circoviruses PCV1 and PCV2, and beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) (Pringle, 1999; Bassami et al., 1998). There is, however, a growing list of avian circoviruses, and a tentative classification may be summarised as follows:

Genus Circovirus

Official:

Porcine circovirus PCV1 and PCV2
Beak and feather disease virus BFDV
Tentative:

Columbid or Pigeon circovirus PiCV
Canary circovirusCaCV
Goose circovirus GoCV
Duck circovirus DuCV
Starling circovirusStCV
Raven circovirusRaCV
Genus Gyrovirus

Chicken anaemia virus CAV
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses states that psittacine beak and feather disease is to be called PBFD to avoid confusing it with Budgerigar Fledgling Disease, and the virus is to be called BFD virus. In this document psittacine beak and feather disease will be referred to as PBFD and the virus that causes the disease as BFDV.

Direct link: javascriptopupwnd('http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tap/hygiene-protocols/chapter1.html','no','no','no','yes','yes','no','40 0','400','400','400')

Incubation Period. From the same documents.

Incubation period of PBFD
Please read an explanation of how the Haemagglutination (HA) and Haemagglutination Inhibition (HI)(PDF - 34 KB) tests are conducted and interpreted.

With current knowledge and under natural conditions, it is not possible to place a maximum time on the incubation period for PBFD, since the time of infection is usually unknown. In nestling cockatoos, the incubation period of PBFD is a minimum of 21 to 28 days following the intravenous injection of the virus, and so will be variably longer for a natural infection, depending on the species and even among individuals of the same species (Raidal et al., 1993). Raidal (1994) reported that in susceptible galah chicks the onset of clinical signs ranged from 30 to 72 days, and with susceptible sulphur-crested cockatoo (SCC) chicks 28 days. Ignoring absence of powder downs (in those species that produce powder downs), a moult is necessary to express lesions in the plumage and this could take up to 12 months (as long as the bird is HI negative). Some infected birds remain feather lesion-free before they become stressed and succumb. Some infected birds can appear healthy and produce infected young (Raidal, 2005). Raidal (2005) advised that PCR screening of blood is the most sensitive way of detecting infection followed by PCR on feathers and HA testing of feathers or faeces. HI testing on a flock basis also reveals whether the flock is infected. The most practical recommendation for detecting BFDV antigen is a minimum of two separate blood and feather PCR tests at least 1 month apart (Raidal, 2005). However, some BFDV positive birds might remain undetected and a further test after 4 weeks is advisable. HA testing provides a quantifiable indication of virus excretion and, when used in conjunction with PCR, provides a valuable internal control mechanism for interpreting results. From a diagnostic view point it is advantageous to know both results. By applying all 4 tests on a flock basis (PCR blood, PCR feather, HA feather, HI blood) it is possible to detect early viraemia and antibody and antigen in feathers. If repeated 4-6 weeks later, any developing antigen or antibody can be detected. A further test 4-6 weeks later would detect late developing antigen or antibody.

Other tests being developed for antibody detection such as ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and latex agglutination (LA) may provide more sensitive and accurate methods for assessing seroconversion in individual birds being held in quarantine and may be able to differentiate antibody response to experimental vaccination from natural infection.

Conclusion
A quarantine period of at least 63 days is recommended, with testing for BFDV at day 0, day 28 and day 56, leaving a week for results to be delivered.

Vaccination study, 2007.

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Science, Murdoch University, South St., Murdoch, 6150 WA, Australia.

Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) is a common avian circovirus infection of wild Psittaciformes and is a recognised threat to endangered psittacine species. Currently, there is a requirement to develop BFDV antigen for diagnostic purposes and since efforts to propagate BFDV in vitro have so far been unsuccessful the entire coding region of BFDV ORF C1 was expressed in Sf9 insect cells using a baculovirus expression system. The entire coding region of BFDV ORF C1, the presumptive capsid, was expressed in Sf9 insect cells using baculovirus expression system. Electron microscopic examination of negatively stained material demonstrated that the recombinant protein self-assembled to produce virus-like particles (VLPs) thus confirming that ORF C1 is likely to be the sole determinant for capsid construction in vivo. BFDV VLPs also possessed haemagglutinating activity which provides further evidence that self-assembled BFDV VLPs retain receptor mediated biological activity and that the determinants for BFDV haemagglutination activity rely solely on the capsid protein. The recombinant protein reacted with anti-BFDV sera from naturally immune parrots and cockatoo and from chickens experimentally inoculated with native BFDV in both Western blots and haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. BFDV VLPs were also a suitable replacement antigen for serological detection of BFDV antibody by HI.

PMID: 17218022 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Another article you might be able to read more clearly, it is in English, not scientific lol.

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiv...se-vaccine.pdf

If you go to the link, scroll down a fair way. You get all the index up the top.

Finally this. I think I have posted this before though.

Approximately 30 and perhaps all 50 species of Australian psittacine birds, captive and wild, are affected by PBFD (Studdert, 1993). The disease is largely found in sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita).
Based on gross pathology and histology,
McOrist et al. (1984) found that several flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos in Victoria
Introduction7 had a 10-20% incidence of PBFD. In some wild populations, seroprevalence as high as 94% has been reported, however the exact number of affected birds in a flock is hard to determine
due to an unknown number of birds affected by PBFD dying in the nest (Raidal et al., 1993b).
PBFD has also been demonstrated in .....
galahs (Cacatuaroseicapilla), little corella (Cacatua sanguinea), Major Mitchell’s cockatoo (Cacatua
leadbeateri), lovebirds (Agapornis spp.), budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus),
African grey parrot (Psitticus erithacus erithacus), short-billed corella (Cacatua
sanguinea), eastern long-billed corella (Cacatua tenuirostris), blue bonnet (Psephotus
haematogaster) rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) and other psittacine
species (Schoemaker et al., 2000; Raidal et al., 1993b; Ritchie et al., 2003).
PBFD isthe most commonly encountered disease in captive and wild psittacine birds in
Australia, where it currently threatens five species [(orange-bellied parrot (Neophema
chrysogaster), swift parrot (Lathamus discolour), Norfolk Island green parrot
(Cyanoramphus neozelandiae cookie), superb parrot (Polytelis swainsonii) and Eastern
regent parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides)] (Raidal 2004, pers comm).

If anyone wants to know more about any publications from Universities here is the link. Go to the browser bar, you can type in a search.

Baculovirus expression of beak and feather disease...[J Virol Methods. 2007] - PubMed Result

Re #4 - English - You're kidding right!? - I've been reading for over 20 minutes & only covered a small amount of the article. I'll have to read it a few times to get it into my head.

Wow - pretty cool stuff tho- e-coli does have a reason for living! - even if it is used to transport the vaccine. [if I understood that part the 1st time]

I have read and re read all the articles, there are heaps more I have been through but too many to post.
When Manau was dying I was desperate for answers. I just kept researching. That's how her website came about.
If you go to the link in my siggy, you will find all of this on the site.

It is sad, very sad indeed and people need to be aware of it.
As you can see there are variants of the disease, Pigeons, ducks etc. all have PBFD variants. Pigeons can fly a long way.
It is endemic here...Australia.

Very informative...I copied all of it and put it into Word so I can really take time to read it. And, for future referance.
Thanks Sue

This is all WAY above my head... all I know is I don't want Peggy to have it. I will try to read the other articles in the am when my mind is semi-up! K&OP