Molecular Genetic and Pathogenic Characterization of Psittacid Herpesvirus Type 1 Isolated from a Captive Galah (Eolophus roseicapillus) in Japan

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Psittacid herpesvirus type 1 (PsHV-1) was isolated from a captive galah (Eolophus roseicapillus) in Japan that was suspected of having Pacheco's disease (PD), an acute fatal disease in psittacine birds. PsHV-1 has been classified into four genotypes based on the UL16 gene sequence. In the present study, we investigated the genetic and pathogenic characteristics of the isolated virus, FOY-1, compared with a reference strain, RSL-1. The FOY-1 strain was classified into PsHV-1 genotype 2. The FOY-1 strain was found to be less pathogenic to budgerigars than RSL-1, which was classified as genotype 4 in an in vivo study. This is the first report regarding the classification of originally isolated PsHV-1 in Japan and its characterization by animal infection experiment.KEY WORDS: genotype, pathogenicity, psittacid herpesvirus.

Pacheco’s Disease Outbreak with High Mortality in Brazilian Captive Psittacine Birds

“…The disease was described in many countries, including USA (Simpson et al, 1975); Japan (Katoh et al, 2011), South Africa (Horner et al, 1992), UK (Gough and Alexander, 1993), Australia (Gabor et al, 2013) and Mexico (Turral et al, 2017).…”