Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Development and evaluation of TaqMan real-time PCR assay for detection of beak and feather disease virus.
- Journal:
- Journal of virological methods
- Year:
- 2017
- Authors:
- Černíková, Lenka et al.
- Affiliation:
- State Veterinary Institute Prague
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
Beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a serious viral illness that affects parrots and other psittacine birds. Researchers developed a new test called TaqMan real-time PCR to quickly and accurately detect the virus that causes this disease. They tested the method on samples from 36 birds known to have the virus and 107 that did not, and it successfully identified the virus in all cases, showing it can reliably detect different strains of the virus. This new test is highly efficient and consistent, making it a valuable tool for diagnosing beak and feather disease in birds.
Abstract
Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is one of the most significant viral diseases in psittacine birds. The aim of the presented study was to develop a highly specific and sensitive TaqMan real-time PCR assay for universal detection of beak and feather disease virus (BFDV). Primers and a hydrolysis probe were selected on the highly conserved regions belonging to the ORF1 of the BFDV genome which were identified by aligning 814 genomic sequences downloaded from the GenBank database. The evaluation of the reaction parameters suggested a reaction efficiency of 97.1%, with consistent detection of 10virus copies/μl of nucleic acid extract. The low values of standard deviation and coefficient of variation indicate a high degree of reproducibility and repeatability. The diagnostic applicability of the assay was proven on 36 BFDV positive and 107 negative specimens of psittacine origin representing 28 species. The assay showed a 100% ability to detect distinct genetic variants of the virus. Our data suggest that the presented TaqMan real-time PCR represents a specific, sensitive and reliable assay facilitating the molecular detection of BFDV.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28263762/