Psittacine beak and feather disease-like illness in Gouldian finches (Chloebia gouldiae).

Abstract

Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) is a member of the genus Circovirus and causes psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) in Psittaciformes. PBFD is a severe disease generally characterized by immunodeficiency and beak and feather disorders. Although Circovirus spp. have been detected in several nonpsittacine species, little is known about the symptoms and the disease associated with this infection in birds other than Psittaciformes. In this study, we report the identification of Circovirus infection in a flock of Gouldian finches showing beak and feather disorders. Sequence analyses on the rep gene of the virus highlighted a strong similarity at nucleotide and amino acid levels with the corresponding regions of BFDV from psittacine species. By contrast, it was more distant to circoviruses identified in finch and canary.