A comparative infection study of pigeon and avian paramyxovirus type 1 viruses in pigeons: evaluation of clinical signs, virus shedding and seroconversion

Jos Dortmans (1) , Guus Koch (1) , Peter Rottier (2) , Ben Peeters (1)

1 Virology
2 Virology

The pathogenesis of pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 (PPMV-1) isolate AV324/96 and of its recombinant derivative, rgAV324, was studied in pigeons. For comparison the virulent chicken virus FL-Herts, which is a recombinant derivative of strain Herts/33, was also included. After inoculation by the combined intraocular, intranasal and intratracheal route, clinical signs, virus shedding and serological responses were examined. Clinical symptoms were only observed in the FL-Herts infected group. All virus-inoculated pigeons had positive tracheal swabs until 5 days post infection. However, only the AV324/96 and rgAV324 infected birds, and not the FL-Herts infected animals, shed virus in the cloaca. The AV324/96 infected pigeons showed higher mean antibody titres than the rgAV324 infected animals, whereas the antibody titres of the FL-Herts infected group were rather low. The results show that the pigeon strain AV324 is not virulent for pigeons, but underlines the potential risk of poultry becoming infected by PPMV-1 shed by non-symptomatic pigeons.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Domaines: Biologie animale

Jos Dortmans, Guus Koch, Peter Rottier, Ben Peeters. A comparative infection study of pigeon and avian paramyxovirus type 1 viruses in pigeons: evaluation of clinical signs, virus shedding and seroconversion. Avian Pathology, 2011, 40 (02), pp.125-130. ⟨10.1080/03079457.2010.542131⟩. ⟨hal-00687800⟩