ASK THE VET (Part II: Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease)

Abnormal feathers can be caused by nutritional deficiencies, hormonal abnormalities, and viral diseases such as PBFD and polyoma virus.

PBFD should be considered in any psitticine bird that displays progressive feather loss or abnormal feathers. Confirmation can be obtained by a very sensitive and specific test using a DNA probe which detects a portion of the PBFD viral nucleic acid.* Whole, anticoagulated blood should be submitted from a bird without feather abnormalities, while both blood and several abnormal feathers should be submitted from a clinically abnormal bird.

A positive test indicates that viral nucleic acid is present. A positive test in a bird with feather pathology is strongly suggestive of an active infection. A positive test in a clinically normal bird indicates that the bird has had a recent exposure to the virus or is latently infected.

It is possible for a bird to undergo a transient subclinical infection. This means that the bird's immune system is able to eliminate the virus. This is why it is recommended that a normal appearing bird who tests positive be retested 90 days later. If the bird has eliminated the virus it will test negative. If it remains positive, it should be considered latently infected and should be expected to break out with clinical disease in the future.

All newly purchased birds, and any bird to be added to a collection or used for breeding, should be tested for PBFD. Remember, this is considered a fatal disease, and there is no cure, or treatment known.

A pet bird with PBFD can live a long life if it is in a stress-free environment. It would never have contact with other birds since it is capable of spreading the virus.