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Avipoxvirus in great tits (Parus major)

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Abstract

A total of six cases and 37 suspect cases of skin avipoxvirus infection in great tits (Parus major) have been described in central Europe since 2005. Most of the cases were diagnosed during the winter season, from October to March. Analyses of the 4b core protein gene showed identical or almost identical DNA sequence in six isolates (one from Austria, three from Hungary, and two from Czech Republic). A morphogenesis of the avipoxvirus including a constitution of acidophilic-type inclusions (ATIs) was documented by electron microscopy in cells from lesions on great tits found in Czech Republic. Moreover, the ATI body protein gene was demonstrated using polymerase chain reaction in the isolate that caused ATIs. A number of new cases of poxvirus infection in great tits have emerged in central Europe since 2005, and the reason for this sudden increase remains unknown.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank S. Bosch, J. Cepak, J. Chytil, P. Kafka, V. Kovar, A. Kristin, P. Kverek, L. Novak, K. Novotny, P. Obona, M. Polak, T. Pospisil, J. Stolarczyk, and M. Strnad for information about findings of great tits skin lesion in the wild. This study was funded by grants nos. MSM6215712402 and MZe0002716202 from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic and Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, respectively. The authors declare that the study complies with the current laws of the Czech Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho 1-3, Brno, 612 42, Czech Republic

    Ivan Literak & Eva Roubalova

  2. Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, Brno, 621 00, Czech Republic

    Pavel Kulich & Blanka Robesova

  3. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, tr. Svobody 26, Olomouc, 771 46, Czech Republic

    Peter Adamik

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  1. Ivan Literak
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  2. Pavel Kulich
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  3. Blanka Robesova
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  4. Peter Adamik
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  5. Eva Roubalova
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Correspondence to Ivan Literak.

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Communicated by W. Lutz

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Literak, I., Kulich, P., Robesova, B. et al. Avipoxvirus in great tits (Parus major). Eur J Wildl Res 56, 529–534 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-009-0345-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-009-0345-5

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