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A novel passerivirus (family Picornaviridae) in an outbreak of enteritis with high mortality in estrildid finches (Uraeginthus sp.)

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Abstract

An enteric outbreak with high mortality (34/52, 65.4%) was recorded in 2014 in home-reared estrildid finches (Estrildidae) in Hungary. A novel passerivirus was identified in a diseased violet-eared waxbill using viral metagenomics and confirmed by RT-(q)PCR. The complete genome of finch picornavirus strain waxbill/DB01/HUN/2014 (MF977321) showed the highest amino acid sequence identity of 38.9%, 61.6%, 69.6% in P1cap, 2Chel and 3CproDpol, respectively, to passerivirus A1 (GU182406). A high viral load (6.58 × 1010 genomic copies/ml) was measured in a cloacal specimen and in the tissues (spinal cord, lung, and the intestines) of two additional affected finches. In addition to intestinal symptoms (diarrhoea), the presence of extra-intestinal virus suggests a generalized infection in this fatal disease, for which the passerivirus might be a causative agent.

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Acknowledgements

The authors especially thank Tibor Jantyik for providing the dead estrildid finches and for his helpful comments. Thanks to Béla Markos (Animal Health Veterinary Laboratory LTD.) for giving laboratory information about the birds that were examined. This work was supported by grants from the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA/NKFIH K111615). P.P and B.Á. were supported by the János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Regional Laboratory of Virology, National Reference Laboratory of Gastroenteric Viruses, ÁNTSZ Regional Institute of State Public Health Service, Pécs, Hungary

    Péter Pankovics, Ákos Boros & Gábor Reuter

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12, Pécs, 7624, Hungary

    Péter Pankovics, Ákos Boros & Gábor Reuter

  3. Blood Systems Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Tung Gia Phan & Eric Delwart

  4. University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Eric Delwart

Authors
  1. Péter Pankovics
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  2. Ákos Boros
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  4. Eric Delwart
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  5. Gábor Reuter
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Correspondence to Gábor Reuter.

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Funding

This study funded by Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA/NKFIH K111615) by the Hungarian Nature Research Society.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Diego G. Diel.

The GenBank[/EMBL/DDBJ] accession number for the study sequence: MF977321-MF977323.

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Pankovics, P., Boros, Á., Phan, T.G. et al. A novel passerivirus (family Picornaviridae) in an outbreak of enteritis with high mortality in estrildid finches (Uraeginthus sp.). Arch Virol 163, 1063–1071 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-017-3699-0

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