A survey for selected viral, chlamydial, and parasitic diseases in wild dusky-headed parakeets (Aratinga weddellii) and tui parakeets (Brotogeris sanctithomae) in Peru.

Thirty-eight free-ranging dusky-headed parakeets (Aratinga weddellii) and 13 tui parakeets (Brotogeris sanctithomae) were caught and released in Parque Nacional del Manu in southeastern Peru from 19 July to 5 August 1993. Blood and fecal samples were collected and sera were evaluated for titers to Pacheco's disease herpesvirus, psittacine polyomavirus, paramyxovirus-1, and Chlamydia psittaci. Fecal samples were examined for evidence of ascarid or coccidial infection by fecal flotation, and blood smears were examined for hemoparasites. Five (50%) of 10 A. weddellii serum samples tested by complement fixation (CF) for psittacine polyomavirus antibodies were positive, and three (19%) of 16 A. weddellii samples tested by virus neutralization (VN) for psittacine polyomavirus antibodies were positive, yielding a total of 8 (38%) of the 21 A. weddellii samples positive for psittacine polyomavirus. Based on CF for herpesvirus, four (11%) of 38 A. weddellii samples had antibodies against herpesvirus. All B. sanctithomae were negative for psittacine polyomavirus and psittacine herpesvirus. Thirty-five of the A. weddellii tested were negative for Chlamydia psittaci by CF, latex agglutination, and elementary body agglutination, and all B. sanctithomae were negative for Chlamydia psittaci by the CF test. Nine A. weddellii and eight B. sanctithomae evaluated for paramyxovirus-1 titers by the hemagglutination inhibition test were negative. All fecal samples were negative for ascarids or coccidia by fecal flotation, and all blood smears were negative for hemoparasites by direct microscopic examination. This is the first known description of psittacine polyomavirus and psittacine herpesvirus in free-ranging parrots. Serologic evidence of Pacheco's disease herpesvirus in wild A. weddellii is interesting in light of the fact that Aratinga spp. are considered to be possible carriers of this virus in captivity.

Epidermoptid mange in Laysan albatross fledglings in Hawaii.

Mange caused by the epidermoptid mite Myialges nudus (Acari: Epidermoptidae) is described in 31 dead fledgling Laysan albatrosses (Phoebastria immutabilis) from Midway Atoll (Hawaii, USA) sampled from 18 June to 10 July 1990 and from 21 June to 22 July 1991. This is the first record for this parasite from this host. Mites were collected from the skin; were located primarily in the stratum corneum; and were associated with mild to severe granulomatous inflammation, hyperkeratosis, dermal edema, ballooning degeneration of keratinocytes, neovascularization, and subdermal fibrosis. The severity of inflammation in some birds suggested that dermatitis due to M. nudus could be a significant cause of morbidity, or even mortality, in these birds.