Short Beak and Dwarfism Syndrome in Ducks in Poland Caused by Novel Goose Parvovirus.

Short beak and dwarfism syndrome (SBDS), which was previously identified only in mule ducks, is now an emerging disease of Pekin ducks in China and Egypt. The disease is caused by the infection of ducks with a genetic variant of goose parvovirus-novel goose parvovirus (nGPV). In 2019, SBDS was observed for the first time in Poland in eight farms of Pekin ducks. Birds in the affected flock were found to show growth retardation and beak atrophy with tongue protrusions. Morbidity ranged between 15% and 40% (in one flock), while the mortality rate was 4-6%. Co-infection with duck circovirus, a known immunosuppressive agent, was observed in 85.7% of ducks. The complete coding regions of four isolates were sequenced and submitted to GenBank. The phylogenetic analysis revealed a close relationship of Polish viral sequences with the Chinese nGPV. Genomic sequence alignments showed 98.57-99.28% identity with the nGPV sequences obtained in China, and 96.42% identity with the classical GPV (cGPV; Derzsy's disease). The rate of amino acid mutations in comparison to cGPV and Chinese nGPV was higher in the Rep protein than in the Vp1 protein. To our knowledge, this is the first report of nGPV infection in Pekin ducks in Poland and Europe. It should be emphasized that monitoring and sequencing of waterfowl parvoviruses is important for tracking the viral genetic changes that enable adaptation to new species of waterbirds.

Molecular epidemiologic investigation of Polish avian Pasteurella multocida strains isolated from fowl cholera outbreaks showing restricted geographical and host-specific distribution.

Molecular epidemiologic analyses of the 42 clinical isolates of Pasteurella multocida from various avian hosts (geese, ducks, turkeys, and laying hens) in Poland from 2001 to 2011, including a single reference strain, were performed by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR, single primer PCR, and repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP)-PCR. Forty-two isolates were identified as P. multocida (serotype A). The majority of P. multocida strains were obtained from waterfowl clustered within one genotype, and they were not consistent with the genotypes obtained from the turkey strains. Pasteurella multocida showed genetic homogeneity between the host species, especially when isolated on the same farm. Some of the clones also were characteristic to the particular farm. The strains obtained in different regions represent distinct molecular patterns. The present findings demonstrate that some clones of P. multocida are restricted in geographical and host distribution. In addition, this study suggests that ERIC-PCR, single primer PCR, and REP-PCR are suitable techniques for studying the host adaptation of P. multocida and the epidemiology of fowl cholera.

Molecular characterisation of an avihepadnavirus isolated from Psittacula krameri (ring-necked parrot).

Avihepadnaviruses have been documented previously in ducks, herons, geese, storks and cranes. Here, we describe the full genome of a new avihepadnavirus isolated from Psittacula krameri (ring-necked parrot) in Poland. The parrot hepatitis B virus (PHBV) genome (3042 bp) shares <76% sequence identity with other avihepadnavirus isolates and is phylogenetically most closely related to heron and stork hepatitis B viruses isolates. PHBV has a genome organization similar to that of other hepadnaviruses and contains ORFs for a preC/C, preS/S and polyprotein. Additionally, we identified an X-like ORF in the genome of PHBV. The full-genome data will be useful in developing screening tools for avihepadnaviruses in parrots.