Pigeon Pox

[Tony C]

Heard of three cases of this locally in a matter of days.

[andy Burgess]

Heard of three cases of this locally in a matter of days.

thought this was something that was about decades ago ??

[Tony C]

thought this was something that was about decades ago ??

 

last outbreak I can remember was in the late eighties.

[andy Burgess]

last outbreak I can remember was in the late eighties.

I have only seen illustrations in book,s predating the 1960,s Tony ? . how do they catch it ?

[Guest geordiejen]

its one thing after another with racing pigeons.

[St Finnan Loft]

I have only seen illustrations in book,s predating the 1960,s Tony ? . how do they catch it ?

 

Dirty water, gutters, pools etc usually a stray can then be from bird to bird.

[Tony C]

I have only seen illustrations in book,s predating the 1960,s Tony ? . how do they catch it ?

 

Those that I've seen with it have had it around the eyes & around the beak which suggests to me its passed on in the race basket by birds pecking/fighting each other. I found those that had it around the beaks also showed yellow deposits inside of their mouths which could easily be misdiagnosed as canker. It starts of as a little pimple, dark in colour.

[Guest chad3646]

there is a lot of the ferals got the pigeon pox

[andy Burgess]

Those that I've seen with it have had it around the eyes & around the beak which suggests to me its passed on in the race basket by birds pecking/fighting each other. I found those that had it around the beaks also showed yellow deposits inside of their mouths which could easily be misdiagnosed as canker. It starts of as a little pimple, dark in colour.

any ideas as to why it is about after so many years ??

[Tony C]

any ideas as to why it is about after so many years ??

 

There's a combi vaccine that does PMV & Pox, could be that recently vaccinated pigeons with this became carriers for a short time. I'll have to have a read up about it but I seem to recall it could also be carried by mosquitoes/flies and passed onto pigeon to pigeon this way.

[buster151]

yes it is passed via mosquitos

 

 

Pox occur in pigeon flocks and feral pigeons worldwide. Increased incidence of pigeon pox is observed in humid summer and warm winter weather.

 

Pathogen:

The pigeon pox virus produces typical skin and mucosal changes in pigeons. It is not infectious for humans and other mammals.

 

Symptoms of the disease:

There are two forms of pigeon pox:

 

In the skin form, birds develop scabby proliferations (pocks), especially where the outer skin meets the mucosa of the eye and beak region, and additionally on the legs. The virus penetrates the skin through minute lesions (scratches, peck lesions and insect bites). The pocks are clearly differentiated from the unchanged skin, but firmly attached to it. (NB: Do not remove them, due to risk of bleeding.)

In the mucosal form, firmly attached deposits are formed on the mucosa of the crop and pharyngeal cavity. These can impede feed and water uptake and breathing.

 

The infection usually takes a benign course, providing the skin and mucosal changes - which can also manifest simultaneously - remain confined to the local infection sites. The general condition is impaired if the virus enters the bloodstream and colonises the internal organs. Pox disease lasts for around 3-4 weeks, or even several weeks or months in undernourished pigeons. Secondary bacterial infections may complicate the disease processes.

 

Recognition of the disease:

The two forms of pox can be identified relatively easily from the typical proliferations or deposits on the skin and mucosa. If the disease is suspected, confirmation is obtained by microscopic examination of affected tissue for so-called "Bollinger inclusions", which contain large quantities of the virus.

[just ask me]

I've seen this about the last 3 or 4 year i think it's about a lot tbh i also belive its down to our weather and mosquitoes there is without a doubt different flies and mosquitoes about towards what they were years ago for e.g i spend a good amount of time in the countryside and on rivers estuaries etc up to about 6 year ago i never had a problem with been bitten then one year my arms hands and face had huge lumps from bites so bad it was i had to vist my doc due to swelling geting so bad my vision was impaired

Why i had no problems before i don't know the only thing i could think of was that there were a different breed of fly about

 

I've heard of a good few cases of pigeon pox in the last few year most were close to rivers or they had a form of wetland near by as in marsh etc

 

Would be interested to know if there any wetland around these cases

[Tony C]

Marshes & River Thames 2 miles away JAM

[just ask me]

Thanks Tony while its not directly on wetland its still quite close

 

Hope these lads get sorted its a horible virus

 

I'm still of the belive that wetlands etc is a major factor I also think we will be hearing a lot more of this over the next few year hope im wrong id definitely be taking measures if I lived near a river or wetland

[Tony C]

Thanks Tony while its not directly on wetland its still quite close

 

Hope these lads get sorted its a horible virus

 

I'm still of the belive that wetlands etc is a major factor I also think we will be hearing a lot more of this over the next few year hope im wrong id definitely be taking measures if I lived near a river or wetland

 

Heard of another three cases locally.