Paramyxovirus turns pigeons into ‘zombies’.
One Ill health
Classified as ‘virulent and invariably dangerous’ by a sanctuary Birds
at UK
It has attracted the attention of health and zoo authorities. can change Pigeons
in’ Zombies
‘, paramyxovirus, PBMV or Newcastle disease
Affected a flock in Jersey where some birds had to be euthanized.
The birds showed several neurological signs, including twisted necks and fluttering wings. They also struggled to eat, resulting in malnutrition. In addition, they have green feces, walk in circles, often cannot fly, and are reluctant to move.
The disease does not affect humans, but there have been reports of people developing conjunctivitis after handling sick birds.
News outlets such as the New York Post, The Mirror and The Sun have reported on the outbreak in the UK.
“In recent weeks there has been an increase in the number of ground pigeons entering the JSPCA animal shelter, many of which have neurological symptoms of the ever-dangerous viral infection that affects pigeons, doves and birds,”
A spokesperson for the JSPCA Animal Shelter on the Isle of Jersey said.
A spokeswoman for the bird-watching shelter said it is a notifiable disease in captive birds — so suspected cases must be reported to authorities — but not in wild birds. He said the disease was incurable and “many birds die in a few days”.
As already reported by Agência Fapesp, cases of paramyxovirus in birds have already been detected in Brazil. In 2019, pigeons were found dead or dying near the Zoonosis Control Center in São Paulo.
Birds Avian paramyxovirus type 1 – also known as Newcastle disease virus – with genotype VI.2.1.2, is often fatal to pigeons.
“We discovered that this is a virus that has been quietly circulating in Brazil since 2014. Based on the molecular data, we observed that it was the same PPMV identified in Porto Alegre. [RS] Five years ago. And there are about 1,100 kilometers between the two cities. This fact demonstrates the ability of this pathogen to spread unnoticed”,
Luciano Matsumia Tommaselli, researcher at the Laboratory of Clinical and Molecular Virology at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of São Paulo (ICB-USP), told Agência Fapesp.
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