The occurrence of Columbid herpesvirus-1 (CoHV-1) in domestic pigeons presents a potential threat for their husbandry and trade. CoHV-1 causes Smadel disease among pigeons but may not be manifested by any clinical signs and complicates secondary infections. The material for our study originated from 42 domestic pigeons sent to private veterinary practice in Lublin, Poland, between 2011 and 2013. Some of birds showed clinical signs similar to Smadel disease. The cytological examination also indicated on CoHV-1 infection. The incidence of CoHV-1 was tested in DNA extracted from liver of birds by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). LAMP was used for the monitoring of CoHV-1 presence among pigeons in Poland. Our study showed that LAMP was capable of detecting CoHV-1 presence in 8 (19%) of 42 examined birds without the use of any advanced laboratory equipment. The results were confirmed by real-time PCR and virus isolation in chicken embryo fibroblasts. This is the first report on LAMP application for successful detection of CoHV-1 in domestic pigeons.
Significance and impact of the study: The incidence of Columbid herpesvirus-1 (CoHV-1) in pigeons was examined for the first time by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). The study showed the presence of CoHV-1 in 8 of 42 examined domestic pigeons. LAMP technique developed within this study may be used by not well-equipped veterinary laboratories.
Keywords: Columbid herpesvirus-1; Pigeons; Smadel disease; loop-mediated isothermal amplification.
© 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.