A method of preventing transmission of so-called "megabacteria" in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus)
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abstract
"Megabacteriosis" is a condition affecting many psittacine and nonpsittacine birds for which an effective, reliable therapy and means of prevention have not been developed. Megabacteriosis has been associated with a chronic wasting condition in the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) termed "going light," but the organism also has been detected in clinically healthy, thriving birds. In this study, removing eggs from the nests of megabacteria-positive adult budgerigars and hand-raising hatchlings under isolation conditions prevented transmission of megabacteria in all offspring. Staining fecal smears and histologic tissues with Calcofluor White-M2R also was shown to be a reliable means of demonstrating megabacteria. Hand-raising budgerigar hatchlings, and those of other avian species in which megabacteriosis is considered to be of concern, is a potentially valuable method of producing offspring that are free of this organism. 2001 by the Association of Avian Veterinarians.
