Abstract
Presented at the 1985 American Racing Pigeon Union Convention in Clearwater Beach, Florida on December 3-8, 1985.
It was just over a year ago that I first heard from Joe Quinn as chairman of The National Avian Disease Task Force for Pigeons and Doves. He was looking for a licensed laboratory to develop and produce a vaccine for Avian Paramyxovirus Type 1 (PMV-1). At that time I had absolutely no conception of the pigeon business. However, I had been in the chicken vaccine business for 28 years. My lab was the first U.S. lab to introduce a killed virus Newcastle Disease vaccine some 2 5 years ago and we have made many advances since then. Newcastle is also a Type I Paramyxovirus and very similar to-the PMV-1 of pigeons. So it seemed logical that we could produce a PMV-1 vaccine for pigeons. I studied the scientific literature and found that most of the work had been done by Dr. Alexander in England who showed distinct differences between the pigeon virus and the chicken virus. Although it is the same virus as Newcastle Disease Virus in chickens, it has changed. It has become adapted to pigeons. It now causes a serious disease in pigeons but not in chickens. From his work, and from experience in Europe it was obvious that live virus Newcastle Disease Vaccine for chickens provided only poor protection in pigeons. On the other hand, the killed virus Newcastle Disease Vaccine has been extensively used in Europe with apparent success.
I could have recommended the use of our regular Newcastle Disease Vaccine -Killed Virus and I believe it would have provided reasonably good protection. However, I considered the degree of exposure from contact that pigeons are subjected to in races and shows and from buying and selling. I also considered the high value of some pigeons, both monetary and sentimental. I also considered that there were distinct serological differences between the chicken virus and the pigeon virus. I decided that I should provide the most effective vaccine possible. This would have to be a vaccine produced with the actual pigeon virus. So this is what we used to make the vaccine.
Before discussing this vaccine I'd like to discuss the disease itself. PMV-1 was first diagnosed in pigeons in The Sudan and Egypt in 1981. It was diagnosed in Italy and Spain in early 1982. It only took about a year for it to spread throughout Europe. PMV-1 was first diagnosed in pigeons in England in May of 1983, and in New York in early 1984. In England, by law, all outbreaks must be reported to the government. There were 192 outbreaks reported in 1983. They determined that 133 (or 70%) of these cases were caused by racing pigeon contact. Most of these outbreaks occurred in August, September and October ( during the young bird racing season). Although a killed virus vaccine became available, only a small percentage of the flyers used it. There were many false fears about the use of a vaccine that had to be injected. So, the virus continued to spread. There were 810 cases reported in 1984. I am told that the situation has been as bad in 1985.
The spread of PMV-1 in the U.S.A. is difficult to determine. Most cases are not taken to a diagnostic lab or to a veterinarian. There is no federal system of reporting such as is present in England, so most cases are not reported. Many fanciers seem to regard it as a social disease and try to hide it. This, of course, leads to further spread. PMV-1 was first diagnosed in New York City and Long Island in early 1984. By late 1984 it spread to Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. During the 1985 old bird racing season it reached epidemic proportions in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, northern Maryland and some areas of New Jersey. It was also serious in some parts of Ohio.
During the late summer and fall I have heard of relatively few isolated infections. I have been told that it has been a continuing problem in New Jersey and New York. Usually these reports are hard to confirm but I believe they have occurred in California, Arizona, Florida, Missouri and probably many other states. In Canada, PMV-1 has been diagnosed in several western provinces, where the disease was introduced by birds imported from Belgium. Being aware of the rapid spread of PMV-1 in some areas during the old bird racing season, I expected to see an even worse situation during the young bird racing season. Keep in mind that this was the time of the greatest spread in England. However, as near as I know, it did not occur. Perhaps I am not close enough to the "grapevine" to really know what is happening. However, in late October and November I am aware of a large number of serious outbreaks of PMV-1 that have occurred in Massachusetts, whre one loft lost 36 of 56 birds. Joe Quinn told me that there has also been at least eight outbreaks in the Columbus, Ohio area with 90 of 120 birds dead in one loft. Perhaps this is the end result of infection spread during the young bird racing season that didn't show up until later. Unfortunately, the flyers are still trying to keep it quiet.
I am positive of one case of PMV-1 in fancy pigeons in Maine, because I diagnosed it. This was a case of a breeder buying two pigeons at a show in New Hampshire. A few weeks later, he saw symptoms and took this bird to a poultry diagnostic laboratory with which I am associated. We made a tentative diagnosis of PMV-1 (which was later confirmed) and he immediately vaccinated his loft. I can't help but believe that this same thing has happened many times in other states.
I will briefly describe the symptoms of PMV-1. An early symptom is loose droppings but this could be caused by many conditions. PMV-1 affects the bird's nervous system. Early symptoms are incoordination causing difficulty in flying, walking or eating. This progresses into trembling, twisted necks, paralysis of one or both wings or legs, and often terminates in complete paralysis and death.