Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD), caused by beak and feather disease virus (PBFDV) is the most significant infectious disease in psittacine birds. The virus infects and kills the cells of the feather and beak as well as cells of the immune system, causing irreversible feather dystrophy and loss, beak abnormalities and variable degrees of immunosuppression which may result in lethal secondary infection. Spontaneous recovery does occur although most chronically affected birds do not recover. Clinically the disease can present as acute or chronic, affecting both young and mature birds. Acute infections are usually accompanied by signs of illness with severe mortality and feather abnormalities in young birds, whereas chronic infections can be insidious in progression, making diagnosis difficult. In these cases, infection with PBFD must be differentiated from avian polyomavirus and, to a lesser extent, herpesvirus, which appears to be a recent introduction to Australia, with very little as yet known about its incidence and distribution. The aim of this study was to use current serological diagnostic tools and a qPCR detection assay to investigate virus excretion in different sample types collected from PBFD-infected lorikeets over a period of 18 months. Only lorikeets were studied in order to minimise the impact of possible virus genotypes affecting detection of the virus.

The Bearded Dragon (Pogona spp), a native of Australia, is now found worldwide as a popular pet. Anecdotal reports indicate that it is starting to surpass the Iguana as the preferred pet reptile in the United States. In Australia, it is found widely distributed in the wild, although strict wildlife regulations mean that it is relatively uncommonly kept as a pet. It is a member of the family Agamidae – the dragon lizards - a group of lizards found throughout the western Pacific, Australia, Indo-Malaysia, Asia and Africa. Characterized by a lack of autotomy (tail loss), the presence of tubercles and spines on juxtaposed scaled skin and a broad, flat fleshy tongue, this family is represented in Australia by the Bearded Dragon, water dragons, the Frilled Lizard and many other species. Most agamids are terrestrial, although a few are semiarboreal. They are oviparous, usually laying their eggs in shallow burrows.

of the interior of body organs, joints, or cavities through an endoscope—had its beginnings in the early 1900s when lighted telescopes were first used to examine inside a human patient. Since its inception, endoscopic examination has increased significantly in both human and veterinary medicine. New endoscopic techniques and equipment are constantly being developed to improve diagnostic ability. Veterinary endoscopy is relatively new when compared with human endoscopy, but veterinary medicine has a wide range of patients that can benefit from this technology. p r o c e d u r e s p r o E N D O S C O P Y