Date

2021

Degree

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

College

College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Rey B. Oronan, Emilia A. Lastica-Ternura

Abstract

Waterfowls are believed to be reservoirs and transmitters of aquatic bird bornavirus. The virus targets the central and peripheral nervous system and causes neurologic abnormalities and/or gastrointestinal dysfunction due to the involvement of the gastrointestinal autonomic nervous system. Infected waterfowls are typically asymptomatic and tend to be lifelong carriers and long-term shedders of the virus. A total 81 fecal samples were collected from five enclosures housing various species of waterfowls from an aviary in Calamba, Laguna. The samples were analyzed by RT-PCR using primers that target a highly conserved region of the matrix (M) gene located between nucleotide positions 1911 and 2261 and revealed that aquatic bird bornavirus was not present in the captive waterfowls in the aviary. Although not detected in this study, the presence of the virus in waterfowls in the Philippines cannot be completely ruled out. Increasing the number of samples, serial sample collection, and further studies including captive waterfowls and wild/migrating waterfowls from different parts of the Philippines can increase the probability of detecting the presence of the virus.

Keywords: Aquatic bird bornavirus, avian bornavirus, waterfowl, reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction

Language

English

Location

UPLB College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM)

Notes

Best Thesis in Veterinary Microbiology, 2021

Document Type

Thesis

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