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Aims:  Riemerella anatipestifer is a significant pathogen of waterfowl and turkeys. Due to their similar ecology and morphological and cultural characteristics it is important to differentiate R. anatipestifer infections from those caused by Pasteurella multocida. Present study describes a novel PCR assay that is capable of rapid and species‐specific identification of R. anatipestifer from bacterial cultures. Methods and Results:  An ERIC (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus)‐PCR fragment common to all tested isolates was used as a target for primer design. After optimization, the assay was tested on 72 R. anatipestifer strains isolated from clinical samples and identified using biochemical tests. All of these gave positive results, while heterologous pathogens, including different serotypes of P. multocida, proved to be negative. The assay was also capable of demonstrating R. anatipestifer directly from five clinical samples. Conclusions:  The presented PCR is suitable for proper identification of R. anatipestifer from culture. Preliminary investigation showed that the test could be suitable for detection of the pathogen from clinical samples as well. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The described PCR assay will improve the fast and proper identification of R. anatipestifer.

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In this work, we examined the diversity of fowl adenovirus (FAdV) types occurring in Hungary. From diseased chicken flocks in Eastern Hungary, 29 FAdV strains were isolated between 2011 and 2015. We performed molecular typing of the isolates based on their partial hexon sequences. The results showed that representatives from every FAdV species from A to E are present in Hungary, but compared to the findings from our previous survey, a lower number of different FAdV types were detected. Inclusion body hepatitis was always associated with FAdV-2 or -8b, gizzard erosion was caused in almost every case by FAdV-1. Numerous strains belonging to species FAdV-B were found. The complete genome sequence of a candidate new genotype strain, showing the highest divergence from the reference FAdV-5, was determined using next generation sequencing. In order to provide results compatible with the serology-based type classification, multiple genomic regions, including the major antigenic determinants, of the new isolate (strain 40440-M/2015) were compared to their counterparts in the prototype FAdV-5 (strain 340) from species FAdV-B, at both nucleotide and amino acid sequence levels. In different comparative analyses, the two strains were always found to have larger divergence between each other than any two of the most closely related FAdV serotypes. This new emerging FAdV genotype is already present in Hungary and Austria, though its exact pathological role requires further investigations. The introduction of a novel FAdV (geno)type for the classification of these strains is further supported.

negative, arginine-positive and phosphatase-positive. These characteristics corresponded to M columbinasale (Nagatomo and others 1997).A 16S rRNA gene-specific PCR was used to detect and amplify mycoplasma genomic sequences (Kiss and others 1997). The PCR product was sequenced and compared with nucleotide sequences deposited in GenBank. A BLAST search resulted in 97 per cent similarity to the single deposited M columbinasale sequence fragment, strongly suggesting that the present isolate was M columbinasale. However, since there was only one corresponding sequence available in GenBank at the time of the database search, it cannot be excluded that another closely related but as yet uncharacterised Mycoplasma species was isolated.The PCR tests targeting pigeon (columbid) circovirus, as described by Roy and others (2003), using the bursa of Fabricus as the sample, yielded positive reactions for each sample. The PCR product was sequenced, and a BLAST search confirmed that the product originated from columbid circovirus.In conclusion, this short communication describes a case of co-infection of pigeons with three pathogens -columbid circovirus, M columbinasale and S Typhimurium -that caused considerable damage, characterised by a high mortality rate in the affected flock. The present findings, especially the severely decreased hatching rate, suggest the major role of the Salmonella species in the disease process. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of the occurrence of M columbinasale in Hungary. Although this pathogen was found in sick birds, in co-infection with other pathogens, especially Salmonella, more studies are needed in order to elucidate the exact role and pathological effect of this mycoplasma in pigeons.

We report recurrent outbreaks of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis conjunctivitis in ducks and of fowl cholera in geese, occurring in stocks previously vaccinated with inactivated autogenous vaccines. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence-based PCR and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis indicated reinfection with a new Y. pseudotuberculosis strain and vaccine evasion by the same Pasteurella multocida strain.

An epizootic of Pacheco's disease is reported from a zoo bird population. The infection was introduced by wild-captured Patagonian conures (Cyanoliseus patagonus) despite 61 days of quarantine. The disease affected several parrot species and, interestingly, three out of seven bearded barbets (Lybius dubius). The mortality rate was 30.93%. Autopsy revealed abdominal hyperaemia with liver haemorrhages and, in less rapid cases, yellowish discoloration and fragility of the liver. Death was caused by the collapse of circulation. Histopathology demonstrated liver cell necrosis, disintegration of the lobular structure, and a few intranuclear inclusion bodies. Icosahedral virions were detected by electron microscopy. The virus was isolated in the allantoic cavity of embryonated chicken eggs as well as in chicken embryo fibroblast cell culture. A 281-bp-long fragment of psittacid herpesvirus DNA was detected by PCR in cell culture material and liver samples of the affected birds. To our knowledge this is the first report of Pacheco's disease in bearded barbets as well as the first occurrence of Pacheco's disease in Hungary.