2007 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 77-80
A female Japanese rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus japonicus) in captivity died of an unknown reason in 1985. The carcass was stored at -15℃ until 2005 and then examined to define the cause of death. Finding a nodular lesion on the cere, avian poxvirus (APV) infection was suspected. An APV-specific 4b core gene sequence was detected in DNA samples prepared from lung, liver and the nodular lesion by PCR. The nucleotide sequence of the PCR product showed 100% identity to seven sequences of fowlpox virus (FWPV) previously reported. Integration of nearly intact reticuloendotheliosis virus gene which specifically found in virulent FWPV was also detected. These results indicate that the Japanese rock ptarmigan was died with FWPV infection.
