An outbreak of Pacheco's parrot disease in psittacine birds recently imported to Campania, Italy : isolation of psittacid herpesvirus 2

The authors describe an outbreak of Pacheco's Parrot Disease (PPD) which occurred in Italy in recently imported psittacine birds and was caused by Psittacid Herpesvirus type 2 (PsiHV2). The authors stress the different susceptibility to the disease in the species involved. This outbreak showed the failure of the vaccine prophylaxis that had been administered to the birds with ordinary commercial preparations containing Psittacid Herpesvirus type 1. The authors emphasize the necessity of producing a vaccine containing inactivated viruses of all known serotypes.