Investigations on the aetiology of pinching off syndrome in four white-tailed sea eagles ( Haliaeetus albicilla ) from Germany

• Published in: Avian Pathology
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2010
• Subjects: Life Sciences; Haliaeetus albicilla
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2262/46654; https://doi.org/10.1080/03079450701338748

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the aetiology of the pinching off syndrome (POS), a generalised feather abnormality affecting free-living fledglings of the white-tailed sea eagle ( Haliaeetus albicilla ) (WTSE) in Europe. For the first time, extensive clinical, haematological, biochemical, virological, bacteriological, nutritional, histopathological, parasitological and electron microscopical examinations were performed on three females and one male suffering from POS. Early and increased cytokeratin formation at the base of regenerating feathers and their follicle was observed in affected birds. Ultrathin sections of the feather papillae revealed an extended stratum transitivum and a compact, thickened keratinised stratum corneum. The transitional cells in POS feathers contained vacuoles often associated with the nucleus. Lipofuscin accumulations in neurons, glia cells and islet cells of the pancreas were found in all examined birds. It was not clear if there is an association between the occurrence of lipofuscin and POS. No evidence that infectious agents (parasites, bacteria, fungi or viruses), malnutrition or hormonal imbalances are involved in the aetiology of POS in WTSEs. It remains unclear whether there is a genetic background of POS. : User ID: 4263090 merged with this user on 24-May-2006 by Cavanagh, Dave; Hafez, Hafez, [e-mail] [Last in: 29-Aug-2007 3:08 AM] merged with this user on 21-May-2009 by Lammey, Rachael; User ID: 3073987 merged with this user on 04-Jul-2007 by Cavanagh, Verity User ID: 5283477 merged with this user on 04-Jul-2007 by Cavanagh, Verity (Hafez, Hafez Mohamed) : Lierz, Michael, [e-mail] merged with this user on 21-May-2009 by Lammey, Rachael (Lierz, Michael) : Mankertz, Annette, [e-mail] [Last in: 30-May-2007 8:54 AM] merged with this user on 18-Jun-2009 by Douglas, Clare-Louise (Mankertz, Anette ) : Raue, Rudiger, [e-mail] merged with this user on 21-May-2009 by Lammey, Rachael (Raue, Rudiger) : Soike, Dirk, [e-mail] merged with this user on 21-May-2009 by Lammey, Rachael (Soike, Dirk) [e-mail] (Muller, Kerstin) [e-mail] (Schettler, Elvira) [e-mail] (Gerlach, Helga) [e-mail] (Brunnberg, Leo) [e-mail] (Hafez, Hafez Mohamed) [e-mail] (Hattermann, Kim) [e-mail] (Johne, Reimar) [e-mail] (Kollmann, Rainer) [e-mail] (Krone, Oliver) [e-mail] (Lierz, Michael) [e-mail] (Linke, Sonja) [e-mail] (Luschow, Dorte) [e-mail] (Mankertz, Anette ) [e-mail] (Muller, Hermann) [e-mail] (Prusas, Christina) [e-mail] (Raue, Rudiger) [e-mail] (Soike, Dirk) [e-mail] (Speck, Stephanie) [e-mail] (Wolf, Petra) [e-mail] (Frolich, Kai) Small Animal Clinic, Free University of Berlin - Berlin - GERMANY (Muller, Kerstin) Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research - Berlin - GERMANY (Schettler, Elvira) Wildlife Park Eekholt - Gro?enaspe - GERMANY (Schettler, Elvira) Munich - GERMANY (Gerlach, Helga) Small Animal Clinic, Free University of Berlin - Berlin - GERMANY (Brunnberg, Leo) Institute for Poultry Diseases, Free University of Berlin - Berlin - GERMANY (Hafez, Hafez Mohamed) Robert Koch Institute - Berlin - GERMANY (Hattermann, Kim) Institute for Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig - Leipzig - GERMANY (Johne, Reimar) Project Group for the Protection of the White-tailed Sea Eagle - Kiel - GERMANY (Kollmann, Rainer) Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research - Berlin - GERMANY (Krone, Oliver) Institute for Poultry Diseases, Free University of Berlin - Berlin - GERMANY (Lierz, Michael) Robert Koch Institute - Berlin - GERMANY (Linke, Sonja) Institute for Poultry Diseases, Free University of Berlin - Berlin - GERMANY (Luschow, Dorte) Robert Koch Institute - Berlin - GERMANY (Mankertz, Anette ) Institute for Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig - Leipzig - GERMANY (Muller, Hermann) Institute for Poultry Diseases, Free University of Berlin - Berlin - GERMANY (Prusas, Christina) Institute for Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig - Leipzig - GERMANY (Raue, Rudiger) Landesamt fur Verbraucherschutz und Landwirtschaft - Potsdam - GERMANY (Soike, Dirk) Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research - Berlin - GERMANY (Speck, Stephanie) Department of Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover - Hannover - GERMANY (Wolf, Petra) Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research - Berlin - GERMANY (Frolich, Kai) GERMANY