Novel adenoviruses from captive psittacine birds in Slovenia

To assess the prevalence of adenoviruses in psittacine birds kept in Slovenia, 258 cloacal swabs were collected from different psittacine species and screened by a nested PCR with degenerate, consensus primers targeting the adenoviral DNA polymerase gene. Forty-two samples were found to be positive. By sequencing, 28 samples from 10 different parrot species were identified as the formerly described siadenovirus, psittacine adenovirus 2 (PsAdV-2). A second siadenovirus, a variant of PsAdV-5 (described earlier from Pacific parrotlet, sun parakeet, cockatiel and budgerigar) was found in seven budgerigars, two cockatiels and an amazon parrot species. A variant of Meyer’s parrot adenovirus (aviadenovirus, proposed PsAdV-8) was identified in an African grey parrot and a cockatiel. Two novel atadenoviruses were revealed in cockatiel (PsAdV-9) and rose-ringed parakeet (PsAdV-10). These results support the earlier finding that many PsAdVs can cross the species barrier among psittacines, especially effectively in the case of PsAdV-2. •Two novel atadenoviruses were found in psittacine birds kept in Slovenia.•A variant of Meyer’s parrot adenovirus (an aviadenovirus) was identified.•Two earlier described siadenoviruses were found in 13 psittacine species.•Psittacine adenoviruses proved capable of crossing the species barrier.