Herpesvirus infection resembling Pacheco's disease in Amazon parrots.

Herpesvirus infection was diagnosed in two parrots that died suddenly in a pet shop. Gross lesions were confined to reddening of the small intestinal mucosa. Histological examination of tissues from one specimen revealed a hepatitis and splenitis accompanied by intranuclear inclusions. Cowdry type A inclusions were observed in tissue culture and within the nuclei of chick embryo hepatocytes. Virus particles with a morphological similarity to herpesviruses were identified in electron microscope studies. The condition was considered to represent a case of Pacheco's parrot disease.