Antigenic and biological characterisation of avian paramyxovirus type I isolates from pigeons--an international collaborative study

During 1981-1983 a disease of pigeons (Columba livia), characterised predominantly by nervous signs, spread across Europe. In the present study 57 viruses isolated from pigeons from 15 countries (12 European, Japan, Israel and Sudan) were characterised. All were shown to be avian paramyxoviruses of the A/PMV-1 serotype. Monoclonal antibody binding tests showed 53 of the viruses to be identical. The virus from Sudan was similar to these viruses but showed distinguishable variation. One vaccinal virus from France and two virulent viruses from Czechoslovakia were unrelated to the other pigeon A/PMV-1 isolates.