Marek's disease virus associated ocular lymphoma in Roulroul partridges (Rollulus rouloul)

Two 1-year old Roulroul partridges (Rollulus rouloul), one male and one female, were presented because of eye problems and anorexia. Twenty of the 30 Roulroul partridges in the owner's collection had already died. The affected birds stopped eating, became thinner, and eventually died. Antibiotic treatment, which started because of the suspicion of a septicaemic process, was unsuccessful. At clinical examination of the two partridges it was found that in both birds, one eye ball was filled with a whitish yellow amorphous material and the other eye ball of the female showed a distinct corneal opacity. Both presented birds were euthanized. Necropsy revealed no significant abnormalities in addition to the eye lesions. Histology and immunohistochemistry of the female's eye revealed an infiltrate of T-lymphocytes corresponding to ocular lymphoma. Herpesvirus genus-specific PCR, followed by Sanger sequencing confirmed the presumptive diagnosis of Marek's disease in both birds. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed case of infection with Gallid Herpesvirus 2 (Marek's disease virus) in partridges and the first case in this specific species.