Community Chat

[Mindy D]

Hello. My niece is frantic. Her beloved might have PDD. If any of you have used it for PDD in your pet bird, what was the outcome?

[doxie1]

What is PDD? Is this a bird as a cockatoo?

doxie

[doxie1]

opps...sorry....I see pet bird.

doxie

[doxie1]

OK It is a virus

Has the bird tested positive for it?

[doxie1]

It seems like the tests are known for giving false positives and false negatives.

[doxie1]

This came from the birdchanneldot com

Today, however, many veterinarians are treating birds diagnosed with PDD with a special type of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) called COX-2 inhibitors. This is a treatment developed a few years ago by Robert Dahlhausen, DVM, an avian researcher and co-founder of Research Associates Laboratory in Milford, Ohio. These drugs, however, are still relatively new treatments, so whether they are or aren’t helpful in the long-term remains to be seen.

Dahlhausen has had a lot of success with a particular NSAID called CelebrexTM. “In the past, there was really a very poor prognosis for a bird with PDD,” Dahlhausen said. “Now, with the majority of the birds we see, we can turn the situation around and save them.” He’s had avian patients that he treated with Celebrex three and four years ago for PDD that are still alive and doing well.

Jenkins, too, has been treating his patients with Celebrex. “With several of them, we just treated them for six weeks back in 1999, and their symptoms have not come back,” he said.

Rosenthal also had success with another COX-2 NSAID, Moloxycam (Medicam). It’s not a cure-all, however, for all birds, she said. “Some pet birds do very well on Medicam treatments and can actually be weaned off it. Other birds do OK for a while and then become resistant to it, and some pet birds are not affected at all by the Medicam and go downhill,” she said. “All I can say is the sooner we catch them in this disease, the better the chance of Medicam working well for them.”

Other veterinarians are not as optimistic about the COX-2 drugs. “These drugs may be helpful and improve the quality of life for a period of time, but they are not a cure,” Taylor maintained.

Ritchie concurred. “The drug can slow down the inflammatory response, but that doesn’t cure the infection,” he said. “It’s no different than taking Celebrex for arthritis; if you go off the drug, you still have arthritis. The same is true with PDD. You can’t cure an infectious disease with an anti-inflammatory drug.”

[doxie1]

I would contact one of these two- Maybe start with Ritchie

Two researchers in North America are currently conducting PDD research. One is of avian medical researcher Branson Ritchie, DVM, Dip., ABVP — Avian Practice, the head of the Emerging Diseases Research Group and professor of avian and exotic animal medicine at The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine., and the other is Michael Taylor, DVM, DVM, Dip., ABVP — Avian Practice, Clinical Service Chief at the Avian and Exotic Clinic at the University of Guelph at the Ontario Veterinary College. Both believe PDD probably has a viral cause.

Ritchie’s team at the University of Georgia has been able to isolate a virus that they believe may be the causative agent of PDD. “We suspect that PDD is caused by a virus, but, at this stage, I still can’t say that without a doubt it is. It does, however, meet a lot of the criteria that are classically reserved for viruses,” Ritchie said.

doxie

[Mindy D]

The virus associated with PDD was isolated in 2008. I'm looking for actual owners that have had to try Celebrex with their cockatoos to prolong their life. I want to know if their birds lived or died. I need firsthand experience with owners.

[doxie1]

Sorry. Disregard my posts. I thought you may want to talk with one of the specialists with it in North America.

I do not have first hand experience. I wish your niece well

doxie

[depglass]

Doxie, your posts were very informative. I don't think she meant to be so clipped. I don't have birds but I read this whole thing because I am on Celebrex. Its one expensive drug, but I know how pet owners are.