SURVEY FOR RETICULOENDOTHELIOSIS VIRUSES IN WILD POPULATIONS OF GREATER AND LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS

Abstract

Reticuloendotheliosis (RE) is a viral disease documented from poultry, which has been found to cause mortality in captive Attwater's (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) and Greater (T. c. pinnatus) prairie-chickens. We surveyed blood samples from 354 Greater Prairie-Chickens from seven states collected during 1998, 1999, and 2000, and from 184 Lesser Prairie-Chickens (T. pallidicinctus) from three states during 1999 and 2000, for the presence of RE virus proviral DNA using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. All samples were negative for the presence of RE virus proviral DNA except for two samples collected from male Greater Prairie-Chickens taken in Oklahoma during 1998. This suggests that RE may not be a serious problem for most wild populations of prairie-chickens. Although our results were largely negative, because of the serious consequences of RE, the presence of the disease in wild populations of prairie-chickens should be carefully considered in any future relocation and reintroduction efforts.