An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Fowlpox

Scientific Name

Avipoxvirus (Pringle 1999)

Common Name

Fowlpox, avian pox, canarypox, juncopox, mynahpox, pigeonpox, psittacinepox, quailpox, sparrowpox, starlingpox, turkeypox viruses

Native To

Historically occurred worldwide (USGS 1999)

Date of U.S. Introduction

Historically present in the continental U.S.; was first discovered in Hawaii in 1902 (Lebbin et al. 2010; Loope 2010)

Means of Introduction

Probably introduced to Hawaii with imported birds and was spread by introduced mosquito species (Loope 2010)

Impact

Viral disease that infects over 60 species of birds (USGS 1999)

Current U.S. Distribution

Has occurred throughout the U.S.

Avian pox - DOI, USGS
Image use policy

Avian pox lesions typically are found on featherless parts of the body.

Credit

Wallace R. Hansen

Find more images

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Partnership
International Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Professional
Citations
  • Lebbin, D.J., M.J. Parr, and G.H. Fenwick. 2010. Avian malaria and pox. In: The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation (pp. 308-309). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

  • Loope, L. 2010. Hawaiian Islands: Invasions. In: D. Simberloff and M. Rejmanek (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions (pp. 309-319). Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press.

  • Pringle, C.R. 1999. Virus taxonomy – 1999. Archives of Virology 144(2):421-429.

  • USGS Biological Resources Division. 1999. Avian pox In: M. Friend. and J.C. Franson (Eds.), Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases: General Field Procedures and Diseases of Birds (Information and Technology Report 1999-001, pp. 163-170). Washington, D.C.: Department of the Interior.