Following slide presentations of current work by the Emerging Diseases Research Group at the University of Georgias College of Veterinary Medicine (see EDRG RESEARCH below), Dr. Branson Ritchie reached into the 415 tickets his supporters had purchased and withdrew winning ticket A0067, belonging to Kari Banta, an Austin, Texas transportation planner.

Kari won a unique quilt that is the first of its kind in avian charity fundraising, a collaborative collage of colorful parrots assembled by charity quilter Ardith Raine in Las Vegas, Nevada, from quilt squares (blocks) sewn by seasoned and amateur bird lovers and bird clubs across the U.S.

Photographed block by block and in its entirety, the Birds of a Feather Quilt was impressive to see on the Internet. But displayed behind AHN tables at several Bird Marts to test its road appeal, the quilt was absolutely striking. Some passersby found it very moving, indeed, and many more browsers than usual stopped to hear about PDD, often staying to buy a ticket (or 5, for a price discount) in the hope of winning the unique piece. One man offered to buy it outright for a princely sum. When table volunteers explained that the quilt was a drawing prize, he asked for the names of the contributors so he could contact them to make a quilt just like this one.

The names of AHNs QuiltingBirds are not for sale, of course, but they should certainly be acknowledged. As the quilt is made with many small stitches, it is also made of many gifts of time and talent and heart and pocket money by the people most affected by this brutal disease. AHNs QuiltingBirds developed quilter guidelines, stitched squares, helped AHN plan and orchestrate its first charity quilt program.

The Quiltingbirds and other volunteers are acknowledged in the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the Challenge, available at www.stopPDD.org.

KARI BANTA, WINNER OF THE 2005 BIRDS OF A FEATHER QUILT, got her first bird when she moved from New York to Texas. I was very lonely and needed a friend, she said. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! She and her husband share their home with an 8 year old Quaker named Piepmatz and a four year old white capped pionus named Zoe. I learned about the horrible nature of PDD by reading the story of one bird's struggle on an email list back in 1999, Kari said. We've been lucky that we've not had personal experience with it, and I figure it's my responsibility to help the cause as part of what I do to take care of my little ones. I guess it's my hope that if enough people take action, no more birds will have to suffer.

Kari was stunned when she received the phone call announcement from AHN president Valerie Schuster last Sunday. I actually couldn't tell my husband because I started to cry. The amount of love and caring that went into the quilt, as well as the sadness and urgency of the cause... it hit me all at once. I am tremendously grateful to receive this beautiful piece that contains the hard work and love of so many people. I've cleared a wall in my house where it will hang, proudly on display.

AHN acknowledged outstanding contributions to PDD research, education, and fundraising of benefactors on May 21-22, 2005. Certificates of Appreciation were presented to Len Charette, of C&L Aviaries in Bensalem, Pennsylvania; and Pam Thompson and Ed Daisy, of Chantilly, Virginia. Len has supported fundraising for PDD research since the very early days of Valerie Wixens TGPC campaign and is well-known for his generous prize donations. Pams and Eds remarkable donations distinguish the passion of their commitment to the cause of PDD research.

A Certificate of Appreciation was also awarded to The Bird Heard for its efforts on behalf of the 2005 "Birds of a Feather" Quilt. Bird Heard club president Becky McKirahan submitted one of the first blocks for this year's quilt, and her entire club pitched in to plan, host and cater the climactic events at the end of this first annual fundraising program. This was no small undertaking, but The Bird Heard, like the little engine that could, planned and hosted a truly spectacular presentation event that was awesome in its attention to detail.

Cotton milling started in Maryland in the 18th century. Before 19th century rail transportation served the mill town of Savage, cotton shipped cheaply from Southern ports was hauled overland by mule and oxen teams to the towns textile mills on the falls of the Little and Middle Patuxent Rivers, for manufacture into cotton duck sails for the tall ships at nearby Chesapeake Bay ports.

The Bird Heard, a cluster of Maryland bird lovers who seem to simply enjoy having fun together, selected Savage Methodist Church in this historical textile town to host AHNs First Annual Birds of a Feather Quilt Drawing. Postponed from April due to a schedule conflict with Dr. Ritchies ECAMS presentation, the event fell on the weekend of the Preakness Stakes, one of Americas top three horse races, at nearby Pimlico Racetrack. Hotel rooms were hard to find and airfare costs to Baltimore were higher than usual, but that did not deter the determined! Nathalie Ross, who lost a precious bird in early May, flew in from Texas; Kyle Sandler, who is sponsoring a contest with vendor donated prizes reminiscent of Valerie Wixens TGPC, made the trek from North Carolina; the entire staff of a shop called Birds of a Feather closed their doors in Pennsylvania for the day to drive down and drop a $300 donation at the door; and at the last minute, Steffanie Budnick, one of AHNs own founding directors and a skilled nurse and mother of two in southern Michigan, was able to extricate herself briefly from her responsibilities to attend the event.

Following the Georgia researchers presentations on EDRG research, Len Charette (C&L Aviary) presented Dr. Ritchie with AHNs check for $7500, representing bird lovers everywhere whose generous donations and participation in AHN fundraising events support PDD research. At the events conclusion, The Bird Heard turned door receipts totaling well over a thousand dollars over to AHN for its next check to EDRG -- and a nearby benefactor promptly pledged to match it. The Bird Heard also turned over hundreds of dollars of proceeds from their raffle and refreshments tables.

Okay, thats small potatoes for a man who needs a quarter of a million dollars to pave the way to a vaccine, but does it help? Oh, yes! Dr. Ritchie replied emphatically. He gestured at the people seated to hear him speak. Its the people who love the parrots that are funding disease research. Without this support, we wouldnt be able to carry on any work at all!

Avian Health Network, Inc., is pleased and proud to announce its second annual charity quilt event, the 2006 Birds of a Feather Quilt Challenge to StopPDD.

As the 2005 Quilt ramped down to its conclusion with the events in Maryland on Sunday, the 2006 Quilt Challenge was already rising on its foundation. Program manager Valerie Schuster is reluctant to discuss details so soon, but notes that the technical guidelines for quilters are already being drafted and that last years QuiltingBirds can expect to be contacted soon. Opportunities for artist and vendor sponsorships and partnering are on the drawing board.

Expect more details about the 2006 Quilt Challenge in the next Challenge newsletter, and check AHNs website for interim updates.

The disease is deadliest to crows, raptors, and waterfowl. Although some psittacine species appear susceptible to the disease, parrots generally appear relatively resistant. Most birds become subclinically affected, develop an appropriate immune response, and quickly clear the virus. Old World birds (African, Indian, European) can usually survive the disease. Birds originating from the New World or South Pacific are far more susceptible to infection and death.

Knowing the facts about West Nile Virus (WNV) can protect your parrots better than keeping them indoors. The benefits of sunshine and clean air are so much greater than the risk, drawled Dr. Ritchie, that its just silly to deny your birds. But use common sense, he cautions. Leave them inside until the morning dew is gone and bring them in before dusk, times when mosquitoes are most active.

References about parrots and WNV are available in the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the Challenge, available at www.stopPDD.org.

A month after presenting "Epizootiology of Proventricular Dilatation Disease in Breeding Cockatiels" to ECAMS colleagues at the European Conference of the AAV in France on April, Dr. Ritchie explained the cockatiels study and its implications to a roomful of attentive laymen in Savage, MD, on May 22. A diplomate in ECAMS (the European College of Avian Medicine and Surgery), a Distinguished Research Professor and current Acting Head of the Department of Small Animal Medicine at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Ritchie also commands respect in this audience as a practical veterinary practitioner. For many, there because they have lost their birds, he represented the single greatest hope that it can be stopped from happening again. Others were stunned to hear for the first time how radically lifestyles bird lovers have taken for granted are having to be changed by this disease.

Dr. Ritchie speaks well and is clearly accustomed to teaching. He quickly sketched the history of the disease, its spread in the United States, Canada and Europe, the epornitic (attacking many birds in a region at the same time) character of the disease. Waterfowl, such as geese, and other free ranging birds finches, canaries, spoonbills, toucans and possibly woodpeckers are known to carry the disease. All psittacines appear to be at risk, although data on free-ranging populations has not been collected.

The disease may be far more prevalent than we know because it is carried by asymptomatic birds, and not all birds exposed to PDD contract the disease. Dr. Ritchie talked at length about the diagnosis of PDD, illustrating his lecture with accompanying photos from EDRGs cockatiel study. Its not PDD until your pathologist gives you a histologic diagnosis of lymphoplasmacytic ganglioneuritis, the researcher emphasized. Individuals without clinical symptoms but diagnosed microscopically with PDD lesions, should be considered at extra risk of developing disease. Birds with clinical signs that are to be treated should be placed in strict isolation. But isolate, dont euthanize, he begged, distress visible on his face.

AHN hopes to publish a more complete report of this presentation and about EDRGs cockatiel study in an upcoming issue of the Challenge.

Dr. Ritchie obtained his DVM from the University of Georgias College of Veterinary Medicine in 1985 and his PhD in Medical Microbiology from the same institution in 1990. In 2000, he received the honored title of Distinguished Research Professor.

As a member of the multi-disciplined Emerging Diseases Research Group at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Ritchie has been involved in characterizing the PBFD virus, developing a DNA probe based assay for the PBFD virus, developing the avian polyomavirus vaccine and developing DNA probe based assays to detect polyomavirus, adenovirus and Pacheco's disease virus.

In conjunction with researchers at LSU, the Emerging Diseases Research Group has developed and tested assays for detecting chlamydia nucleic acid in clinical samples and is involved with the LSU group in testing a vaccine to prevent chlamydiosis. Currently, the psittacine disease research group is working on characterizing the suspect PDD virus and testing subunit vaccines to prevent polyomavirus-and PBFD virus-induced diseases. The research group has published more than 50 scientific publications on infectious diseases of companion birds and Dr. Ritchie has edited two textbooks, Avian Medicine: Principles and Applications, and Avian Viruses: Function and Control. In addition, Dr. Ritchie is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practioners, and a Diplomate of the European College of Avian Medicine and Surgery.

Who can forget Valerie Wixen's "Grey PoopOn Challenge" (TGPC), a remarkable testament to her lost companion Mocha? This collaboration of artists and vendors and a generous avian public to raise research funds across the Internet helped to define a new paradigm for electronic fundraising. All of AHN's fundraising programs have been inspired and informed by TGPC, including the new 2006 Quilt Challenge.

On March 28, 2004, the Buffalo Hookbill Association together with Parrot Fund International sponsored the Buffalo Parrot Conference 2004 at DYouville College in Buffalo, NY, raising $8,750 for PDD research.

Now we have The Wowwie Contest, spontaneously ignited when Nathalie Ross' companion grey Wowwie passed away on May 4, 2005. Sponsored by Kyle Sandler of Parrotrents (Online Bird, Inc.), this drawing features prizes that "are things Wowwie loved," including toys and supplies provided by a number of vendors. Len Charette of C&L Aviary, long known for his commitment to PDD research, donated a Sterling scale as the grand prize, and pledged to match a thousand dollars. To enter the drawing, provide Online Bird with a donation to PDD research, or a receipt for a donation, between now and May 31, 2005. At this writing, the contest has received more than $2000 in donations, pledges, and donation receipts.

All proceeds will be donated to the Emerging Diseases Research Group (EDRG) at the University of Georgia to support PDD research. The contest ends on May 31, 2005; drawing results will be available on June 5.

Congratulations to AHN volunteer Ingrid McCue on the birth of her baby boy Aaren on April 26, 2005. At more than eight pounds, the baby is healthy, his mother recovering cheerfully. Still pitching in from her bedside, Ingrid volunteered to proofread this newsletter.