We hope that you will benefit from the information on our website, as educating people about Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD) is one of our 2 main missions.
Avian Health Network (AHN)
is a 501(c)3, non-profit charitable corporation, headquartered and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia. AHN is an organization of volunteers with no paid personnel dedicated to making a positive contribution to the advancement of research into causes, prevention, and treatment of Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD). Our mission is twofold: to educate and promote public awareness of this deadly disease and to raise funds to help support PDD research headed by Dr. Branson W. Ritchie, DVM, PhD, Dipl ABVP and ECAMS of the Emerging Diseases Research Group (EDRG) at the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine.
is a deadly wasting syndrome that afflicts wild and domesticated birds and parrots worldwide. The symptoms of PDD are varied, its routes are unknown, and its outcome is fatal. There is currently no blood test or non-invasive way to screen for PDD, it just indiscriminately kills our birds.
PDD can affect all species of psittacine and many non-psittacine species such as passerines and rhamphastids. It is believed to be viral and causes irreversible neural damage to birds of all ages. The carrier state cannot yet be detected.
Until such time when a particular agent that causes PDD is identified and a suitable diagnostic assay developed to identify infected individuals, the infectious status of treated/recovered individuals remains unknown.
Would you like to see the many ways that you can make a donation to AHN to fund PDD research?
Like to sew or quilt? Join our "Birds of a Feather" Quilt Challenge to StopPDD Yahoo Group. This group includes quilters and all the other volunteers who are helping to make this charity quilt a reality. This is a central meeting place where we can exchange and post information, and collaborate in virtual space.
Dear PDD Research Supporters,
Dr. Ritchie called me today with an important update. After a decade of
repeated attempts, the Emerging Diseases Research Group has established a
neural cell system from a psittacine bird. This will provide the Group with
a completely new way to attempt to grow the suspected PDD virus in the
laboratory.
Dr. Ritchie said that the group needs fresh samples (blood, feces and God
forbid, bird parts) from birds that have been recently confirmed with PDD
before any treatment is started. If you have a bird that has been recently
diagnosed, please have your veterinarian contact Dr. Ritchie or Dr. Gregory
to discuss sample collection and submission by submitting their contact
information to testing@StopPDD.org - messages will be forwarded.
Best Regards,
Valerie Schuster
Avian Health Network, Inc - Stop PDD Campaign
Check out Network for Good today... they are sponsoring a contest... based
on how many donations are made, not the amount. The winning charity with the
most donations will win.
The front of the
2008 "Birds of a Feather" Quilt will be shown on
October 27, 2007 at the York Expo and Fair Grounds "Horticulture Building" 344 Carlisle Avenue, York, PA 17404 during Birdie Bingo, hosted byCastle Enterprises. After that event, the quilt will be sent to Mary Hettmansperger and it will be quilted by the end of the year. Mary is our quilter and has been sewing about 35 yrs and quilting about 10 years. She is a grandmother of 11 and a great grandma of 1. She loves quilting and a last year quilted 17 quilts for her family. We are so excited to have Mary taking this on and we know it will be beautiful when it is complete. We promise to keep you all posted on production and pictures.
Tickets are
NOW on sale!
Check out the 2008
Individual Quilt Blocks
See how much fun everyone had last year at
Birdie Bingo on October 28, 2006
If you need support, please join our Yahoo
PDD Support Group. The Living with PDD group is a place for anyone whose life has been touched by PDD to share their feelings, information and offer support. If you know of someone you'd like to invite to one of these lists, please ask them to contact us.
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