Survey of Reticuloendotheliosis Virus in Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in Texas, USA

ABSTRACT Reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) is an immunosuppressive and sometimes oncogenic avian retrovirus that establishes lifelong infection in a wide range of avian species. REV-infected wild birds roaming near at-risk captive flocks, such as is the case for the highly endangered Attwater's prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri; APC), could act as a reservoir for viral transmission. In wild birds, prevalence rates of REV are low and appearance of associated disease is uncommon. During 2016–17, nearly half of all captive adult APC mortality at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center captive breeding facility in Glen Rose, Texas, USA was attributed to REV infection. The unusually high REV prevalence rate prompted us to survey for this virus in wild galliforms throughout the region. From 2016–17, 393 blood samples collected from two subspecies of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) were tested for REV proviral DNA through amplification of the viral 3′ long terminal repeat and segments of the viral pol gene. In...