Isolation of paramyxovirus serotype 7 from ostriches (Struthio camelus).

Paramyxovirus serotype 7 (PMV-7) was isolated from pooled intestinal contents of two 5-month-old ostriches (Struthio camelus). The pathogenicity of the virus was comparable with lentogenic strains of Newcastle disease virus (PMV-1) in chicken and chicken embryo pathogenicity tests. The relationship of the virus to the observed pathology of proliferative nonsuppurative enteritis is unknown; the Campylobacter jejuni isolated was presumably the primary pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an isolation of PMV-7 from ostriches.