DNA extraction from cutaneous lesions and PCR amplification for APV were realized as previously described . First, a multiplex PCR to detect poxvirus (APV) or papillomavirus (PV) infection was carried out using BconPVF1/BconPVR1 and P4b1060F/P4b1060R. If poxvirus was amplified, a second specific PCR, M2925-M2926 which targets fpv167 locus, was used to obtain a sequence that could be compared with published sequences. The presence of bird DNA was confirmed in all samples by amplification of a fragment of the cytochrome (cyt) b gene . Extraction blanks, PCR negatives and standard negative controls were used in all PCRs, and were consistently negative.