[1] There is a live viral vaccine available which may have beneficial properties against human cancer when used as a mammalian expression vector.

[3] Generally CNPV is considered a disease of songbirds, such as canaries, magpies and nightingales, and is associated with higher mortality rates when compared to other avian pox viruses.

[4] Avian pox viruses also cause significant economic losses in domestic poultry and remain a problem in the conservation of endemic bird species inhabiting islands.

[8] CNPV and other poxviruses are characterised by having exceptionally large physical dimensions, approximately 330 nm×280 nm×200 nm.

[8] The shape of all poxviruses resembles something of a 'rounded brick' and remains determined by the specific envelope around the virus.

Direct routes of transmission have also been observed, especially in closed environments such as aviaries or farms, where the contact rate of birds is high.

The wet form symptoms include an enlarged thymus and obstructed lungs, sinuses and trachea with white areas of necrotic tissue.

[15] Observations under the microscope have shown that the lesions are characterised by epithelial proliferation and hypertrophy in the viral infected areas.

[16] Similar inclusion bodies which are associated with inflammation have also been seen in the epidermis, feather follicles, sinuses and oral mucosa lining.

Care would normally consist of removing skin from the lesions and washing the infected area(s) with Lugol's iodine solution.

[12] By keeping diseased birds in warmer temperatures and ensuring daily eye rinsing with 1-2% saline solution has also been shown to promote recovery.

This will not target the virus but its use is designed to prevent secondary bacterial and fungal infections which are often found in skin lesions.

[3] The brand name 'Poximune® C' by Ceva is a freeze-dried vaccine, administered by the 'wing web' method to healthy, susceptible passerine birds who have reached at least four weeks of age.

[8] A strain of canarypox virus modified to carry feline interleukin-2 called vCP1338 is used to treat cats with fibrosarcoma.

[22] Canarypox, together with avian malaria, are the most devastating diseases for birds on the island of Hawaii and surrounding regions.