Waterfowl parvoviruses can cause different disease conditions depending on the species and the age of affected waterfowl. The highly contagious fatal disease affecting young geese (Fig 1) and Muscovy ducks, caused by goose parvovirus (GPV) was described under different names depending on the major clinical–pathological features that were observed. Goose Parvorirus (GPV) was clade to Anseriform dependoparvovirus 1, as the members of Dependoparvovirus genus of the Parvovirinae subfamily within the Parvoviridae family. GPV, which is fetal for gosling and can cause enteritis and diarrhoea, is the etiological agent of Derzsy’s disease. GPV is a single-stranded DNA virus without envelop protein and its complete genome is about 5.1 kb in length, which contains two major open reading frames (ORF) and the inverted terminal repeats at the both genomic terminus. The left ORF encodes the non-structural protein required for both replication of viral genome and regulation of capsid gene expression, and the right ORF encodes the structural protein composed of three capsid protein which have common region of C-terminus.

Goose astrovirus, belonging to the family Astrovirus and genus Avian Astrovirus, is a small, non-enveloped, single-strand positive-sense RNA virus. Goose astrovirus causes a disease characterized by severe visceral gout and articular gout (Fig 1-3). Isolates originated from avian species, such as turkey, chickens, ducks, and other birds are classified into the genus Astrovirus. Since 2016, goose astrovirus has broken out among Chinese goslings, causing at most 50% death of goslings. Until now, at least 80 strains of Goose astrovirus genome have been reported and conserved. Their genomes are 6.8-7.9 kb in length, consisting of a 5′-untranslated region (UTR), three open reading frames (ORFs), a 3′-UTR and a poly (A) tail. The high degree of genetic diversity among astrovirus and their recombination potential signify their capacity to cause a broad spectrum of diseases in multiple host species. The core antigen of goose astrovirus is Cap protein. Significantly, goose astrovirus can vertically spread from breeding geese to goslings and effectively infect Pekin-ducks and Muscovy ducks across species barriers, posing a greater threat to the development of waterfowl industry. Although goose astrovirus causes serious economic losses, the pathogenic mechanisms and the potential antiviral targets of goose astrovirus are largely unknown.