Since the first isolation of APVs in cell culture, these viruses have been recognized as highly host specific. They are believed to replicate only in avian cells, notably chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF; American Type Culture Collection; ATCC, Rockville, Maryland, USA; CRL-1590) [47] . CEF cells have a good split ratio compared to other cell lines, and are thus useful for large-scale propagation of virus, such as antigen production for vaccines or as a diagnostic tool. APVs have also been shown to replicate in chicken embryo kidney, chicken embryo dermis [48, 49] and quail cell lines, such as QT-35, although the presence of viable endogenous herpesvirus and Marek's disease virus (MDV) in QT-35 cells, limits their use for preparation of vaccines [4, 50] . APV have been isolated once from a mammal. In 1969, viable FWPV was isolated from a terminally ill rhinoceros [51] . The isolate was identified as atypical FWPV, based on pathological, virological and serological characteristics [51] . Nelson (1941) [52] reported mild pathology in mice following intranasal inoculation with FWPV, with no virus replication. Recent studies have also shown replication of APV in mammalian cell cultures, such as embryonic bovine tracheal cells [53] and baby hamster kidney cells [54] that are defined by the presence of infectious viral particles and CPE. These studies raise questions about the species specificity and mechanisms that restrict these viruses to certain hosts, and challenge the hypothesis that APV cannot undergo a full replication cycle in mammalian cells.