Some strains are pretty devastating, but if we are right and your rescue silkie had it, then that suggests that you have one of the milder strains since you haven't had another incident till now. Much of the problem with Marek's is that it is mostly the hot strains that get diagnosed because it kills multiple birds in a short space of time, so people are more inclined to get a necropsy done and then it is documented as Marek's but many people lose one bird and maybe have another one go inexplicably lame a few months later, even a year later like you and don't connect the two. They don't tend to get a necropsy done so don't realise it is Marek's and so the authorities, like the director of the veterinary lab your vet consulted, usually only sees the extreme cases of Marek's and not the minor outbreaks of the mild strains that only kill the odd bird here or there or know about the many that recover from outbreaks. They are of course always at risk of future attacks when they recover from a mild outbreak because they still carry the disease but it can be months or years later with no ill effects in between.
Of course when people mention Marek's and do some research, most of the documented information is about those severe cases that have been diagnosed via necropsy and don't realise that there are probably 10 mild outbreak cases for every one severe one because the mild ones don't get diagnosed, or get put down to a vitamin deficiency that responded to supplementation. It is my belief that the majority of wry neck issues reported are actually down to Marek's but because they get better after vitamin supplementation after a week or two people assume it was a vitamin deficiency, when it may be that the vitamin supplement is supporting the bird's immune system and helping it fight off the virus. outbreak Many people believe that the paralysis is due to tumours and cannot be reversed but it is actually just inflammation of the nerves. The tumour development is a different stage of the viral action.
Again, the above is all just my opinion, based on my own experience of a mild strain of Marek's.
Look at it this way, if you have had Marek's in your flock for a year and these are the only 2 incidents, then it is not really that bad, is it, and since your polish here is fighting it and bright eyed and eating well and perhaps showing some signs of regaining leg control, you still have reason to be optimistic, even if it is Marek's.
