Viral or Bacterial?

[MackayMB]

These Cattleyas are from the estate of a deceased friend. Are these plants infected by a virus or bacteria? I am thinking virus.

[Orchid Whisperer]

My guess is fungal disease.

[MackayMB]

I have seen black streaks on the pseudobulbs of some plants. To date I have not noticed any colour break. They are all in bud at the moment, I'd say that they will open within the next week. If it was virus, surely that would show in the flowers?

[Whimgrinder]

Fungal.

[silken]

My thought is fungal/bacterial. They maybe had poor growing conditions. But you need to do virus tests to know for sure. I believe it is only one of the viruses that causes colour break in the blooms. I have tested lots of my Catts that look the picture of health plant wise and have ORSV or CMV and then those that look real bad are often virus free. At least of the main viruses. If they bloom with colour break, then you can safely assume they have virus. And if the blooms are ruined with colour break, no point in keeping them anyways. But if the blooms are clear, I would give them good care and I bet new leaves come out fine.
Start adding a Cal/Mad supplement to their fertilizer. It can help new growths from turning black. I find it helps a lot.

[estación seca]

Sorry on the loss of your friend.