Anaconda paramyxovirus infection in an adult green anaconda after prolonged incubation: Pathological characterization and whole genome sequence analysis

Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Martelli, Paolo; Hui, Suk-Wai; Lau, Candy C. Y.; Groff, J. M.; Fan, Rachel Y.Y.; Lau, Susanna K. P.; Yuen, Kwok‐Yung

doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2017.04.008

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 21 publications

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“…For the latter species defined infections with different strains were conducted and the consequences were evaluated and published in several manuscripts [8,9,13]. Previous work has shown that ferlaviruses are capable of infecting a wide range of reptile species [5,10,11,14,[20][21][22], while some evidence has suggested that a number of factors may influence the course of clinical disease and pathological changes in infected animals. Ferlavirus infections have most often been documented in viperid species [1,3,4,[23][24][25][26][27][28], often during severe disease outbreaks in collections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Host Species in Experimental Ferlavirus Infection: Comparison of a Single Strain in Ball Pythons (Python regius) and Corn Snakes (Pantherophis guttatus)

Pees,

Möller,

Schmidt

et al. 2023

Animals

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Ferlaviruses are a cause of respiratory disease in snakes. Four genogroups (A, B, C, and tortoise) have been described. Disease development is believed to depend on virus, host, and environment-specific factors. There is evidence of transmission of individual strains between genera and families of reptiles. A genogroup B virus previously used in a transmission study with corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) was applied intratracheally in ball pythons (Python regius) using the same protocol as for the corn snakes. Ball pythons became infected, with initial mild clinical signs noted four days post infection (p.i.), and the virus was detected first in the lungs on day 4 and spread to the intestine, pancreas, kidney and brain. Hematology showed an increase in circulating lymphocytes which peaked on day 28 p.i. Antibodies were detected beginning on day 16 and increased steadily to the end of the study. In comparison to corn snakes, ball pythons exhibited milder clinical signs and pathological changes, faster development of and higher antibody titers, and a hematological reaction dominated by lymphocytosis in contrast to heterophilia in corn snakes. These differences in host reaction to infection are important to understand ferlavirus epidemiology as well as for clinical medicine and diagnostic testing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Host Species in Experimental Ferlavirus Infection: Comparison of a Single Strain in Ball Pythons (Python regius) and Corn Snakes (Pantherophis guttatus)

Pees,

Möller,

Schmidt

et al. 2023

Animals

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A Fixed Moderate-dose Combination of Tiletamine+Zolazepam Outperforms Midazolam in Induction of Short-term Immobilization of Ball Pythons (Python regius)

Miller

Fetterer

Lackemeyer

et al. 2018

Preprint

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26 Laboratory animals are commonly anesthetized to prevent pain and distress and to provide safe 27 handling. Anesthesia procedures are well-developed for common laboratory mammals, but not as 28 well established in reptiles. We assessed the performance of intramuscularly injected tiletamine 29 (dissociative anesthetic) and zolazepam (benzodiazepine sedative) in fixed combination (2 mg/kg 30 and 3 mg/kg) in comparison to 2 mg/kg of midazolam (benzodiazepine sedative) in ball pythons 31 (Python regius). We measured heart and respiratory rates and quantified induction parameters 32 (i.e., time to loss of righting reflex, time to loss of withdrawal reflex) and recovery parameters 33 (i.e., time to regain righting reflex, withdrawal reflex, normal behavior). Mild decreases in heart 34 and respiratory rates (median decrease of <10 beats per minute and <5 breaths per minute) were 35 observed for most time points among all three anesthetic dose groups. No statistically significant 36 difference between the median time to loss of righting reflex was observed among animals of 37 any group (p = 0.783). However, the withdrawal reflex was lost in all snakes receiving 3mg/kg 38 of tiletamine+zolazepam but not in all animals of the other two groups (p = 0.0004). In addition, 39 the time for animals to regain the righting reflex and resume normal behavior was longer in the 40 drug combination dose groups compared to the midazolam group (p = 0.0055). Our results 41 indicate that midazolam is an adequate sedative for ball pythons but does not suffice to achieve 42 reliable immobilization or anesthesia, whereas tiletamine+zolazepam achieves short-term 43 anesthesia in a dose-dependent manner. Performance of Injectable Anesthetic Agents in Ball PythonsMiller et al. 4 INTRODUCTION45 A good understanding of the natural history, evolutionary development, and reproduction of 46 snakes (Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes) is paramount for many reasons including conservation 47 efforts [1-4], evaluation of snake-specific sensory anatomy for chemoreception and behavior [5-48 8], and to help develop medical countermeasures against venomous snake bites, and finally the 49 development of candidate therapeutics for human health issues including clotting disorders and 50 cancer [9][10][11][12]. Snakes are also increasingly investigated as natural or accidental hosts for a 51 variety of viruses [13-23], and there is increased interest in snake fungal diseases such as those 52 caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola [24] and the Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis 53 vriesii complex (CANV) [25]. Snake researchers face unique challenges for husbandry, animal 54 restraint, biosample collection, and surgery. Varying levels of immobilization can be required 55 depending on the procedure to be performed, the size and temperament of the snakes, or their 56 ability to produce venom [26][27][28]. These challenges can be exacerbated when snakes are 57 suspected to be, or are infected with potentially zoonotic microorganisms or viruses, and when 58 the safety...

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A fixed moderate-dose combination of tiletamine+zolazepam outperforms midazolam in induction of short-term immobilization of ball pythons (Python regius)

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Laboratory animals are commonly anesthetized to prevent pain and distress and to provide safe handling. Anesthesia procedures are well-developed for common laboratory mammals, but not as well established in reptiles. We assessed the performance of intramuscularly injected tiletamine (dissociative anesthetic) and zolazepam (benzodiazepine sedative) in fixed combination (2 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg) in comparison to 2 mg/kg of midazolam (benzodiazepine sedative) in ball pythons (Python regius). We measured heart and respiratory rates and quantified induction parameters (i.e., time to loss of righting reflex, time to loss of withdrawal reflex) and recovery parameters (i.e., time to regain righting reflex, withdrawal reflex, normal behavior). Mild decreases in heart and respiratory rates (median decrease of <10 beats per minute and <5 breaths per minute) were observed for most time points among all three anesthetic dose groups. No statistically significant difference between the median time to loss of righting reflex was observed among animals of any group (p = 0.783). However, the withdrawal reflex was lost in all snakes receiving 3mg/kg of tiletamine+zolazepam but not in all animals of the other two groups (p = 0.0004). In addition, the time for animals to regain the righting reflex and resume normal behavior was longer in the drug combination dose groups compared to the midazolam group (p = 0.0055). Our results indicate that midazolam is an adequate sedative for ball pythons but does not suffice to achieve reliable immobilization or anesthesia, whereas tiletamine+zolazepam achieves short-term anesthesia in a dose-dependent manner.

show abstract

Anaconda paramyxovirus infection in an adult green anaconda after prolonged incubation: Pathological characterization and whole genome sequence analysis

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

The Role of Host Species in Experimental Ferlavirus Infection: Comparison of a Single Strain in Ball Pythons (Python regius) and Corn Snakes (Pantherophis guttatus)

The Role of Host Species in Experimental Ferlavirus Infection: Comparison of a Single Strain in Ball Pythons (Python regius) and Corn Snakes (Pantherophis guttatus)

A Fixed Moderate-dose Combination of Tiletamine+Zolazepam Outperforms Midazolam in Induction of Short-term Immobilization of Ball Pythons (Python regius)

A fixed moderate-dose combination of tiletamine+zolazepam outperforms midazolam in induction of short-term immobilization of ball pythons (Python regius)

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