Inclusion body disease in two captive Australian pythons (Morelia spilota variegata and Morelia spilota spilota)

Carlisle-Nowak,; Sullivan, Nancy J.; Carrigan, M. J.; C, Knight; Ryan, Chanelle; Jacobson, Eric S.

doi:10.1111/j.1751-0813.1998.tb14535.x

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Colubrids (5.5%) and elapids (11%) were the other two families represented in our study and from these two families only a single corn snake (a colubrid) was found to be infected with a reptarenavirus. We are not aware of any other reports of reptarenavirus infection in a colubrid and only two other studies have described an IBD‐like disease in colubrids . The relative susceptibility of non‐boid and non‐pythonid snakes to reptarenavirus infections requires further investigation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

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Reptarenaviruses in apparently healthy snakes in an Australian zoological collection

et al. 2019

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Background Inclusion body disease (IBD) is a disease of snakes with a global distribution and has recently been shown to be caused by reptarenaviruses. Testing for this group of viruses in asymptomatic snakes allows the association between infection and disease to be further elucidated.Methods A reptarenavirus was detected by RT-PCR in a reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) from an Australian zoological collection that was open-mouth breathing and had erythematous oral mucosa. Another 27 pythons, 4 elapids, 2 colubrids and 2 boas from this collection were then screened. From these animals, swabs, whole blood and/or tissue were tested for reptarenaviruses by RT-PCR. Additionally, blood films from 10 snakes were examined by light microscopy for the presence of inclusion bodies. The majority of samples were collected over a 484-day period.Results A total of 8 animals were RT-PCR-positive (8/36 = 22.2%): 6 were pythons, 1 was a corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) and 1 was a Madagascar tree boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis). From them, 57 samples were collected, but only one from each animal was RT-PCR-positive (8/57 = 14.0%). From all 36 animals in this study, 8/182 samples were RT-PCR-positive (4.4%). Inclusion bodies were not recognised in any of the blood films. Only the reticulated python showed signs of illness, which improved without any further intervention. All other RT-PCRpositive snakes were apparently healthy throughout the duration of the study.Conclusion This study showed a weak association between the presence of reptarenaviruses and disease. Testing serially collected swab and whole-blood samples increased the number of animals in which reptarenaviruses were detected.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Various reports have described IBD in boas and pythons from a number of countries, including Spain, Germany, Belgium, Brazil and Australia . Diseases resembling IBD in snakes other than boas and pythons have been reported in palm vipers ( Bothriechis marchi ), a king snake ( Lampropeltis getula ) and a corn snake ( Pantherophis guttatus ) …”

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Reptarenaviruses in apparently healthy snakes in an Australian zoological collection

et al. 2019

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“…The disease is known to affect boid species from several genera, boa constrictor (Boa constrictor), green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), Haitian boa (Epicrates striatus), ringed tree boa (Corallus annulatus), garden tree boa (Corallus hortulanus), Burmese python (Python molurus), reticulated python (Python reticulatus), ball python (Python regius), and Australian pythons (Morelia spilota variegata and Morelia spilota spilota) (3). A similar disease has been described in colubrids, such as the Californian king snake (Lampropeltis getula) (4) and corn snakes (Elaphe guttata) (5), and in viperids, i.e., captive palm vipers (Botriechis marchi) (4).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…SSP-GPC is further processed posttranslationally to yield the glycoproteins GP1 (40 to 46 kDa) and GP2 (35 kDa). These remain attached to SSP and form trimeric spikes consisting of three identical units, (SSP-GP1-GP2) 3 (19). GP1 mediates the viral attachment to the host cell, and GP2 mediates the fusion with cell membranes (15,18).…”

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confidence: 99%

Isolation, Identification, and Characterization of Novel Arenaviruses, the Etiological Agents of Boid Inclusion Body Disease

Hetzel

Sironen

Laurinmäki

et al. 2013

J Virol

125

209

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g Boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) is a progressive, usually fatal disease of constrictor snakes, characterized by cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (IB) in a wide range of cell types. To identify the causative agent of the disease, we established cell cultures from BIBD-positive and -negative boa constrictors. The IB phenotype was maintained in cultured cells of affected animals, and supernatants from these cultures caused the phenotype in cultures originating from BIBD-negative snakes. Viruses were purified from the supernatants by ultracentrifugation and subsequently identified as arenaviruses. Purified virus also induced the IB phenotype in naive cells, which fulfilled Koch's postulates in vitro. One isolate, tentatively designated University of Helsinki virus (UHV), was studied in depth. Sequencing confirmed that UHV is a novel arenavirus species that is distinct from other known arenaviruses including those recently identified in snakes with BIBD. The morphology of UHV was established by cryoelectron tomography and subtomographic averaging, revealing the trimeric arenavirus spike structure at 3.2-nm resolution. Immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and immunoblotting with a polyclonal rabbit antiserum against UHV and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) revealed the presence of genetically diverse arenaviruses in a large cohort of snakes with BIBD, confirming the causative role of arenaviruses. Some snakes were also found to carry arenavirus antibodies. Furthermore, mammalian cells (Vero E6) were productively infected with UHV, demonstrating the potential of arenaviruses to cross species barriers. In conclusion, we propose the newly identified lineage of arenaviruses associated with BIBD as a novel taxonomic entity, boid inclusion body disease-associated arenaviruses (BIBDAV), in the family Arenaviridae.

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“…In 1994, a retrovirus responsible for boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) in snakes, a disease known for more than 20 years to occur in snakes of both the Boinae and Pythoninae subfamilies of Boidae, was described in private and zoological snake collections all over the world (5,16,19). Clinical signs of BIBD include chronic regurgitation and central nervous system (CNS) disease manifested in head tremors, disorientation, lack of motor coordination, paresis, and/or paralysis.…”

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confidence: 99%

Identification and Characterization of Two Closely Related Unclassifiable Endogenous Retroviruses in Pythons (Python molurusandPython curtus)

Huder

Böni

Hatt³

et al. 2002

J Virol

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Boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) is a fatal disorder of boid snakes that is suspected to be caused by a retrovirus. In order to identify this agent, leukocyte cultures (established from Python molurus specimens with symptoms of BIBD or kept together with such diseased animals) were assessed for reverse transcriptase (RT) activity. Virus from cultures exhibiting high RT activity was banded on sucrose density gradients, and the RT peak fraction was subjected to highly efficient procedures for the identification of unknown particle-associated retroviral RNA. A 7-kb full retroviral sequence was identified, cloned, and sequenced. This virus contained intact open reading frames (ORFs) for gag, pro, pol, and env, as well as another ORF of unknown function within pol. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the virus is distantly related to viruses from both the B and D types and the mammalian C type but cannot be classified. It is present as a highly expressed endogenous retrovirus in all P. molurus individuals; a closely related, but much less expressed virus was found in all tested Python curtus individuals. All other boid snakes tested, including Python regius, Python reticulatus, Boa constrictor, Eunectes notaeus, and Morelia spilota, were virus negative, independent of whether they had BIBD or not. Virus isolated from P. molurus could not be transmitted to the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of B. constrictor or P. regius. Thus, there is no indication that this novel virus, which we propose to name python endogenous retrovirus (PyERV), is causally linked with BIBD.

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Inclusion body disease in two captive Australian pythons (Morelia spilota variegata and Morelia spilota spilota)

Cited by 22 publications

References 3 publications

Reptarenaviruses in apparently healthy snakes in an Australian zoological collection

Reptarenaviruses in apparently healthy snakes in an Australian zoological collection

Isolation, Identification, and Characterization of Novel Arenaviruses, the Etiological Agents of Boid Inclusion Body Disease

Identification and Characterization of Two Closely Related Unclassifiable Endogenous Retroviruses in Pythons (Python molurusandPython curtus)

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