RANAVIRUS-ASSOCIATED MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN A GROUP OF CAPTIVE EASTERN BOX TURTLES (TERRAPENE CAROLINA CAROLINA)

Seven captive eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) from a large collection of North American chelonians in North Carolina became acutely ill in the fall of 2002. Five of the turtles died. Clinical signs included cutaneous abscessation, oral ulceration or abscessation (or both), respirat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine 2004-12, Vol.35 (4), p.534-543
Main Authors: De Voe, Ryan, Geissler, Kyleigh, Elmore, Susan, Rotstein, David, Lewbart, Greg, Guy, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Animals, Zoo
CASE REPORTS
Cell culture techniques
Disease outbreaks
DNA Virus Infections - epidemiology
DNA Virus Infections - mortality
DNA Virus Infections - pathology
DNA Virus Infections - veterinary
DNA, Viral - chemistry
Eastern box turtle
Fatal Outcome
Inclusion Bodies, Viral
Infections
Iridovirus
Lesions
Microscopy, Electron - veterinary
Morbidity
North Carolina - epidemiology
Polymerase chain reaction
Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary
Ranavirus
Ranavirus - isolation & purification
Ranavirus - pathogenicity
Terrapene carolina carolina
Tortoises
Turtles
Turtles - virology
vasculitis
Viruses
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Summary:Seven captive eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) from a large collection of North American chelonians in North Carolina became acutely ill in the fall of 2002. Five of the turtles died. Clinical signs included cutaneous abscessation, oral ulceration or abscessation (or both), respiratory distress, anorexia, and lethargy. The predominant postmortem lesion was fibrinoid vasculitis of various organs, including skin, mucous membranes, lungs, and liver. No inclusion bodies were detected by histopathology or electron microscopy of formalin-fixed tissue. An iridovirus was isolated from tissues obtained postmortem from two of the box turtles that died. The virus was characterized by electron microscopy, polymerase chain reaction, and sequence analysis of a portion of the major capsid protein as a member of the genus Ranavirus.
ISSN:1042-7260
1937-2825
DOI:10.1638/03-037