Differential Disease Susceptibilities in Experimentally Reptarenavirus-Infected Boa Constrictors and Ball Pythons.

ABSTRACT: Inclusion body disease (IBD) is an infectious disease originally described in captive snakes. It has traditionally been diagnosed by the presence of large eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions and is associated with neurological, gastrointestinal, and lymphoproliferative disorders. Previously, we identified and established a culture system for a novel lineage of arenaviruses isolated from boa constrictors diagnosed with IBD. Although ample circumstantial evidence suggested that these viruses, now known as reptarenaviruses, cause IBD, there has been no formal demonstration of disease causality since their discovery. We therefore conducted a long-term challenge experiment to test the hypothesis that reptarenaviruses cause IBD. We infected boa constrictors and ball pythons by cardiac injection

SUBMITTER: Stenglein MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5651717 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature