Identification of Reptarenaviruses, Hartmaniviruses, and a Novel Chuvirus in Captive Native Brazilian Boa Constrictors with Boid Inclusion Body Disease.

ABSTRACT: Boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) is a transmissible viral disease of captive snakes that causes severe losses in snake collections worldwide. It is caused by reptarenavirus infection, which can persist over several years without overt signs but is generally associated with the eventual death of the affected snakes. Thus far, reports have confirmed the existence of reptarenaviruses in captive snakes in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, but there is no evidence that it also occurs in wild snakes. BIBD affects boa species within the subfamily Boinae and pythons in the family Pythonidae, the habitats of which do not naturally overlap. Here, we studied Brazilian captive snakes with BIBD using a metatranscriptomic approach, and we report the identification of novel reptarenaviruses,

SUBMITTER: Argenta FF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7269426 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature