Antemortem Diagnosis of Multicentric Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, Lymphoid Leukemia, and Inclusion Body Disease in a Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator)

Schilliger, Lionel; Rossfelder, Aurore; Bonwitt, Jesse; Girolamo, Nicola Di; Rival, Franck; Gandar, Fréderic; Selleri, Paolo; Nicolier, Alexandra

doi:10.5818/1529-9651-24.1.11

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…A colonic lymphoma was detected in one IBD + /RT-PCR + boa during the fourth year and another IBD + /RT-PCR + boa developed an odontogenic fibromyxoma in the fifth year of the follow-up period. In the latter boa, IB and reptarenavirus were detected in blood as well as neoplastic and liver tissue as previously described by Hellebuyck et al [19] In another IBD + / RT-PCR + boa, recurrent respiratory disease responsive to broad-spectrum antimicrobial treatment was noted from the fourth until the last year of the follow-up period. In collection C, a clutch of seven neonates from a IBD -/RT-PCRfemale and a IBD + /RT-PCR + male tested IBDand RT-PCRat the age of eleven months.…”

Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 77%

“…Inclusion body disease has been associated with the development of immunosuppression [7,16] and a variety of clinical signs, such as anorexia, regurgitation, stomatitis, pneumonia, lymphoproliferative disorders and CNS disease, have classically been associated with natural reptarenavirus infection and IBD in snakes [1,2,6,7,[17][18][19][20]. It remains unclear, however, what primary clinical signs or comorbidities are truly associated with natural reptarenavirus infection and it seems to become more and more obvious that the disease may remain subclinical or show a slowly progressive course in infected snakes [1,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence of inclusion body disease and associated comorbidity in captive collections of boid and pythonid snakes in Belgium

et al. 2020

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Inclusion body disease (IBD) is caused by reptarenaviruses and constitutes one of the most notorious viral diseases in snakes. Although central nervous system disease and various other clinical signs have been attributed to IBD in boid and pythonid snakes, studies that unambiguously reveal the clinical course of natural IBD and reptarenavirus infection are scarce. In the present study, the prevalence of IBD and reptarenaviruses in captive snake collections and the correlation of IBD and reptarenavirus infection with the clinical status of the sampled snakes were investigated. In three IBD positive collections, long-term follow-up during a three-to seven-year period was performed. A total of 292 snakes (178 boas and 114 pythons) from 40 collections in Belgium were sampled. In each snake, blood and buffy coat smears were evaluated for the presence of IBD inclusion bodies (IB) and whole blood was tested for reptarenavirus RNA by RT-PCR. Of all tested snakes, 16.5% (48/292) were positive for IBD of which all were boa constrictors (34.0%; 48/141) and 17.1% (50/292) were reptarenavirus RT-PCR positive. The presence of IB could not be demonstrated in any of the tested pythons, while 5.3% (6/114) were reptarenavirus positive. In contrast to pythons, the presence of IB in peripheral blood cells in boa constrictors is strongly correlated with reptarenavirus detection by RT-PCR (P<0.0001). Although boa constrictors often show persistent subclinical infection, long-term follow-up indicated that a considerable number (22.2%; 6/27) of IBD/reptarenavirus positive boas eventually develop IBD associated comorbidities.

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Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of inclusion body disease and associated comorbidity in captive collections of boid and pythonid snakes in Belgium

et al. 2020

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“…In one study, a valvulopathy was detected in a boa constrictor with IBD . In other studies, neoplasia and coinfections with reovirus and adenovirus have been found associated with IBD. In a study by Hellebuyck et al reptarenavirus was detected in an odontogenic fibromyxoma from a boa constrictor .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

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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“…Classic clinical signs of IBD include neurological signs, regurgitation, and secondary bacterial infections, including stomatitis and pneumonia ( 2 ). More recently, several cases of lymphoproliferative disorders have been associated with IBD in boa constrictors ( 2 – 5 ). Different clinical outcomes have been described for boas and pythons, with pythons reportedly experiencing a shorter, more severe, and more central nervous system (CNS)-involved disease course ( 1 , 2 , 6 , 7 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Stenglein

Guzmán

Garcia

et al. 2017

J Virol

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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 of purified virus. We monitored the progression of viral growth in tissues, blood, and environmental samples. Infection produced dramatically different disease outcomes in snakes of the two species. Ball pythons infected with Golden Gate virus (GoGV) and with another reptarenavirus displayed severe neurological signs within 2 months, and viral replication was detected only in central nervous system tissues. In contrast, GoGV-infected boa constrictors remained free of clinical signs for 2 years, despite high viral loads and the accumulation of large intracellular inclusions in multiple tissues, including the brain. Inflammation was associated with infection in ball pythons but not in boa constrictors. Thus, reptarenavirus infection produces inclusions and inclusion body disease, although inclusions per se are neither necessarily associated with nor required for disease. Although the natural distribution of reptarenaviruses has yet to be described, the different outcomes of infection may reflect differences in geographical origin.IMPORTANCE New DNA sequencing technologies have made it easier than ever to identify the sequences of microorganisms in diseased tissues, i.e., to identify organisms that appear to cause disease, but to be certain that a candidate pathogen actually causes disease, it is necessary to provide additional evidence of causality. We have done this to demonstrate that reptarenaviruses cause inclusion body disease (IBD), a serious transmissible disease of snakes. We infected boa constrictors and ball pythons with purified reptarenavirus. Ball pythons fell ill within 2 months of infection and displayed signs of neurological disease typical of IBD. In contrast, boa constrictors remained healthy over 2 years, despite high levels of virus throughout their bodies. This difference matches previous reports that pythons are more susceptible to IBD than boas and could reflect the possibility that boas are natural hosts of these viruses in the wild.

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Antemortem Diagnosis of Multicentric Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, Lymphoid Leukemia, and Inclusion Body Disease in a Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator)

Cited by 12 publications

References 40 publications

Prevalence of inclusion body disease and associated comorbidity in captive collections of boid and pythonid snakes in Belgium

Prevalence of inclusion body disease and associated comorbidity in captive collections of boid and pythonid snakes in Belgium

Reptarenaviruses in apparently healthy snakes in an Australian zoological collection

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

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