Fish & Wildlife Disease: Reptile Disease Active
By Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program
September 29, 2022
Disease causing pathogens are of concern to human and wildlife health and are frequently the number one reported impairment for water resources in the United States.
Reptile Disease
Reptile Disease
Explore our science using the data below.
Explore our science using the publications below.
Filter Total Items: 64
Geographic variation in marine turtle fibropapillomatosis
We document three examples of fibropapillomatosis by histology, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and sequence analysis from three different geographic areas. Tumors compatible in morphology with fibropapillomatosis were seen in green turtles from Puerto Rico and San Diego (California) and in a hybrid loggerhead/ hawksbill turtle from Florida Bay (Florida). Tumors were confirmed as fi
Authors
R.J. Greenblatt, Thierry M. Work, P. Dutton, C.A. Sutton, T.R. Spraker, R.N. Casey, C.E. Diez, Dana C. Parker, J. St. Ledger, G.H. Balazs, J.W. Casey
Genomic variation of the fibropapilloma-associated marine turtle herpes virus across seven geographic areas and three host species
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) of marine turtles is an emerging neoplastic disease associated with infection by a novel turtle herpesvirus, fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpesvirus (FPTHV). This report presents 23 kb of the genome of an FPTHV infecting a Hawaiian green turtle (Chelonia mydas). By sequence homology, the open reading frames in this contig correspond to herpes simplex virus genes UL23
Authors
R.J. Greenblatt, S.L. Quackenbush, R.N. Casey, J. Rovnak, G.H. Balazs, Thierry M. Work, J.W. Casey, C.A. Sutton
The elusive baseline of marine disease: Are diseases in ocean ecosystems increasing?
Disease outbreaks alter the structure and function of marine ecosystems, directly affecting vertebrates (mammals, turtles, fish), invertebrates (corals, crustaceans, echinoderms), and plants (seagrasses). Previous studies suggest a recent increase in marine disease. However, lack of baseline data in most communities prevents a direct test of this hypothesis. We developed a proxy to evaluate a pred
Authors
Jessica R. Ward, Kevin D. Lafferty
The Ozobranchus leech is a candidate mechanical vector for the fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpesvirus found latently infecting skin tumors on Hawaiian green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) of marine turtles is a neoplastic disease of ecological concern. A fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpesvirus (FPTHV) is consistently present, usually at loads exceeding one virus copy per tumor cell. DNA from an array of parasites of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) was examined with quantitative PCR (qPCR) to determine whether any carried viral loads are sufficient to im
Authors
R.J. Greenblatt, Thierry M. Work, G. Balazs, C.A. Sutton, R.N. Casey, J.W. Casey
Necropsies of six desert tortoises from California
No abstract available at this time
Authors
E.R. Jacobson, K.H. Berry
Bacteremia in free-ranging Hawaiian green turtles, Chelonia mydas, with fibropapillomatosis
Past studies of free-ranging green turtles Chelonia mydas with fibropapillomatosis (FP) in Hawaii have shown that animals become immunosuppressed with increasing severity of this disease. Additionally, preliminary clinical examination of moribund turtles with FP revealed that some animals were also bacteraemic. We tested the hypothesis that bacteraemia in sea turtles is associated with the severit
Authors
Thierry M. Work, G.H. Balazs, M. Wolcott, Robert Morris
Aphanomyces invadans in Atlantic Menhaden along the East Coast of the United States
The cause of deeply penetrating ulcers of Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus has been the subject of significant research efforts in recent years. These lesions and the associated syndrome termed ulcerative mycosis have been observed along the East Coast of the United States since at least the early 1980s. Although Aphanomyces spp. were isolated from these lesions in the mid to late 1980s, simi
Authors
Vicki S. Blazer, J. H. Lilley, W. B. Schill, Y. Kiryu, Christine L. Densmore, V. Panyawachira, S. Chinabut
Application of diagnostic tests for mycoplasmal infections of desert and gopher tortoises with management recommendations
Mycoplasmosis is a transmissible upper respiratory tract disease that has affected plans for management and conservation of wild desert and gopher tortoises in the United States. Although impact of mycoplasmosis on populations of desert and gopher tortoises is unknown, increased prevalence of seropositive animals as well as field observations of clinically ill tortoises have occurred in associatio
Authors
D.R. Brown, Isabella M. Schumacher, Grace S. Mclaughlin, L.D. Wendland, Mary E. Brown, P.A. Klein, E.R. Jacobson
Soluble scute proteins of healthy and ill desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii)
No abstract available.
Authors
B.L. Homer, Chen Li, K.H. Berry, Nancy Denslow, E.R. Jacobson, R. Sawyer, E. Williams
Mycoplasma agassizii sp., nov., isolated from the upper respiratory tract of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).
Biochemical, serological and molecular genetic studies were performed on seven mycoplasma isolates that were recovered from the upper respiratory tract of clinically ill desert tortoises. The isolates were serologically related to each other but serologically distinct from previously described species. Unique mycoplasma species-specific 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences were found in the proposed type
Authors
Mary E. Brown, D.R. Brown, P.A. Kelin, G.S. McLaughlin, Isabella M. Schumacher, E.R. Jacobson, H.P. Adams, J.G. Tully
Reference intervals and physiologic alterations in hematologic and biochemical values of free-ranging desert tortoises in the Mojave Desert
Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) populations have experienced precipitous declines resulting from the cumulative impact of habitat loss, and human and disease-related mortality. Evaluation of hematologic and biochemical responses of desert tortoises to physiologic and environmental factors can facilitate the assessment of stress and disease in tortoises and contribute to management decisions a
Authors
Mary M. Christopher, Kristin H. Berry, I.R. Wallis, K.A. Nagy, B.T. Henen, C.C. Peterson
Seroepidemiology of upper respiratory tract disease in the desert tortoise of California
Several factors have combined with an upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) to produce declines on some population numbers of desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the western USA. This study was designed to determine the seroepidemiology of URTD in a population of wild adult tortoises at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area (DTNA) study site in Kern County (California, USA). Prior to ini
Authors
Mary B. Brown, Kristin H. Berry, Isabella M. Schumacher, Kenneth A. Nagy, Mary M. Christopher, Paul A. Klein
Disease causing pathogens are of concern to human and wildlife health and are frequently the number one reported impairment for water resources in the United States.
Reptile Disease
Reptile Disease
Explore our science using the data below.
Explore our science using the publications below.
Filter Total Items: 64
Geographic variation in marine turtle fibropapillomatosis
We document three examples of fibropapillomatosis by histology, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and sequence analysis from three different geographic areas. Tumors compatible in morphology with fibropapillomatosis were seen in green turtles from Puerto Rico and San Diego (California) and in a hybrid loggerhead/ hawksbill turtle from Florida Bay (Florida). Tumors were confirmed as fi
Authors
R.J. Greenblatt, Thierry M. Work, P. Dutton, C.A. Sutton, T.R. Spraker, R.N. Casey, C.E. Diez, Dana C. Parker, J. St. Ledger, G.H. Balazs, J.W. Casey
Genomic variation of the fibropapilloma-associated marine turtle herpes virus across seven geographic areas and three host species
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) of marine turtles is an emerging neoplastic disease associated with infection by a novel turtle herpesvirus, fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpesvirus (FPTHV). This report presents 23 kb of the genome of an FPTHV infecting a Hawaiian green turtle (Chelonia mydas). By sequence homology, the open reading frames in this contig correspond to herpes simplex virus genes UL23
Authors
R.J. Greenblatt, S.L. Quackenbush, R.N. Casey, J. Rovnak, G.H. Balazs, Thierry M. Work, J.W. Casey, C.A. Sutton
The elusive baseline of marine disease: Are diseases in ocean ecosystems increasing?
Disease outbreaks alter the structure and function of marine ecosystems, directly affecting vertebrates (mammals, turtles, fish), invertebrates (corals, crustaceans, echinoderms), and plants (seagrasses). Previous studies suggest a recent increase in marine disease. However, lack of baseline data in most communities prevents a direct test of this hypothesis. We developed a proxy to evaluate a pred
Authors
Jessica R. Ward, Kevin D. Lafferty
The Ozobranchus leech is a candidate mechanical vector for the fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpesvirus found latently infecting skin tumors on Hawaiian green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) of marine turtles is a neoplastic disease of ecological concern. A fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpesvirus (FPTHV) is consistently present, usually at loads exceeding one virus copy per tumor cell. DNA from an array of parasites of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) was examined with quantitative PCR (qPCR) to determine whether any carried viral loads are sufficient to im
Authors
R.J. Greenblatt, Thierry M. Work, G. Balazs, C.A. Sutton, R.N. Casey, J.W. Casey
Necropsies of six desert tortoises from California
No abstract available at this time
Authors
E.R. Jacobson, K.H. Berry
Bacteremia in free-ranging Hawaiian green turtles, Chelonia mydas, with fibropapillomatosis
Past studies of free-ranging green turtles Chelonia mydas with fibropapillomatosis (FP) in Hawaii have shown that animals become immunosuppressed with increasing severity of this disease. Additionally, preliminary clinical examination of moribund turtles with FP revealed that some animals were also bacteraemic. We tested the hypothesis that bacteraemia in sea turtles is associated with the severit
Authors
Thierry M. Work, G.H. Balazs, M. Wolcott, Robert Morris
Aphanomyces invadans in Atlantic Menhaden along the East Coast of the United States
The cause of deeply penetrating ulcers of Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus has been the subject of significant research efforts in recent years. These lesions and the associated syndrome termed ulcerative mycosis have been observed along the East Coast of the United States since at least the early 1980s. Although Aphanomyces spp. were isolated from these lesions in the mid to late 1980s, simi
Authors
Vicki S. Blazer, J. H. Lilley, W. B. Schill, Y. Kiryu, Christine L. Densmore, V. Panyawachira, S. Chinabut
Application of diagnostic tests for mycoplasmal infections of desert and gopher tortoises with management recommendations
Mycoplasmosis is a transmissible upper respiratory tract disease that has affected plans for management and conservation of wild desert and gopher tortoises in the United States. Although impact of mycoplasmosis on populations of desert and gopher tortoises is unknown, increased prevalence of seropositive animals as well as field observations of clinically ill tortoises have occurred in associatio
Authors
D.R. Brown, Isabella M. Schumacher, Grace S. Mclaughlin, L.D. Wendland, Mary E. Brown, P.A. Klein, E.R. Jacobson
Soluble scute proteins of healthy and ill desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii)
No abstract available.
Authors
B.L. Homer, Chen Li, K.H. Berry, Nancy Denslow, E.R. Jacobson, R. Sawyer, E. Williams
Mycoplasma agassizii sp., nov., isolated from the upper respiratory tract of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).
Biochemical, serological and molecular genetic studies were performed on seven mycoplasma isolates that were recovered from the upper respiratory tract of clinically ill desert tortoises. The isolates were serologically related to each other but serologically distinct from previously described species. Unique mycoplasma species-specific 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences were found in the proposed type
Authors
Mary E. Brown, D.R. Brown, P.A. Kelin, G.S. McLaughlin, Isabella M. Schumacher, E.R. Jacobson, H.P. Adams, J.G. Tully
Reference intervals and physiologic alterations in hematologic and biochemical values of free-ranging desert tortoises in the Mojave Desert
Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) populations have experienced precipitous declines resulting from the cumulative impact of habitat loss, and human and disease-related mortality. Evaluation of hematologic and biochemical responses of desert tortoises to physiologic and environmental factors can facilitate the assessment of stress and disease in tortoises and contribute to management decisions a
Authors
Mary M. Christopher, Kristin H. Berry, I.R. Wallis, K.A. Nagy, B.T. Henen, C.C. Peterson
Seroepidemiology of upper respiratory tract disease in the desert tortoise of California
Several factors have combined with an upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) to produce declines on some population numbers of desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the western USA. This study was designed to determine the seroepidemiology of URTD in a population of wild adult tortoises at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area (DTNA) study site in Kern County (California, USA). Prior to ini
Authors
Mary B. Brown, Kristin H. Berry, Isabella M. Schumacher, Kenneth A. Nagy, Mary M. Christopher, Paul A. Klein