Chronic and fatal viral disease observed in Boid snakes
Inclusion body disease (IBD) is an infectious and invariably fatal viral disease affecting captive specimens of the boid family of snakes, particularly Boa constrictor. It has been recognized since the mid-1970s. It is so named because of the characteristic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies that are observed in clinical examinations in epidermal cells, oral mucosal epithelial cells, visceral epithelial cells, and neurons. In the 1970s and 1980s, the disease was most commonly observed in Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus).[citation needed] From the 1980s on, it has been most commonly observed in boa constrictors.[citation needed] To date, no treatment for IBD is known, and snakes that are diagnosed with IBD should generally be euthanized to prevent suffering in the snake and to reduce the risk of further infections.
All boid snakes should be considered susceptible to the disease. Many zoos quarantine boas specifically as a result of the risk of IBD before introducing them into their permanent collections and breeding programs. While the disease has not been identified in non-boid snakes, non-boid snakes can harbour the virus. Mites are thought to be the primary vector of the virus, or at least to be a contributory factor.
Its distribution is worldwide, specifically in captive boid snakes. Its occurrence in the wild is unknown. The disease has only been identified in adult and subadult specimens, not neonates. Even so, all age groups are considered susceptible, and anecdotal reports of the infection in neonates have been made. A retro-like virus infection was suspected as the causative agent of IBD, but identification of highly divergent arenavirus sequences from boa constrictors with IBD[1][2] suggested arenaviruses to be the etiological agent of IBD. Cell culture isolation of several arenaviruses from boid snakes with IBD further solidified, but did not yet confirm, the etiological relationship between IBD and arenaviruses.[3]
In python species, the disease presents as a profound, highly severe neurological illness that is swiftly fatal. In adult boa constrictors, the disease assumes a milder, more chronic or, sometimes, even asymptomatic form with a wide array of extremely variable manifestations that may or may not gradually progress to death.
^Stenglein, M.D., Sanders, C., Kistler, A. L., Ruby, J. G., Franco, J. Y., Reavil, D. R., Dunker, F and DeRisi. J.L. (2012): Identification, characterization, and in vitro culture of highly divergent arenavirus from boa constrictors and annulated tree boas: Candidate etiological agents for snake inclusion body disease. mBio 3(4):e00180–12. doi:10.1128/mBio.00180-12.
^Bodewes, R., Kik, M., Stalin, R. V., Schapendonk, C., Haagmans, B., Smits, S.L., and Osterhaus, A (2013): Detection of novel divergent arenavirus in boid snakes with inclusion body disease in the Netherlands. J. Gen. Virol; 0.051995–0.
^Hetzel U, Sironen T, Laurinmäki P, Liljeroos L, Patjas A, Henttonen H, Vaheri A, Artelt A, Kipar A, Butcher SJ, Vapalahti O, Hepojoki J. Isolation, identification and characterization of novel Arenaviruses, the etiological agent of Boid Inclusion Body Disease. J Virol. 2013 Aug 7. PMID 23926354
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