Fish & Wildlife Disease: Reptile Disease
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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
Field diagnostics and seasonality of Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in wild snake populations
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging disease caused by the fungal pathogen, Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola. Clinical signs of SFD include dermal lesions, including regional and local edema, crusts, and ulcers. Snake fungal disease is widespread in the Eastern United States, yet there are limited data on how clinical signs of SFD compare with laboratory diagnostics. We compared two sampling methods
Authors
Jennifer M. McKenzie, Steven J. Price, J. Leo Fleckenstein, Andrea N. Drayer, Grant M. Connette, Elizabeth A. Bohuski, Jeffrey M. Lorch
Seasonal sex steroids indicate reproductive costs associated with snake fungal disease
Emergent diseases may result in population declines by inducing mortality directly or through sublethal effects on host reproduction. Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging threat to biodiversity, but the sublethal impacts of disease on host fitness are poorly characterized in snakes. The cryptic nature of most snakes makes direct assessment of the fitness consequences of SFD challenging. In su
Authors
Craig M. Lind, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Ignacio T. Moore, Ben J. Vernasco, Terence M. Farrell
Human induced trauma and directed take inhibits sea turtle recovery in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Sea turtle conservation is often hindered by the lack of reliable information on population status and threats due to sampling difficulties of these highly migratory reptiles that live in remote and data-poor locations. This paper summarizes more than a decade of stranding recoveries (live and dead turtles) on the islands of Saipan and Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), t
Authors
Tammy M. Summers, Irene Kinan Kelly, Thierry M. Work, Jessy R. Hapdei, Joe K. Ruak
Associating sex-biased and seasonal behaviour with contact patterns and transmission risk in Gopherus agassizii
Interactions between wildlife hosts act as transmission routes for directly transmitted pathogens and vary in ways that affect transmission efficiency. Identifying drivers of contact variation can allow both contact inference and estimation of transmission dynamics despite limited data. In desert tortoises, mating strategy, burrow use and seasonal change influence numerous behaviours and likely sh
Authors
Christina M. Aiello, Todd C. Esque, K. E. Nussear, P. G. Emblidge, Peter J. Hudson
Genomic evolution, recombination, and inter-strain diversity of chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 from Florida and Hawaii green sea turtles with fibropapillomatosis
Chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) is a herpesvirus associated with fibropapillomatosis (FP) in sea turtles worldwide. Single-locus typing has previously shown differentiation between Atlantic and Pacific strains of this virus, with low variation within each geographic clade. However, a lack of multi-locus genomic sequence data hinders understanding of the rate and mechanisms of ChHV5 evolutionar
Authors
Cheryl L. Morrison, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Thierry M. Work, Elizabeth Fahsbender, Mya Breitbart, Cynthia R. Adams, Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Lakyn Sanders, Mathias Ackermann, Robert S. Cornman
Patterns of circulating corticosterone in a population of rattlesnakes afflicted with snake fungal disease: Stress hormones as a potential mediator of seasonal cycles in disease severity and outcomes
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging threat to snake populations in the United States. Fungal pathogens are often associated with a physiological stress response mediated by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), and afflicted individuals may incur steep coping costs. The severity of SFD can vary seasonally; however, little is known regarding (1) how SFD infection relates to HPA activi
Authors
Craig M. Lind, Ignacio T. Moore, Çağlar Akçay, Ben J. Vernasco, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Terence M. Farrell
Snake fungal disease in North America: U.S. Geological Survey updates
Snake fungal disease (SFD) results from a skin infection that has been documented only in snakes. Historically, reports of snakes with skin infections of unknown origin have been sporadic. Recently, the number of reported cases of skin infections in snakes has increased substantially. This emerging infectious disease, confirmed in numerous species of snakes, is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces op
Authors
Noelle E. Thompson, Emily W. Lankau, Gail Moede Rogall
Emerging fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in wild European snakes
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging disease of conservation concern in eastern North America. Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of SFD, has been isolated from over 30 species of wild snakes from six families in North America. Whilst O. ophiodiicola has been isolated from captive snakes outside North America, the pathogen has not been reported from wild snakes elsewhere. We scree
Authors
Lydia H. V. Franklinos, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Elizabeth A. Bohuski, Julia Rodriguez-Ramos Fernandez, Owen Wright, Liam Fitzpatrick, Silviu Petrovan, Chris Durrant, Chris Linton, Vojtech Baláž, Andrew A Cunningham, Becki Lawson
Identification of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) in endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) with fibropapillomatosis in Asia
Fibropapillomatosis (FP), a debilitating tumor disease of sea turtles, was first identified in green turtles [Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758)] in Florida in 1938. In recent decades, FP has been observed globally and is an emerging panzootic disease in sea turtles. However, few reports of FP in Asia exist. Here, we provide the first evidence of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) DNA associated with FP
Authors
Tsung-Hsien Li, Wei-Li Hsu, Yu-Ching Lan, George H. Balazs, Thierry M. Work, Cheng-Tsung Tseng, Chao-Chin Chang
In-vitro replication of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 in organotypic skin cultures from Hawaiian green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor disease of marine turtles associated with Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) that has historically been refractory to growth in tissue culture. Here, we show for the first time de novo formation of ChHV5-positive intranuclear inclusions in cultured green turtle cells, which is indicative for active lytic replication of the virus. The minimal requirements to achieve
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Julie Dagenais, Tina Weatherby, George H. Balazs, Mathias Ackermann
Host susceptibility to snake fungal disease is highly dispersed across phylogenetic and functional trait space
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) reduce host population sizes, cause extinction, disassemble communities, and have indirect negative effects on human well-being. Fungal EIDs have reduced population abundances in amphibians and bats across many species over large areas. The recent emergence of snake fungal disease (SFD) may have caused declines in some snake populations in the Eastern United Sta
Authors
Frank T. Burbrink, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Karen R. Lips
Snake fungal disease: An emerging threat to wild snakes
Since 2006, there has been a marked increase in the number of reports of severe and often fatal fungal skin infections in wild snakes in the eastern USA. The emerging condition, referred to as snake fungal disease (SFD), was initially documented in rattlesnakes, where the infections were believed to pose a risk to the viability of affected populations. The disease is caused byOphidiomyces ophiodii
Authors
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Susan Knowles, Julia S. Lankton, Kathy Michell, Jaime L. Edwards, Joshua M. Kapfer, Richard A. Staffen, Erik R. Wild, Katie Z. Schmidt, Anne Ballmann, Doug Blodgett, Terence M. Farrell, Brad M. Glorioso, Lisa A. Last, Steven J. Price, Krysten L. Schuler, Christopher Smith, James F. X. Wellehan, David S. Blehert
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
Field diagnostics and seasonality of Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in wild snake populations
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging disease caused by the fungal pathogen, Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola. Clinical signs of SFD include dermal lesions, including regional and local edema, crusts, and ulcers. Snake fungal disease is widespread in the Eastern United States, yet there are limited data on how clinical signs of SFD compare with laboratory diagnostics. We compared two sampling methods
Authors
Jennifer M. McKenzie, Steven J. Price, J. Leo Fleckenstein, Andrea N. Drayer, Grant M. Connette, Elizabeth A. Bohuski, Jeffrey M. Lorch
Seasonal sex steroids indicate reproductive costs associated with snake fungal disease
Emergent diseases may result in population declines by inducing mortality directly or through sublethal effects on host reproduction. Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging threat to biodiversity, but the sublethal impacts of disease on host fitness are poorly characterized in snakes. The cryptic nature of most snakes makes direct assessment of the fitness consequences of SFD challenging. In su
Authors
Craig M. Lind, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Ignacio T. Moore, Ben J. Vernasco, Terence M. Farrell
Human induced trauma and directed take inhibits sea turtle recovery in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Sea turtle conservation is often hindered by the lack of reliable information on population status and threats due to sampling difficulties of these highly migratory reptiles that live in remote and data-poor locations. This paper summarizes more than a decade of stranding recoveries (live and dead turtles) on the islands of Saipan and Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), t
Authors
Tammy M. Summers, Irene Kinan Kelly, Thierry M. Work, Jessy R. Hapdei, Joe K. Ruak
Associating sex-biased and seasonal behaviour with contact patterns and transmission risk in Gopherus agassizii
Interactions between wildlife hosts act as transmission routes for directly transmitted pathogens and vary in ways that affect transmission efficiency. Identifying drivers of contact variation can allow both contact inference and estimation of transmission dynamics despite limited data. In desert tortoises, mating strategy, burrow use and seasonal change influence numerous behaviours and likely sh
Authors
Christina M. Aiello, Todd C. Esque, K. E. Nussear, P. G. Emblidge, Peter J. Hudson
Genomic evolution, recombination, and inter-strain diversity of chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 from Florida and Hawaii green sea turtles with fibropapillomatosis
Chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) is a herpesvirus associated with fibropapillomatosis (FP) in sea turtles worldwide. Single-locus typing has previously shown differentiation between Atlantic and Pacific strains of this virus, with low variation within each geographic clade. However, a lack of multi-locus genomic sequence data hinders understanding of the rate and mechanisms of ChHV5 evolutionar
Authors
Cheryl L. Morrison, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Thierry M. Work, Elizabeth Fahsbender, Mya Breitbart, Cynthia R. Adams, Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Lakyn Sanders, Mathias Ackermann, Robert S. Cornman
Patterns of circulating corticosterone in a population of rattlesnakes afflicted with snake fungal disease: Stress hormones as a potential mediator of seasonal cycles in disease severity and outcomes
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging threat to snake populations in the United States. Fungal pathogens are often associated with a physiological stress response mediated by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), and afflicted individuals may incur steep coping costs. The severity of SFD can vary seasonally; however, little is known regarding (1) how SFD infection relates to HPA activi
Authors
Craig M. Lind, Ignacio T. Moore, Çağlar Akçay, Ben J. Vernasco, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Terence M. Farrell
Snake fungal disease in North America: U.S. Geological Survey updates
Snake fungal disease (SFD) results from a skin infection that has been documented only in snakes. Historically, reports of snakes with skin infections of unknown origin have been sporadic. Recently, the number of reported cases of skin infections in snakes has increased substantially. This emerging infectious disease, confirmed in numerous species of snakes, is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces op
Authors
Noelle E. Thompson, Emily W. Lankau, Gail Moede Rogall
Emerging fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in wild European snakes
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging disease of conservation concern in eastern North America. Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of SFD, has been isolated from over 30 species of wild snakes from six families in North America. Whilst O. ophiodiicola has been isolated from captive snakes outside North America, the pathogen has not been reported from wild snakes elsewhere. We scree
Authors
Lydia H. V. Franklinos, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Elizabeth A. Bohuski, Julia Rodriguez-Ramos Fernandez, Owen Wright, Liam Fitzpatrick, Silviu Petrovan, Chris Durrant, Chris Linton, Vojtech Baláž, Andrew A Cunningham, Becki Lawson
Identification of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) in endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) with fibropapillomatosis in Asia
Fibropapillomatosis (FP), a debilitating tumor disease of sea turtles, was first identified in green turtles [Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758)] in Florida in 1938. In recent decades, FP has been observed globally and is an emerging panzootic disease in sea turtles. However, few reports of FP in Asia exist. Here, we provide the first evidence of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) DNA associated with FP
Authors
Tsung-Hsien Li, Wei-Li Hsu, Yu-Ching Lan, George H. Balazs, Thierry M. Work, Cheng-Tsung Tseng, Chao-Chin Chang
In-vitro replication of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 in organotypic skin cultures from Hawaiian green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor disease of marine turtles associated with Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) that has historically been refractory to growth in tissue culture. Here, we show for the first time de novo formation of ChHV5-positive intranuclear inclusions in cultured green turtle cells, which is indicative for active lytic replication of the virus. The minimal requirements to achieve
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Julie Dagenais, Tina Weatherby, George H. Balazs, Mathias Ackermann
Host susceptibility to snake fungal disease is highly dispersed across phylogenetic and functional trait space
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) reduce host population sizes, cause extinction, disassemble communities, and have indirect negative effects on human well-being. Fungal EIDs have reduced population abundances in amphibians and bats across many species over large areas. The recent emergence of snake fungal disease (SFD) may have caused declines in some snake populations in the Eastern United Sta
Authors
Frank T. Burbrink, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Karen R. Lips
Snake fungal disease: An emerging threat to wild snakes
Since 2006, there has been a marked increase in the number of reports of severe and often fatal fungal skin infections in wild snakes in the eastern USA. The emerging condition, referred to as snake fungal disease (SFD), was initially documented in rattlesnakes, where the infections were believed to pose a risk to the viability of affected populations. The disease is caused byOphidiomyces ophiodii
Authors
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Susan Knowles, Julia S. Lankton, Kathy Michell, Jaime L. Edwards, Joshua M. Kapfer, Richard A. Staffen, Erik R. Wild, Katie Z. Schmidt, Anne Ballmann, Doug Blodgett, Terence M. Farrell, Brad M. Glorioso, Lisa A. Last, Steven J. Price, Krysten L. Schuler, Christopher Smith, James F. X. Wellehan, David S. Blehert