Elsevier

Virology

Volume 517, April 2018, Pages 77-87
Virology

Respiratory disease in ball pythons (Python regius) experimentally infected with ball python nidovirus

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2017.12.008Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • We demonstrated that nidoviruses cause respiratory disease in ball pythons.

  • Mucinous chronic inflammation and proliferative interstitial pneumonia is typical.

  • Infectious virus in oral secretions and feces suggest possible transmission routes.

  • Choanal and oral/esophageal swabs are good samples for antemortem diagnosis.

  • Related nidoviruses in lizards and cattle have also been linked to respiratory disease.

Abstract

Circumstantial evidence has linked a new group of nidoviruses with respiratory disease in pythons, lizards, and cattle. We conducted experimental infections in ball pythons (Python regius) to test the hypothesis that ball python nidovirus (BPNV) infection results in respiratory disease. Three ball pythons were inoculated orally and intratracheally with cell culture isolated BPNV and two were sham inoculated. Antemortem choanal, oroesophageal, and cloacal swabs and postmortem tissues of infected snakes were positive for viral RNA, protein, and infectious virus by qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, western blot and virus isolation. Clinical signs included oral mucosal reddening, abundant mucus secretions, open-mouthed breathing, and anorexia. Histologic lesions included chronic-active mucinous rhinitis, stomatitis, tracheitis, esophagitis and proliferative interstitial pneumonia. Control snakes remained negative and free of clinical signs throughout the experiment. Our findings establish a causal relationship between nidovirus infection and respiratory disease in ball pythons and shed light on disease progression and transmission.

Keywords

Ball python
Nidovirus
Experimental infection
Respiratory disease
Pneumonia
Torovirinae
Barnivirus
Koch's postulates

Cited by (0)

1

Current address: Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.