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. 2021 May 21;11(6):1490.
doi: 10.3390/ani11061490.

Chelonid Alphaherpesvirus 5 Prevalence and First Confirmed Case of Sea Turtle Fibropapillomatosis in Grenada, West Indies

Amanda James  1 , Annie Page-Karjian  2 , Kate E Charles  3 , Jonnel Edwards  1 , Christopher R Gregory  4 , Sonia Cheetham  1 , Brian P Buter  1 , David P Marancik  1
Affiliations

Chelonid Alphaherpesvirus 5 Prevalence and First Confirmed Case of Sea Turtle Fibropapillomatosis in Grenada, West Indies

Amanda James et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) is strongly associated with fibropapillomatosis, a neoplastic disease of sea turtles that can result in debilitation and mortality. The objectives of this study were to examine green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles in Grenada, West Indies, for fibropapillomatosis and to utilize ChHV5-specific PCR, degenerate herpesvirus PCR, and serology to non-invasively evaluate the prevalence of ChHV5 infection and exposure. One-hundred and sixty-seven turtles examined from 2017 to 2019 demonstrated no external fibropapilloma-like lesions and no amplification of ChHV5 DNA from whole blood or skin biopsies. An ELISA performed on serum detected ChHV5-specific IgY in 18/52 (34.6%) of green turtles tested. In 2020, an adult, female green turtle presented for necropsy from the inshore waters of Grenada with severe emaciation and cutaneous fibropapillomas. Multiple tumors tested positive for ChHV5 by qPCR, providing the first confirmed case of ChHV5-associated fibropapillomatosis in Grenada. These results indicate that active ChHV5 infection is rare, although viral exposure in green sea turtles is relatively high. The impact of fibropapillomatosis in Grenada is suggested to be low at the present time and further studies comparing host genetics and immunologic factors, as well as examination into extrinsic factors that may influence disease, are warranted.

Keywords: chelonid herpesvirus-5; fibropapillomatosis; sea turtle.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Necropsy findings of the first confirmed case of fibropapillomatosis in Grenada in a green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Gross appearance of (a) fibropapillomas extending from the conjunctiva of the eye, the neck, and the shoulder and (b) incised fibroma within the parenchyma of the lung. Tumor histomorphology under (c) 2× magnification demonstrating pedunculated appearance and (d) 40× magnification showing well differentiated spindle cells separated by an abundant fibrovascular stroma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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