SREL Reprint #3317

First case of ranavirus and associated morbidity and mortality in an eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum in South Carolina

Megan E. Winzeler, Matthew T. Hamilton, Tracey D. Tuberville, and Stacey L. Lance

Savannah River Ecology Lab, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA

Abstract: Ranaviruses are double-stranded DNA viruses that infect amphibians, fish, and reptiles, causing global epidemics in some amphibian populations. It is important to identify new species that may be susceptible to the disease, particularly if they reside in the same habitat as other at-risk species. On the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina, USA, ranaviruses are present in several amphibian populations, but information is lacking on the presence, prevalence, and morbidity of the virus in reptile species. An eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum captured on the SRS in April 2014 exhibited clinical signs of a ranaviral infection, including oral plaque and conjunctivitis. Quantitative PCR analyses of DNA from liver tissue, ocular, oral, nasal, and cloacal swabs were all positive for ranavirus, and sequencing of the template confirmed infection with a FV3-like ranavirus. Histopathologic examination of postmortem tissue samples revealed ulceration of the oral and tracheal mucosa, intracytoplasmic epithelial inclusions in the oral mucosa and tongue sections, individualized and clusters of melanomacrophages in the liver, and bacterial rods located in the liver, kidney, heart, stomach, and small intestine. This is the first report of morbidity and mortality of a mud turtle with a systemic ranaviral infection.

Keywords: Chelonian, Amphibian, Frog virus 3, FV3, Iridovirus, Systemic infection, Zoonosis, Savannah River Site

SREL Reprint #3317

Winzeler, M. E., M. T. Hamilton, T. D. Tuberville, and S. L. Lance. 2015. First case of ranavirus and associated morbidity and mortality in an eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum in South Carolina. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 114(1): 77-81.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).