#arenavirus

[crispysnakes]

Hey there! I tried to google these questions but I couldn’t find anything and I was wondering if you could help? How does the vet test for arenavirus? How much does it usually cost per snake? Should you have them tested even if there are no symptoms? And are there any sellers in particular buyers should avoid that are less than reputable when it comes to selling snakes that might carry it?

Sure, no problem.

How to test

You can test via swab or blood. Blood is more accurate than saliva.

You can either bring your animal into the clinic or have the vet come to you if you have multiple animals. If you do the former, you will be paying clinic fees unless you're able to work out something with your vet. If you do the latter, expect to pay your vet's hourly rate when they visit.

University of Florida's College of Vet Med is an R&D lab. Samples must be shipped overnight on ice by your vet to April Childress. Please refer to the Zoo Med page with the sample submission form here.

RAL is a diagnostic laboratory. They are an option the hobby is getting into because they are much cheaper. You can order swab kits and send in samples yourself here.

Cost

UF

Standard PCR on blood: $135/ea up until 9, and then it's $100/ea

Geissen qPCR on blood: $65/ea

RAL

Just arena: $25 

Preemptive Testing

I'm in agreement with preemptive testing as boas are typically asymptomatic carriers. You could have an animals with a very heavy viral load not showing symptoms, yet shedding the virus into the rest of your collection. I'm a fan of removing animals with obvious viral loads.

Sellers to Avoid

Almost everyone has it, it's incredibly difficult to avoid. It takes time for viral loads to build, too; upwards of a year for cross contamination, which makes retesting a necessity. 

Furthermore, this virus is vertically transmitted (through breeding). Offspring from a positive parent may repeat test negative on PCR until their viral load increases enough, and that could be years. The number of boas in the hobby that have it is estimated at 30%, but that's in all likelihood a gross understatement. It's probably much, much more.

[thlpp]

have you ever had to deal with something called inclusion body disease? i've just lost my young brazilian rainbow boa to it, and don't know how to feel.

I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s always hard to lose a pet, and my heart goes out to you.

Inclusion body disease (IBD) is sadly incurable and not yet well-studied. I didn’t encounter it myself, but it’s been a big concern, each time I got or interacted with a new pythonid or boid snake.

I have a tag dedicated to resources to learn about IBD, in case you want to learn more about it.

[crispysnakes]

I really wish it was easier to find answers to these arena questions but you're about the only person I've seen ever even talk about it to begin with, so: is there a minimum age a boa needs to be before testing for arena ? Thank you !

You can swab at any age. Blood I usually hold off until the babies are big enough for a heart stick. Most babies from positive parents (especially with high viral loads) usually pop positive.

[crispysnakes]

Prevalence of inclusion body disease and associated comorbidity in captive collections of boid and pythonid snakes in Belgium

Inclusion body disease (IBD) is caused by reptarenaviruses and constitutes one of the most notorious viral diseases in snakes. Although central nervous system disease and various other clinical signs have been attributed to IBD in boid and pythonid snakes, ...

Another good read.

[crispysnakes]

Will any reptile vet perform the blood tests? Regardless of where I buy my boa from I'll be asking the breeder/seller if their animals have been tested because I have other reptiles and I take this very seriously. I hope all your scaly sweethearts come back A-Ok!

If you’re in the US, any exotic vet can handle the blood draws, but the clinic will have to overnight ship the samples on ice to the vet med lab at the University of FL. There are two tests available: the standard PCR, which should detect all strains of arena, and the qPCR, which is a more sensitive test that measures viral load but is specific to the most common strain of arenavirus in the US. 

I’m glad you’re taking it seriously, more people in the hobby need to. And thanks! 

[medicomunicare]

La febbre di Lassa (virosi umana)

La febbre di Lassa (virosi umana)

In questi giorni i media hanno riportato due casi di febbre virali di Lassa, dei quali uno è deceduto in Inghilterra proprio oggi. Che cos’è la febbre di Lassa? Generalità La febbre di Lassa (LAF) è una malattia emorragica virale acuta causata dal virus di Lassa, che è endemico in alcune parti dell’Africa occidentale, tra cui Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea e Liberia. La trasmissione all’uomo…

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[uicscience]

New PNAS study shows fewer viral receptors correlate with lower infection rates, in mice

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have shown that mice with half the amount of viral receptor proteins on their cells were half as infected with certain viruses. Their findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers used mice genetically engineered to express half as much receptor for two New World arenaviruses as wild type mice. “We wanted to understand whether levels of receptors for this virus, which can have genetic variation, would mean that mice with fewer viruses would be less likely to get infected, or have a milder infection,” said Susan Ross, professor and head of microbiology and immunology in the University of Illinois College of Medicine an lead author of the paper.

“We found out that this indeed was the case,” she said.  

They also showed that mice with fewer receptors needed less of a receptor-blocking drug to block infection.

The finding supports the new field of pharmacogenetics, whereby medications and their doses are tailored to the genetics of the individual patient.

“Our finding suggests that less antiviral treatment may be needed for people who have lower levels of a viral receptor, so we can provide a dose that is adequate to treat infection and no more than that, thereby reducing potential side effects which are often worse with higher doses of medications,” said Ross.

Nicolás Sarute of the University of Illinois at Chicago is co-author of the paper.  

[healthinnovations]

Synthetic decoy molecule neutralizes a range of animal-to-human viruses.

Synthetic decoy molecule neutralizes a range of animal-to-human viruses. Thoughts health innovators?

It is known that arenaviruses are pathogens that infect rodents, and are zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted between animals and people. Arenaviruses are spread via rodent feces and urine, spreading diseases with two types of clinical presentations, namely neurological and hemorrhagic fever that range in severity. Due to their efficient transmission, arenaviruses pose a high risk for…

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