Okoh, God'spower Richard, Ariel, Ellen, Wirth, Wytamma, Whitmore, David, and Horwood, Paul F. (2023) Molecular detection of novel herpesviruses and adenoviruses in two species of Australian freshwater turtles. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 69. 84.

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Abstract

Cutaneous lesions were observed in a wild population of freshwater turtles during routine disease surveillance at Alligator Creek, Townsville, Australia. Previous attempts to identify the causative agent of these lesions were unsuccessful; however, existing evidence suggests viral etiology. To further investigate these events, blood samples and lesion, oral and cloacal swabs collected from 128 freshwater turtles at two locations (Alligator Creek and Ross River) were screened for herpesvirus, adenovirus, poxvirus and papillomavirus by polymerase chain reaction. We detected three novel herpesviruses (chelid herpesvirus 1–3) as well as three adenoviruses (saw-shelled turtle adenovirus 1–3). Phylogenetic analyses showed that the herpesviruses formed a distinct clade with the tumour-associated chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (Scutavirus chelonidalpha5) within the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae. The adenoviruses clustered with members of the genus Testadenovirus. Although the novel herpesviruses and adenoviruses could not be linked to the occurrence of cutaneous lesions, further characterisation will help provide better insights into their clinical, epidemiological and conservation significance.

Item ID:	79684
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1439-0574
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Date Deposited:	09 Aug 2023 04:36
FoR Codes:	30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3009 Veterinary sciences > 300914 Veterinary virology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	10 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 1099 Other animal production and animal primary products > 109999 Other animal production and animal primary products not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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