Experimental Reptarenavirus Infection of <i>Boa constrictor</i> and <i>Python regius</i>
Udo Hetzel, Yegor Korzyukov, Saskia Keller, Leonóra Szirovicza, Theresa Pesch, Olli Vapalahti, Anja Kipar, Jussi Hepojoki
Abstract
In the present study, we experimentally infected pythons and boas with reptarenavirus via either intraperitoneal injection or tracheal instillation. The aims were to experimentally induce boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) and to develop an animal model for studying disease transmission and pathogenesis. Both virus delivery routes resulted in infection, and infection via the trachea could reflect the natural route of infection. In the experimentally infected snakes, we did not find evidence of inclusion body (IB) formation, characteristic of BIBD, in pythons or boas. Most of the boas (11/12) remained reptarenavirus infected after 10 months, which suggests that they developed a persistent infection that could eventually have led to BIBD. We demonstrated that vaccination using recombinant protein or an inactivated virus preparation prevented infection by a homologous virus in three of four snakes. Comparison of the antibody responses of experimentally and naturally reptarenavirus-infected snakes revealed differences that merit further studies.