AU: Scientists want answers on turtle-killing virus

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-20/scientists-research-deadly-turtle-herpes/3580424

Scientists want answers on turtle-killing virus
Josh Bavas

Updated October 20, 2011 06:58:45

Marine researchers will begin tagging healthy turtles off the north Queensland coast this week to learn more about a deadly herpes-like virus.

Last year, a number of turtles were found off the coast of Bowen, south of Townsville, with a deadly virus known as fibro-papilloma.

World Wildlife Fund spokesman Cliff Cobbo says the organisation is joining forces with James Cook University researchers in north Queensland to study the disease in the next three years...

 

[Emily]

Re: AU: Scientists want answers on turtle-killing virus

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188478/

Vet Res. 2011; 42(1): 100.
Published online 2011 September 21. doi: 10.1186/1297-9716-42-100

PMCID: PMC3188478
Copyright ?2011 Ariel; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Viruses in reptiles
Ellen Ariel corresponding author1
1Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
[snip]

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a major chronic disease of juvenile green turtles and was considered the most significant cause of strandings and mortality in waters around Florida [41] and Hawaii [42]. An infection by fibropapillomatosis herpesvirus appears to be associated with oncogenesis under certain circumstances and considerable research effort has focused on the resultant disease: fibropapillomatosis of marine turtles [8,13,39,41,43-45].
Although many biotic factors such as leeches, mites, other viruses and algal blooms as well as abiotic environmental factors and adjacent land use are associated with FP of wild turtles [32,34,46-49], the CFPHV is implicated as the etiological agent of the disease [20,43,50-52]. It is suspected to operate under certain environmental conditions and in synergy with immune system modulators which may influence the persistence and severity of the lesions [38,40,44,53,54]. Wildlife and environmental management agencies are particularly concerned due to the potential population impact this disease could exert on otherwise threatened species [55].

It says here that the disease was discovered in Florida green sea turtles in 1938.