Intranuclear Coccidiosis (Tortoise Bubonic Plague)

[deadheadvet]

Radiated Tortoise. I was speaking with Dr. Jacobson on the subject recently and it was his opinion about a case he was involved in back then that had all of the signs we are currently seeing now for this disease. You have to remember that there are a lot of unreported deaths that we just don't know about that may be involved with this. Necropsies are so important when done in time.

 

[Bryan]

Radiated Tortoise. I was speaking with Dr. Jacobson on the subject recently and it was his opinion about a case he was involved in back then that had all of the signs we are currently seeing now for this disease. You have to remember that there are a lot of unreported deaths that we just don't know about that may be involved with this. Necropsies are so important when done in time.

Thanks, from what you've seen do Radiateds have a bit more of a tolerance/resistance to it than other species since it may well have originated in the radiateds natural range?

 

[deadheadvet]

From the cases reported, I would say no. They are just as likely to die if infected and not treated early enough. There have been some successful outcomes in collections where animals were found positive in screening large groups and responded well to treatment.

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

Has anyone complied a list of symptoms?
I've read some brief case reports, and initially is sounds like Redfoots where affected, but several reports I came across notes various species from mediteranians to African tortoises. I was hoping there would be a possible signalment or "breed predilection" like my "joke" at the hospital...

"It's a Pom, so it's Cushinoid until proven otherwise". (Nothing against Poms, one of my fav breeds).

I'd like to help compile a sort of information/treatment sheet to disseminate to veterinarians/keepers/breeders. I have four reptile DVMs I work with (two at my own practice) who are very interested in this organism.

For those of you sending in swabs to screen, are you paying the $100 test fee listed on UFs Diagnostic Lab fee schedule? My boss and I are calling the lab tomorrow for more information and possibly a group price for our hospital account. Maybe I can get us all a discount. We are also interested in performing necropsies at no cost if keepers are willing to ship us the animal frozen.

I'd love to hear some thoughs.

 

[deadheadvet]

Having submitted a lot of samples, there are no group prices. PCR testing is very expensive! 90$ for the first sample and 30$ for every additional sample for qPCR which is very specific for the strand of DNA for this particular type of Eimeria. If you are testing for All sequencing of DNA, 100$ per sample.
I have actually done both depending on the case.
As far as ill animals go. Usually they go off feed quickly, runny eyes, diarrhea, no weight loss because very acute illness and death in a matter of
7-10 days.
In larger collections, it is possible to submit group samples to reduce cost.
Vigorous cloacal swabs is the best way to get an accurate test result.
We take a mini culturette, flip the tortoise over plastron facing you and insert the culturette into the cloaca and swirl it around vigorously, then transfer it into a sterile red top plain tube. Samples are then sent FEDEX priority overnight to U of F for analysis. I have tested every single animal in my collection. I have tested for Mycoplasma as well.
The number of known reported species include:
Radiated tortoise, Leopard Tortoise, Redfoot Tortoise, Yellowfoot Tortoise, Forstens Tortoise, Impressed Tortoise, Burmese Star Tortoise, Indian Star Tortoise, African Spur Thighed Tortoise, A Few Aquatic Turtles,

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

Cost: Nevermind, found the post "$100 ea or $500 for 25".
I'm still going to call the lab and see if our account can be used for us here to submit as needed, and possible get a discount on those of us with fewer animals. Or maybe we can pool a submission...like I send Sylvia 8 swabs, she add hers, someone else adds the remainder and we all pay $20/animal.

 

[cdmay]

From the cases reported, I would say no. They are just as likely to die if infected and not treated early enough. There have been some successful outcomes in collections where animals were found positive in screening large groups and responded well to treatment.

That is encouraging. I still am not really clear about one aspect of this issue though...it has been often repeated that extreme quarantine procedures are needed to prevent the spread of IC. That sounds good.
But if the disease can be transmitted by simply stepping from one pen into another, then how long does the organism survive in the environment?
In other words, suppose and infected tortoise lived in an outdoor pen while contagious but that animal was then removed. For how long would that area be off limits to reintroduction? A week? A month? A year?
If a keeper has infected animals in his or her yard that are being treated, is it pointless to treat them while they remain in that yard?

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

Having submitted a lot of samples, there are no group prices. PCR testing is very expensive! 90$ for the first sample and 30$ for every additional sample for qPCR which is very specific for the strand of DNA for this particular type of Eimeria. If you are testing for All sequencing of DNA, 100$ per sample.
I have actually done both depending on the case.
As far as ill animals go. Usually they go off feed quickly, runny eyes, diarrhea, no weight loss because very acute illness and death in a matter of
7-10 days.
In larger collections, it is possible to submit group samples to reduce cost.
Vigorous cloacal swabs is the best way to get an accurate test result.
We take a mini culturette, flip the tortoise over plastron facing you and insert the culturette into the cloaca and swirl it around vigorously, then transfer it into a sterile red top plain tube. Samples are then sent FEDEX priority overnight to U of F for analysis. I have tested every single animal in my collection. I have tested for Mycoplasma as well.
The number of known reported species include:
Radiated tortoise, Leopard Tortoise, Redfoot Tortoise, Yellowfoot Tortoise, Forstens Tortoise, Impressed Tortoise, Burmese Star Tortoise, Indian Star Tortoise, African Spur Thighed Tortoise, A Few Aquatic Turtles,

Dang yer fast! [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

Thank you for the above, very helpful. I'm adding to my notes as we "speak".
Is a sterile cotton tipped applicator acceptable? I have many in stock, or I can order mini-culturettes. I have a ton of Copan swabs, but I assume the culture medium is useless?

 

[deadheadvet]

Since the transmission has not been worked out, you need to isolate the infected animals for sure. The pen needs to be left empty if possible since the organism is in there. The issue is how are the other animals getting contaminated. This we do not know. I have spoken to a couple Parasitologists on the subject and the best way to kill off the oocysts is heat and direct sunlight. How long will it take, unknown. Since the organism has been found in the conjunctiva of infected animals, it may be transmitted through direct contact of infected animals, since runny eyes is very common when these animals are sick, so isolation is very important. Removing all fecal material from the pens is also important.
I spoke to a large collector who treated a large group of animals, and they removed everything from the enclosure that could be removed. They blowtorched all permanent structures not made of wood.
If you don't treat any positive animal, likely they will die.

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

So, with as little as we currently understand, would a current recommended quarantine period for new acquisitions be 90 days? 6 months? A year?
I understand it is all speculative at this point, but possible having basic guidelines to educate keepers would be a great place to start, then making changes as new information and experiences come along.

 

[deadheadvet]

So, with as little as we currently understand, would a current recommended quarantine period for new acquisitions be 90 days? 6 months? A year?
I understand it is all speculative at this point, but possible having basic guidelines to educate keepers would be a great place to start, then making changes as new information and experiences come along.

The swabs you have are fine if they will fit up the cloaca, don't use the transport media. Put the swab into a plain red top tube.
Quarantine should be a minimum of 90 days possibly 6 months. I have a new group of tortoises that will be isolated until the spring. They came as a group, so they are kept together and were tested immediately upon arrival. Still will be isolated to make sure they will not show any signs of illness or not put them at risk from any of my other animals as well. Even though all of my other animals are fine. New animals are always at risk until settled in. Stress plays a big role in the disease process.

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

Thank you.
I'm going to state in my info sheet "minimum 90 day quarantine/isolation, 6 months recommended". Can I email you my rough draft? Going to be a bit, as I am also revising the Sulcata care sheet on VeterinaryPartner.com. EEEEEK!

 

[deadheadvet]

Thank you.
I'm going to state in my info sheet "minimum 90 day quarantine/isolation, 6 months recommended". Can I email you my rough draft? Going to be a bit, as I am also revising the Sulcata care sheet on VeterinaryPartner.com. EEEEEK!

sure

 

[Bryan]

Does anyone have any idea on how long of an incubation/infection period an animal can have before showing symptoms?

 

[deadheadvet]

Does anyone have any idea on how long of an incubation/infection period an animal can have before showing symptoms?

Weeks to months

 

[Bryan]

Does anyone have any idea on how long of an incubation/infection period an animal can have before showing symptoms?

Weeks to months

So in theory a year long quarantine should be sufficient?

 

[deadheadvet]

I know of a case where a tortoise showed signs almost a year later and died. It's a question of when the infected tortoise becomes exposed and how long before signs show up. My advice is to test a collection, know it's clean and isolate any new additions for at least 3-6 months and test those new animals.

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

While that is horribly tragic, would you say it's less likely? I'm working on recommendations/treatment protocol/isolation for this disease, planning to disseminate to reptile DVMs and anyone else interested, however recommending to everyone they quarantine for a year and/or screen each new acquisition is going to discourage a lot of would-be keepers who tortoises need for better homes and even species conservation. I guess it's sort of a "double edged sword".
I have five DVMs assisting in the development of this information sheet. Planning to keep is very open and encourage testing, but try not to scare anyone off. Thoughts? Am I way off base?

 

[sibi]

Sandy, I'll send you the phone number of someone at UF that knows more on this disease. He treated Beasty Boy last year and alerted me to this disease last year. I was concerned about Baby Runt who I just received.

 

[deadheadvet]

The best way for me to put this is:
Those with large, valuable collections will test and quarantine new additions because it will limit spread and exposure of dangerous pathogens. Those with small collections or individual animals, or
Tortoises on the inexpensive side, will see this only as a dollars and cents thing and can't justify the cost of the test. That is a hurdle that serious tortoise keepers will never be able to overcome. That is why this disease will be difficult to overcome. The failure of collectors to test will continue to cause the spread of this organism. I have passed on numerous purchases because the seller refused to test their animals.