Intranuclear Coccidiosis (Tortoise Bubonic Plague)

[Kapidolo Farms]

Another good overview, with a broader focus than chelonians is ...

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/digestive_system/coccidiosis/overview_of_coccidiosis.html

as suggested by another TFO member (sorry I forget who).

Chickens are "shot gun" treated. Ag extension services have many web pages concerning the effect of different species of this group of pathoegns on chickens, along with husbandry and cleaning protocols to reduce spread, and even a few therapies for infected flocks.. But collectively chickens are worth hundreds of millions of $$, so they get a bit ore attention than chelonians.

Birds and reptiles have much in common as well as differences. deadheadvet - any traction on a chelonian perspective with this disease from the poultry industry?

Will

 

[deadheadvet]

The treatment in chickens has not been effective for this form of coccidia. We think Ponazuril will be effective. The coccidiastats in chickens show no efficacy against this because it is an intranuclear form of coccidia and the other drugs don't seem to penetrate the cell as well.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

The treatment in chickens has not been effective for this form of coccidia. We think Ponazuril will be effective. The coccidiastats in chickens show no efficacy against this because it is an intranuclear form of coccidia and the other drugs don't seem to penetrate the cell as well.

So this would point to something I am not finding in what I read, or at least beyond what I understand from what I read.

inTRAnuclear (not inTERnuclear) indicates to me they reside in the membrane that also contains the nucleus of each cell, so this coocidian organism in behind the cell membrane and also behind the nuclear membrane? Maybe I have this wrong? I have not been able to sort that out when I read some of the articles I have found.

To move from one cell to another some part of the life cycle has to leave this double membrane residence, and wouldn't that mean that part of the life cycle is the point where some compound would have efficacy?

What am I missing here in this understanding?

Will

 

[deadheadvet]

Intranuclear in that the organism is somehow incorporating its DNA into the cells via plasmid or some other mechanism that is not understood. So not extra cellular but outside the nucleus of the cell.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Intranuclear in that the organism is somehow incorporating its DNA into the cells via plasmid or some other mechanism that is not understood. So not extra cellular but outside the nucleus of the cell.

So when the cell divides the disease organism (or some phase of it) 'hitches' a ride, and is not extra cellular?

Will

 

[deadheadvet]

That is correct.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Well Kelly, now I better understand your use of the word 'virus' to describe this disease process. Coccidians are a protozoan, seems like maybe they are 'infected' with the plasmids. But then we are 'infected' with mitochondria, so maybe that is not the case at all. Creepy sh*t non-the-less.

Will

 

[tortadise]

Very creepy. Thanks for all the valid educated comments and discussed terminology and clarification from you Will. You and Evan sure did make this post a good reason why I wanted to put it out here. Scary stuff for sure. Again thanks Evan and Will for the advanced comments.

 

[deadheadvet]

I hope that the people this forum read this thread and look at their collection and give serious thought as to have there ever been an animal that had a questionable illness at any point that was never pursued. You are absolutely crazy not to test due to the high mortality rate this disease carries. I for one would never buy an animal that was not tested prior to purchase. The thought of losing an entire collection due to this is unnerving. I would still quarantine on top of a negative test as well.

 

[tortadise]

I hope that the people this forum read this thread and look at their collection and give serious thought as to have there ever been an animal that had a questionable illness at any point that was never pursued. You are absolutely crazy not to test due to the high mortality rate this disease carries. I for one would never buy an animal that was not tested prior to purchase. The thought of losing an entire collection due to this is unnerving. I would still quarantine on top of a negative test as well.

Agreed. My swabs will be off tomorrow. 9 species and 24 samples. Lets hope im not a victim of this lurker.

 

[deadheadvet]

I have a couple of samples in my freezer i'm holding to send out as well. Waiting on one tortoise to defecate and then I'll send them out.

 

[mking]

I just had all my tortoises swabbed on Monday. Basically I just printed out this discussion and the sheets for submitting to the lab in Florida and let my vet take a look at it. Cost me an arm and a leg and took multiple trips to take care of everyone but I will let you know what results I get. My vet mentioned some concern on the effectiveness of Ponazuril on something that is intracellular since it won't reach all the places that the original post stated as infected however, he is looking into the matter and interested in how this pans out for me.

There is some success using Ponazuril to treat any positive animals if caught early enough. The key is screening a collection before the animals are too debilitated for the treatment to be ineffective.
The best recommendations as previously stated would be to:
Quarantine new additions.
Test any new animals to be sure negative before introduction.
We are not sure how widespread Intranuclear Coccidiosis is. We are in the process of looking at funding to epidemiologically assess that scenario. The more collectors are willing to test, the better we are at finding out how to manage this disease.

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

Can Idexx run this test? Or does this lab in Florida have a specific test for it?

 

[deadheadvet]

Only the Univ. fla. Is running the test. Best results are from a cloacal swab (vigorous swirl inside the cloaca) for best result. We have had mixed results on cases depending on when the diagnosis was made. The key is early detection and length of treatment. The latest recommendation is Ponazuril 25mg/kg orally every other day for a minimum of 45 days and up to 60. Best to separate out the animals since transmission still not understood and reinfection likely. There could be a vector involved in this. Mosquitos, lizards, flies potentially could be spreading the oocysts.
You are welcome to PM for for detailed questions regarding the topic. There are a few veterinarians with a lot of experience treating this disease. It's really bad and difficult to get under control. Can wipe out a whole collection.

 

[tortadise]

I just had all my tortoises swabbed on Monday. Basically I just printed out this discussion and the sheets for submitting to the lab in Florida and let my vet take a look at it. Cost me an arm and a leg and took multiple trips to take care of everyone but I will let you know what results I get. My vet mentioned some concern on the effectiveness of Ponazuril on something that is intracellular since it won't reach all the places that the original post stated as infected however, he is looking into the matter and interested in how this pans out for me.

There is some success using Ponazuril to treat any positive animals if caught early enough. The key is screening a collection before the animals are too debilitated for the treatment to be ineffective.
The best recommendations as previously stated would be to:
Quarantine new additions.
Test any new animals to be sure negative before introduction.
We are not sure how widespread Intranuclear Coccidiosis is. We are in the process of looking at funding to epidemiologically assess that scenario. The more collectors are willing to test, the better we are at finding out how to manage this disease.

keep me posted on it Mary Lee. I hope all ends well and tests come back negative. As for the Ponazuril. I have had Mary lee the cherryhead that tested positive for this for 5 months now. Vast improvement. Extreme turn around. For now pending results just practice a very very tight bio-security protocol. Quarantine subject animals. use gloves. Don't step into their enclosure then another one. Basically treat them like a hospital surgery room.

 

[Bryan]

Does this form of Coccidiosis affect other animals as well of just Chelonians? Also are the tests done by most vets or do they have to be spent to specific labs? Thanks, Bryan

 

[deadheadvet]

This is a very specific type of Coccidia. It is a certain Eimeria species so far only found in turtles and tortoises. This test run at Univ. Fla. is a PCR test looking for this strand of DNA. There are other types of coccidia common in Chameleons, Anoles, and other lizards that are easy to find in fresh fecal samples. This particular species of Eimeria does not shed in the feces, therefore very difficult to identify. Hence Intranuclear (inside the cell) coccidiosis. It was just recently reported in Redfoot tortoises among at least a dozen other species. First known confirmed case was 1994 in a Radiated tortoise from St. Catherine's Island. I have reliable info that this disease likely goes back to the early 1970's but there wasn't the sophisticated testing we have today to have identified the organism back then. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to screen collections to be sure the organism does not exist.

 

[Bryan]

This is a very specific type of Coccidia. It is a certain Eimeria species so far only found in turtles and tortoises. This test run at Univ. Fla. is a PCR test looking for this strand of DNA. There are other types of coccidia common in Chameleons, Anoles, and other lizards that are easy to find in fresh fecal samples. This particular species of Eimeria does not shed in the feces, therefore very difficult to identify. Hence Intranuclear (inside the cell) coccidiosis. It was just recently reported in Redfoot tortoises among at least a dozen other species. First known confirmed case was 1994 in a Radiated tortoise from St. Catherine's Island. I have reliable info that this disease likely goes back to the early 1970's but there wasn't the sophisticated testing we have today to have identified the organism back then. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to screen collections to be sure the organism does not exist.

Thanks, is it something that decimates populations regardless of health or does it seem to decimate animals that are stressed ie. in shipping, cold spells, unclean environments, etc.?

 

[deadheadvet]

It seems that stress does play a role in this. There has been some discussion whether there is some other variable that makes the coccidiosis perform more aggressively but that has not been identified so far. We thought that possible another virus might be involved but nothing has turned as of yet. There has been discussion that rain may stress these guys and immunocompromise them. Specifically for outdoor animals.

 

[Bryan]

It seems that stress does play a role in this. There has been some discussion whether there is some other variable that makes the coccidiosis perform more aggressively but that has not been identified so far. We thought that possible another virus might be involved but nothing has turned as of yet. There has been discussion that rain may stress these guys and immunocompromise them. Specifically for outdoor animals.

Thanks, that's even scarier as you may not see any symptoms in the animal or group until they get stressed. This is not uncommon in animals as when they are healthy and have an abundance of food their immune systems are operating at peak performance, but once stress or hunger kicks in their immune systems become compromised. In your previous post you mentioned that you believe that there may have been unconfirmed cases since the 70's, do you have an idea of which species it originally entered the pet trade from?