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Baggio F, Hetzel U, Prähauser B, Dervas E, Michalopoulou E, Thiele T, Kipar A, Hepojoki J. A Multiplex RT-PCR Method for the Detection of Reptarenavirus Infection. Viruses 2023; 15:2313. [PMID: 38140554 PMCID: PMC10747477 DOI: 10.3390/v15122313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Reptarenaviruses cause Boid Inclusion Body Disease (BIBD), a fatal disease of boid snakes with an economic and ecological impact, as it affects both captive and wild constrictor snakes. The clinical picture of BIBD is highly variable but often only limited. Intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies (IB), which develop in most cell types including blood cells, are the pathognomonic hallmark of BIBD; their detection represents the diagnostic gold standard of the disease. However, IBs are not consistently present in clinically healthy reptarenavirus carriers, which can, if undetected, lead to and maintain the spread of the disease within and between snake populations. Sensitive viral detection tools are required for screening and control purposes; however, the genetic diversity of reptarenaviruses hampers the reverse transcription (RT) PCR-based diagnostics. Here, we describe a multiplex RT-PCR approach for the molecular diagnosis of reptarenavirus infection in blood samples. The method allows the detection of a wide range of reptarenaviruses with the detection limit reaching 40 copies per microliter of blood. Using 245 blood samples with a reference RT-PCR result, we show that the technique performs as well as the segment-specific RT-PCRs in our earlier studies. It can identify virus carriers and serve to limit reptarenavirus spreading in captive snake collections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Baggio
- The BIBD Group and Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; (U.H.); (B.P.); (E.D.); (E.M.); (T.T.); (A.K.); (J.H.)
- Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Udo Hetzel
- The BIBD Group and Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; (U.H.); (B.P.); (E.D.); (E.M.); (T.T.); (A.K.); (J.H.)
| | - Barbara Prähauser
- The BIBD Group and Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; (U.H.); (B.P.); (E.D.); (E.M.); (T.T.); (A.K.); (J.H.)
- Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Eva Dervas
- The BIBD Group and Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; (U.H.); (B.P.); (E.D.); (E.M.); (T.T.); (A.K.); (J.H.)
| | - Eleni Michalopoulou
- The BIBD Group and Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; (U.H.); (B.P.); (E.D.); (E.M.); (T.T.); (A.K.); (J.H.)
| | - Tanja Thiele
- The BIBD Group and Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; (U.H.); (B.P.); (E.D.); (E.M.); (T.T.); (A.K.); (J.H.)
| | - Anja Kipar
- The BIBD Group and Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; (U.H.); (B.P.); (E.D.); (E.M.); (T.T.); (A.K.); (J.H.)
| | - Jussi Hepojoki
- The BIBD Group and Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; (U.H.); (B.P.); (E.D.); (E.M.); (T.T.); (A.K.); (J.H.)
- Department of Virology, Medicum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
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