Abstract: Marine turtles are calm, long-living reptiles with complicated lifestyle. They have their attendance all over the globe. The survival of turtles became so pathetic by various means of human development exercises. Now, on the other hand, emerging diseases came to the platform. Disease indications are alarming high in the coastal belts where human agitation is heavier. Herpesviridae family members are the top most pathogenic agents that are disturbing the survival of these long-living animals. They are a total of five herpesviruses that are associated with diseases in turtles; in them, Fibropapillomatosis is the catastrophic disease, which is characterized by tumors over smooth surfaces of the body. Disease had turned to be an upcoming invader for the maritime turtle’s community. The establishment and potential of this disease is under the hands of environmental factors. The longevity of marine turtles, coupled with their close association with inshore habitats and seagrass meadows and coral reefs in these habitats, has led to the proposal that they may act as sentinel indicators of marine ecosystem health.

1. MAJOR ADVISOR
MEGHA K BEDEKAR
SENIOR SCIENTIST
PRESENTED BY
B.MADHUSUDHANA RAO
AAHMA5-07

2. INTRODUCTION
• Order : Testudines
• Family : Cheloniidae
• Poikilotherms
• 110 million years,
since the time of the
dinosaurs.

3. Turtles are exposed to a no. of threats
• Degradation, urbanisation &
pollution of nesting habitats &
foraging areas.
• Traditional hunting and egg
harvest
• The impacts of climate change on
the marine and terrestrial
environment.

4. “Cayman Turtle Farm”
(CTF)
• Grand Cayman island, West
Indies in 1968 with 23 acres.
• Opens the door for – exchange
of views on the pros and cons
of sea turtle farming.
High demand for food
& medicinal purposes.

5. HERPESVIRUSES
Generally characteristic
features of HV:
 Variable host range,
 Short replication cycle,
and
• Linear, ds DNA
genome with
Icosahedral symmetry
• Replication is within
the nucleus.

6. HERPESVIRUSES

7. HERPESVIRUSES
• Greek word herpein , referring to the LATENT.
• Establish latent infection.
During which
viral gene
expression is
minimized
• Expression of these latency-
associated genes may
function to keep the viral
genome from being digested
by cellular ribozymes or being
found out by the immune
system.

8. HERPESVIRUSES
ChHV 1 (Grey Patch Disease)
ChHV 2
ChHV 3
ChHV 4
ChHV 5 (Fibropapillomatosis)
ChHV 6 (Lung-Eye- and
Tracheal disease)
HV affecting
F.W Turtles

9. Strains of Chelonid Herpesvirus 5
FIBROPAPILLO
MATOSIS
A
B
D
C
Genome -----23 kb
Atlantic ( Florida &
Barbados)
Middle Pacific (Hawaii)
Eastern Pacific.
Western Pacific (Australia)

10. FIBROPAPILLOMATOSIS (FP)
• FP - 1st reported in 1938 at Key West, Florida.
• V. limited focus is done on diseases of sea turtles.
But greatest concern -
Green turtles as it has
only reached a panzootic
status in this species
(Williams et al., 1994).
FP is a neoplastic disease characterized by cutaneous, ocular
tumours that has been documented to infect all sea turtle species.

11. AETIOLOGY
• Research to date suggests
that FP is associated with a
Herpesvirus infection
(Herbst et al., 1995;
Quackenbush et al., 1998,
2001; Lackovich et al.,
1999).
This virus cannot be cultured in vitro and therefore
Koch's postulates have not been fulfilled.

12. AETIOLOGY
• Agent : Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) or
"Green turtle fibropapillomatosis” (GTFP)
because it was first recorded in Green turtles.
Family : Herpesviridae
Subfamily : Alphaherpesvirinae
Genus : Scutavirus (ICTV, 2011).

13. 1938
(1.5%)
Disease prevalence and impact
FP emerge in the
Eastern Pacific,
Hawaiian Islands,
Indonesia and
Australia (40%).
PANZOOTIC
Over 140 countries (Groombridge
and Luxmoore, 1989).
50% of the population of green
turtles in the world are affected by
the disease (Balazs 1991, Herbst
1994).
1980s (20-60%)
1990s

14. Epidemiology
• FP typically occurs in marine turtles inhabiting neritic
areas – most frequently observed in juvenile turtles.
• Horizontal.
• The higher incidence
in females may be –
behavioral ecology
in life cycle.
• FP rates are correl-
ated with degraded
habitat quality.

15. Epidemiology
• HV have the potential to be maintained on various
surfaces in marine environment (sediments, rubbing
rocks, foods sources, etc.) that could serve as vectors
for transmission.
Chemical pollution can
activate latent viruses or
indirectly increase its
virulence (Aguirre et al.,
1994).
Most prominent in warmer
climates, affecting 50%-
70% of popn.

16. Epidemiology
• FPHV DNA was detected on the gills of wrasse cleaner fish
(Thalassoma duperrey) – It groom sea turtles - possible
vector for transmission (Lu et al. 2000b).

17. • Epidemiological links are seen between FP rates,
nitrogen footprints, and invasive macroalgae –
ARGININE.
• Water temperature - lesions of a debilitating size by
autumn.
• Susceptible stages : Juveniles 40 - 70 cms length/ (10–
30 kg) most effected.
• FP is rare (0-12%) among nesting adult females and
lesions tend to be focal and mild.
Epidemiology

18. Epidemiology
PROTEIN
KINASE C
(PKC)
ACTIVATORS
OKADAIC ACID
LYNGBYATOXIN
A
DEBROMOAPLY
SIATOXIN (DAT)
Prorocentrum lima Lyngbya majuscula
Epidemiology

19. Note the Fibropapilloma with highly rugose structure (black arrow) and
presence of leeches - Ozobranchus (white arrow).
Photo credit: Tim Collins.

20. MULTIFACTORIAL AETIOLOGY
U.V LIGHT
(Aguirre, 1991),
CONTAMINATS
(Aguirre et al.
1994a)
METALS
(Monserrat et
al., 2007)
TEMP
(Herbst et al.,
1995)
BIOTOXINS
(ARGININE)
(Landsburg et al.
1999).
PARASITES
(Dailey & Morris,
1995)

21. CLINICAL SIGNS
Lesions that are comprised primarily of proliferating
epidermis with little or no underlying dermal
involvement are properly called PAPILLOMAS.
Those masses in which both tissues are hyperplastic
are termed FIBROPAPILLOMAS.
While those lesions predominantly comprised of
proliferating dermal components with relatively
normal epidermis are called FIBROMAS.

22. Severe fibropapillomas in the cervical, periocular, and right
front limb regions of one green turtle

23. The conjunctiva
(especially bulbar
conjunctiva) is a
common site for GTFP,
and masses may grow
over the cornea.

24. STAGES OF LESION DEVELOPMENT
(Herbst, 1994; Kang et al., 2008).
• Papilloma
lesions
EARLY PHASE
• Fibropapill
-omas
lesions
INTERMEDIATE
PHASE
• Fibromas
lesions
CHRONIC PHASE
Internal - mouth, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal
tract (Mascarenhas and Iverson, 2008).
Occasional visceral Fibromas, Myxofibromas and Fibrosarcomas

25. HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES
• Histological studies on FP lesions have observed orthokeratotic
hyperkeratosis (a)and varying degrees of epidermal hyperplasia
(b) (upto 30 cells thick), and papillary projections (c)

26. Key features in FP is proliferative epidermis presenting ballooning cells
with intracellular inclusion bodies (IIBs) suggestive of viral infection,
shown with arrows.
HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES

27. VIRULENT FACTORS
• Four members of the C-type lectin-like domain
superfamily (F-lec1, F-lec2, F-sial and F-M04) were
found to be present in the ChHV5 genome.
Two of these has been
suggested that these
genes may play a role in
FP pathogenesis & lesions
formation
(Ackermann et al., 2012).

28. Host response
Thrombospondin
(Tumor suppressor)
Fibropapillomas

29. GRAY PATCH DISEASE
• Tissues affected – SKIN, SHELL.
• Occurs in two forms
Non spreading
Papules/
pustular like
lesions resolve
spontaneously.
Benign, a
necrotizing
dermatitis of
post-hatching
green turtles
1st Spreading Gray
patches to large
areas of the
epidermal
surface.
Malignent, often
these animals die
2nd

30. Clinical symptoms
• Necrotizing dermatitis of post - hatching.
• Epizootics of small, circular papular skin lesions that
coalesced into patches were described in young sea
turtles.
• Stressful environmental
conditions such as over
crowding and higher
temp. seemed to enhance
the onset
and severity of lesions.

31. Proliferative dermatitis lesions on
subadult loggerhead turtle
(A) Early skin lesions with
typical raised white
appearance.
(C) Resolving lesions on
scales of front flipper
(B) Advanced skin lesions
showing area of
discoloration during
healing.

32. • The first critical time - 2-6 weeks of age.
• At this age – no typical skin lesions of gray-patch
disease; however, there is a consistent level of
mortality (20%).
Affects 90-100% hatchlings
Clinical symptoms
The only obvious clinical sign is impacted fecal material
in the lower intestinal tract.

33. • The second critical - 8 to 15 weeks of age.
• Mortality is less compare to the first stroke.
Clinical symptoms
• Turtles over I year of age do not have the natural
lesions of gray-patch disease.
• Infection is in higher degree in summer.
• Inactivated vaccine – skin scraping.
• Transmission - horizontal
This is the period of time that we are able to obtain
large amounts of skin scrapings containing the
herpesvirus.

35. LUNG-EYE-TRACHEAL DISEASE(LETD)
• Agent : (LETV) or (Chelonid herpesvirus 6)
• Name implies, the virus affects the eyes and
respiratory tract.
• And has a clinical course of 2-3 weeks.
Characterized by conjunctivitis,
pharyngitis, tracheitis, periglottal
necrosis and pneumonia (Jacobson et al.
1986).

36. EPIZOOTOLOGY
• Transmission is thought to be vertical or water-
borne.
Affects turtles worldwide, and mortality in post-
hatchling and juvenile - can reach 70%.

37. MODEL CHELONID HERPES VIRUS
• The virus was cultured in green turtle kidney cells
that helped in further research.
• LETV - gathers information about the general
characteristics of this largely unexplored group of
viruses.
• In addition, the prevalence of LETV infections in wild
populations.

38. LOGGERHEAD GENITAL-
RESPIRATORY
HERPESVIRUS” (LGRV)
Ulcers in the trachea,
around the cloaca and
on the base of the
phallus.
Venereal transmission.
LOGGERHEAD
OROCUTANEOUS
HERPESVIRUS” (LOCV)
Ulcers in the oral cavity
& cutaneous plaques
that can be covered
with exudate & have an
erythematous border.
------
 Both viruses were thought to be opportunistic in debilitated
turtles.

39. CONCLUSION
• The longevity of marine turtles, coupled with their
close association with inshore habitats and seagrass
meadows and coral reefs in these habitats, has led to
the proposal that they may act as sentinel indicators
of marine ecosystem health.
• Further investigations has to be carried to rule out
several confusions about remaining viruses which will
in turn inform the management and conservation of a
vulnerable species.

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