Detection of a novel herpesvirus associated with squamous cell carcinoma in a free-ranging Blanding's turtle.
Kirsten E AnderssonLaura AdamoviczLauren E MummJohn M WinterGary GlowackiRachel Teixeira-NetoMichael J AdkessonEric T HostnikEllen HaynesMatthew C AllenderPublished in: Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc (2021)
The spread of both infectious and noninfectious diseases through wildlife populations is of increasing concern. Neoplastic diseases are rarely associated with population-level impacts in wildlife; however, impacts on individual health can be severe and might reflect deteriorating environmental conditions. An adult male free-ranging Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) originally captured in 2005 and deemed healthy, was recaptured in 2018 with a 1 × 1.5 cm intra-oral broad-based right mandibular mass. An excisional biopsy was performed, and histopathology revealed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Consensus herpesvirus PCR identified a novel herpesvirus (proposed name Emydoidea herpesvirus 2 [EBHV-2]) within the tumor. EBHV-2 shares 85% sequence homology with Terrapene herpesvirus 2 (TerHV-2), a herpesvirus linked to fibropapillomas in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). Virus-associated fibropapillomas have been identified in multiple marine turtle species and have had debilitating effects on their populations, but to date, virus-associated SCCs are rarely reported.