Post by Admin on Aug 4, 2012 20:30:05 GMT -5
Cliff Michelson mentioned morgs killing snakes and making them blind and I wondered if the star gazing might be like Stevie Wonder--just a thought.
I did send this to Cliff so he is aware of it and it is something he first noted.
------------------------------------------------
UF veterinary researchers discover new virus linked to death of
Australian snakes
Filed under Health, Research, Veterinary on Thursday, July 19, 2012.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida researcher and colleagues
in Australia and Germany have discovered what might be a deadly new
snake virus.
Dubbed the “Sunshine virus” because of its discovery in Australia’s
Sunshine Coast region, the organism causes nervous system and
respiratory disease and is the first of its kind to be identified.
Although it is in the same overall family as other viruses that affect
snakes and lizards, the Sunshine virus doesn’t fit into existing
subgroups of viruses.
The discovery, described online and in the upcoming October 2012 print
edition of the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution, might help
scientists better understand the biology and origin of an important
group of disease-causing organisms and inform efforts to prevent
future outbreaks.
“Understanding the ecology and diversity of infectious diseases of
wildlife is critical,” said co-author James Wellehan, an assistant
professor of zoological medicine at the UF College of Veterinary
Medicine. “While medicine has traditionally waited for big outbreaks
to cause large numbers of deaths and then dealt with new diseases
reactively, an understanding of what viruses are out there and how
they can be expected to behave allows us to be proactive, being aware
of and monitoring agents of potential concern.”
The emergence in recent years of deadly new viruses that attack humans
has raised concerns regarding transmission between wildlife, livestock
and humans. For example, the Hendra and Nipah viruses caused high
rates of death in Australia and Indonesia in the 1990s, not just among
horses and pigs but also among humans.
The quest to identify the new virus started as an investigation of the
cause of a 2008 disease outbreak in a privately owned Australian
collection of 70 pythons. As more and more animals became sick,
showing signs of pneumonia, depression, lethargy and abnormal behavior
such as “star gazing” — staring up at things — they were all
eventually euthanized.
The researchers had great difficulty detecting the elusive virus and
struggled to identify the category in which it belonged.
“We screened more than 450 samples, including swabs, tissues and blood
for snake viruses,” said lead author Timothy Hyndman, a lecturer and
graduate student at Murdoch University in Australia. “It was very
frustrating. After two and a half years, we finally isolated
something. A year later, we figured out what it was.”
The researchers infected snake heart cells with virus collected from
tissues of the affected snakes and found that it caused the cells to
become abnormally large and have more than one nucleus, the cell’s
command center.
Using sophisticated techniques for analyzing large numbers of genetic
sequences at the same time, the researchers identified several that
had limited similarity to known viruses in large genetic databases.
They used this information to put together the genetic blueprint of
the Sunshine virus. Statistical analyses that allow construction of a
“family tree” showed that the Sunshine virus belonged to a family
called paramyxovirus. That family contains some of the most
significant disease-causing agents in animals and humans, according to
the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Measles, mumps and
canine distemper are all in the family.
But unlike all known snake and lizard viruses in that family, the new
virus did not fit into a subgroup called ferlavirus. The new virus is
only distantly related to those viruses.
“This is the first non-ferlavirus paramyxovirus to be discovered from
a reptile,” Hyndman said. “In the previous 40 years, reptilian
paramyxoviruses were all very similar until this one was discovered.”
Previously known members of the virus family have grouped into two
subfamilies. The Sunshine virus fell outside both of those known
groups. Inclusion of Sunshine virus in the family tree analysis showed
that viruses thought to be in the same subfamilies might not actually
share recent ancestors, the researchers said.
“The two subfamilies may need to be split up into distinct families,”
Wellehan said.
Although it is likely that the virus was responsible for the outbreak
of disease in the collection of pythons, that has not been proved
irrefutably.
The study shows off how sophisticated gene sequencing technology can
be used to characterize mysterious new viruses and possibly speed up
public health responses to outbreaks in humans, animals and plants,
the researchers said.
“This virus was invisible to prior technologies,” said Eric Delwart,
director of molecular virology at the Blood Systems Research Institute
and an adjunct professor of laboratory medicine at the University of
California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the study. “Besides
providing assays to help track and control outbreaks of this new snake
virus, the study highlights the enhanced ability of scientists to
rapidly identify novel pathogens.”
-30-
Credits
ContactSarah Carey, careysk@ufl.edu, 352-294-4242
I did send this to Cliff so he is aware of it and it is something he first noted.
------------------------------------------------
UF veterinary researchers discover new virus linked to death of
Australian snakes
Filed under Health, Research, Veterinary on Thursday, July 19, 2012.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida researcher and colleagues
in Australia and Germany have discovered what might be a deadly new
snake virus.
Dubbed the “Sunshine virus” because of its discovery in Australia’s
Sunshine Coast region, the organism causes nervous system and
respiratory disease and is the first of its kind to be identified.
Although it is in the same overall family as other viruses that affect
snakes and lizards, the Sunshine virus doesn’t fit into existing
subgroups of viruses.
The discovery, described online and in the upcoming October 2012 print
edition of the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution, might help
scientists better understand the biology and origin of an important
group of disease-causing organisms and inform efforts to prevent
future outbreaks.
“Understanding the ecology and diversity of infectious diseases of
wildlife is critical,” said co-author James Wellehan, an assistant
professor of zoological medicine at the UF College of Veterinary
Medicine. “While medicine has traditionally waited for big outbreaks
to cause large numbers of deaths and then dealt with new diseases
reactively, an understanding of what viruses are out there and how
they can be expected to behave allows us to be proactive, being aware
of and monitoring agents of potential concern.”
The emergence in recent years of deadly new viruses that attack humans
has raised concerns regarding transmission between wildlife, livestock
and humans. For example, the Hendra and Nipah viruses caused high
rates of death in Australia and Indonesia in the 1990s, not just among
horses and pigs but also among humans.
The quest to identify the new virus started as an investigation of the
cause of a 2008 disease outbreak in a privately owned Australian
collection of 70 pythons. As more and more animals became sick,
showing signs of pneumonia, depression, lethargy and abnormal behavior
such as “star gazing” — staring up at things — they were all
eventually euthanized.
The researchers had great difficulty detecting the elusive virus and
struggled to identify the category in which it belonged.
“We screened more than 450 samples, including swabs, tissues and blood
for snake viruses,” said lead author Timothy Hyndman, a lecturer and
graduate student at Murdoch University in Australia. “It was very
frustrating. After two and a half years, we finally isolated
something. A year later, we figured out what it was.”
The researchers infected snake heart cells with virus collected from
tissues of the affected snakes and found that it caused the cells to
become abnormally large and have more than one nucleus, the cell’s
command center.
Using sophisticated techniques for analyzing large numbers of genetic
sequences at the same time, the researchers identified several that
had limited similarity to known viruses in large genetic databases.
They used this information to put together the genetic blueprint of
the Sunshine virus. Statistical analyses that allow construction of a
“family tree” showed that the Sunshine virus belonged to a family
called paramyxovirus. That family contains some of the most
significant disease-causing agents in animals and humans, according to
the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Measles, mumps and
canine distemper are all in the family.
But unlike all known snake and lizard viruses in that family, the new
virus did not fit into a subgroup called ferlavirus. The new virus is
only distantly related to those viruses.
“This is the first non-ferlavirus paramyxovirus to be discovered from
a reptile,” Hyndman said. “In the previous 40 years, reptilian
paramyxoviruses were all very similar until this one was discovered.”
Previously known members of the virus family have grouped into two
subfamilies. The Sunshine virus fell outside both of those known
groups. Inclusion of Sunshine virus in the family tree analysis showed
that viruses thought to be in the same subfamilies might not actually
share recent ancestors, the researchers said.
“The two subfamilies may need to be split up into distinct families,”
Wellehan said.
Although it is likely that the virus was responsible for the outbreak
of disease in the collection of pythons, that has not been proved
irrefutably.
The study shows off how sophisticated gene sequencing technology can
be used to characterize mysterious new viruses and possibly speed up
public health responses to outbreaks in humans, animals and plants,
the researchers said.
“This virus was invisible to prior technologies,” said Eric Delwart,
director of molecular virology at the Blood Systems Research Institute
and an adjunct professor of laboratory medicine at the University of
California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the study. “Besides
providing assays to help track and control outbreaks of this new snake
virus, the study highlights the enhanced ability of scientists to
rapidly identify novel pathogens.”
-30-
Credits
ContactSarah Carey, careysk@ufl.edu, 352-294-4242