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Published on: June 9, 2011
Detection of nidoviruses in samples collected from captive snakes in Europe between 2016 and 2021
Christoph Leineweber1, Rachel E Marschang1
1Laboklin, Bavaria, Germany.
Background:
Nidoviruses are increasingly detected in various snake species worldwide, but much remains to be learned about their distribution and the factors influencing their epidemiology.
Methods:
This retrospective study evaluated the results of routine nidovirus testing, by PCR, of 5210 swab samples from pet snakes from various European countries that were submitted to a commercial veterinary laboratory in Germany between 2016 and 2021.
Results:
The overall detection rate was 19.96%. However, the detection rate varied significantly depending on the snake species (p < 0.0001), with the highest rate in Indian pythons (Python molurus) (42.24%). Rates also varied depending on the season of sample collection (p < 0.0001), with the highest rate in winter (24.46%), and the country of sample origin (p < 0.0001), with the highest rate in Austria (36.69%). The detection rate also decreased significantly (p = 0.0003) over the 6-year observation period, from 26.43% to 17.64%.
Limitation:
No information on clinical signs was available for most of the sampled snakes.
Conclusion:
The present study supplies new information on the distribution of python nidoviruses (subgenus Roypretovirus) in pet snakes in Europe and indicates a dynamic situation with possible changes in prevalence over time.
