VIRUSES OF REPTILES

Although reptiles have often been overlooked in research, information on viruses of reptiles has been growing steadily in recent decades as has our understanding of the importance of these animals in the ecosystem. As ectotherms, their immune systems are dependent on temperature, among other factors, and interactions between infection and disease are complex and dependent on host, pathogen, and environmental factors. This chapter provides an overview of the viruses described in reptiles so far, as well as insight into some of the diseases caused by viruses in this group of animals. It also discusses the reptile immune system and the host reaction to infection. Influences of the environment on development of disease are in many cases not well understood, and this chapter includes a discussion of some important progress in this field. Studies of the effects of viruses on wild, pet, and farmed reptiles are limited, but indicate that viral disease can strongly affect individual populations in the wild, and that human action and the animal trade likely play a role in disease epidemiology.