Studying an Emerging Virus in Snakes

Inclusion body disease (IBD) is a progressive and usually fatal health threat to snakes, especially boid snake species. No vaccines or antivirals are available to treat the disease and little is known about the recently identified, causative agent – a type of reptarenavirus. Using state-of-the-art reverse genetics systems, researchers will first produce and then manipulate the virus that causes IBD to learn more about its biology. Generating recombinant reptarenavirus for study is a critical first step toward development of new diagnostics, treatments and possible vaccines for IBD to help manage this emerging disease in snakes.