Just let me start by saying that this topic is at the front of everybody's minds, especially if they are serious about keeping any sort of high end animals.

OK. I'm going to transverse a bit here back to my days with “first aid” which I'm hoping will help out with a few of the topics presented.

For starters, according to many of the books, IBD is caused by a Virus, which I believe we all agree on here. One book goes as far as to state: “IBD is caused by a virus, and the infection becomes systemic, affecting all major organs of the body”. Many IBD carriers do not show even the slightest signs of the virus until their immune system is compromised which can be triggered thru poor husbandry practices or other froms of stress. Some of the books also go as far as to identify other forms of illnesses that may appear to be IBD but are not IBD at all.

In order for a virus to be transmissible, there needs to be some sort of transmissible medium which allows the virus to remain in tact until it is picked up by a new host. That means that there must be some method that keeps the virus alive long enough to have the correct contact to enter the new host. Correct contact usually means that the virus must somehow come in contact with bodily fluids that have some way of making it back into the mainstream of the body.

From my First Aid days:
1) Bodily Fluids: This is the easiest and foremost way for the virus to be transferred and was mentioned previously. In order for the virus to be transferred in this manner, one snake would have pick up the virus from another snake thru some sort of exchange of fluids. This could happen with multiple animals housed together that are allowed to wallow in their own mess, thru breeding attempts and also quite possibly thru communal water bowls which was also pointed out. General contact between animals is most likely not enough to allow transmission of a virus. This has been proven in humans with HIV. Casual contact such as hand shaking or patting someone on the back or even kissing someone on the cheek that has HIV does not allow for the transmission of the virus. I believe that would also hold true with Boas.
2) Vector Transmission: In this form of transmission, some sort of secondary host transfers the virus from one animal to another. This has been proven in humans as well with the Hepatitus and West Nile Viruses. In both cases, mosquitos are just one “Vector” that can be used to keep the virus alive while it is transferred from host to host. For the Herp community, Mites are the culprit that gets the publicity. I would venture to bet that there are other possible “Vector’s” such as lice that feed off skin tissue and possibly others that could be viable vectors as well.
3) Airborn Transmission: This is the least likely possibility, as most but not all viruses need to be contained within some sort of vesicle to remain viable. Most viruses die off after a certain amount of contact time with air. It has been proven in humans that the common cold can be transferred from one individual to the next thru sneezing and coughing directly into another persons face. In order for this to be a viable method of transference for reptiles, the animals that contract the virus would have to be in very close proximity of the animals carrying the virus. This proximity could happen at a show if the animals at the table next to you had the virus. However, normal breathing does not release sufficient amounts of fluids into the air to be a viable means and air is not an efficient media for transference of the virus. Now, if an animal at a table next to you were to sneeze or cough with enough force to release liquid particulates into the air AND there was enough air movement to get those particulates over to the cages that your animals are in AND your animal is in the process of inhaling AND actually inhales the particulates in the air, then there is a very slight probability however very unlikely that your animals could pick up the virus. One possible means of preventing this could be the use of an ionizer behind your booth/table at shows or in your reptile rooms. Ionizers are very good at removing airborn particulates from the surrounding air including molds, allergens and quite possibly any airborn viruses. I don’t have proof that this actually works, it’s quite simply a theory that I have that seems to make quite a bit of sense.

OK. So those are the basic modes of transmission of viruses. Simple precautions can be taken to minimize the risk of allowing your collections the chance of contracting this virus. Quite simply, sanitize and disinfect any common apparatuses and use good quarantine and husbandry practices when making additions to your collections. Also remember to use common sense. For example just last week I was offered a yearling female RTB het Albino that I could have purchased for less than $100 and just tonight I was given the opportunity to purchase a 5 to 6 foot adult male Longicauda for about $50. While both were excellent deals and both animals appeared to be in good but not ideal health, I currently don’t have any additional space to lend to them without putting them in my main room with the rest of my collection and possibly placing the rest of my collection at risk. The smart money was in saying no to the offers and simply walking away. Especially since I am hoping to have several females ready for the next breeding season. I would really hate to bring something in at this point that could take me out for the next season.

Chris

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