VALLEY MORNING STAR (Harlingen, Texas) 22 August 10 Sea turtles diagnosed with disease
There is a new concern about the Rio Grande Valley’s sea turtle population.
A sinister virus has migrated to the waters off the tip of South Padre Island and infected green sea turtles. Nine turtles have been diagnosed with fibropapilloma, authorities have reported.
Fibropapilloma is a type of herpes that inflicts sea turtles, according to the Marine Animal Rescue Team Blog. The disease results in growths on the turtles.
Several green sea turtles that were captured for banding reportedly have been diagnosed with fibropapilloma.
“The disease is not fatal, but when the tumors begin to grow over the eyes and flippers they can sometimes impede feeding and normal movement,” Dr. Tim Tristan, a Corpus Christi veterinarian, wrote in an e-mail.
“As a result, these individuals may become more susceptible to starvation, shark attacks, and other environmental factors that they would normally be able to overcome or avoid.
“How Rio Grande Valley sea turtles got the disease remains a mystery,” Tristan wrote.
“It is still unknown why we are seeing the disease in South Texas, which is the reason we are currently investigating the factors that may be influencing its recent occurrence.”
Thus far, there have been no reports of Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles – a critically endangered species – having the virus.
“The disease process has been seen in Florida for years, yet continued conservation efforts to treat these turtles seem to be helping,” Tristan wrote.
The tumors can be removed with surgery.
“It is worrisome to us,” said Donna Shaver, chief of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore.
Why and how sea turtles catch the virus is not known.
Tristan said it is not known for certain if the disease can be transmitted somehow from different species of sea turtles.
Sea turtles diagnosed with disease