Concurrent Detection of a Papillomatous Lesion and Sequence Reads Corresponding to a Member of the Family IAdintoviridae/I in a Bell’s Hinge-Back Tortoise

• Published in: Animals (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 2
• Main Authors: Hetterich, Johannes, Mirolo, Monica, Kaiser, Franziska, Ludlow, Ma, Reineking, Wencke, Zdora, Isabel, Hewicker-Trautwein, Marion, Osterhaus, Albert D. M. E, Pees, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01.01.2024
• Subjects: Metronidazole; Neomycin; Turtles; Germany
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani14020247

This article describes the diagnostic evaluation and therapy of a tortoise with a bulging oral lesion of unknown origin. Initially, the animal owner indicated that a similar oral mass at the same location had been surgically removed four years ago. At that time, the abnormal oral structure had not been evaluated further. This time, the mass was removed surgically and further examined by both veterinary pathologists (veterinarians specialised in the examination of animal diseases and body structures) and virologists. No causal agents, which have been described before to trigger comparable lesions in tortoises, were found. Parts of the removed lesion were examined in further virological studies to scan the tissue material for potential new infectious agents, which might be connected to the abnormal oral lesion. Indeed, the authors were able to detect virus material within the tissue mass belonging to a comparably new virus family. The exact influence of these agents on the origin of the lesion, though, remains unclear. An adult male Bell’s hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys belliana) was admitted to a veterinary clinic due to a swelling in the oral cavity. Physical examination revealed an approximately 2.5 × 1.5 cm sized, irregularly shaped tissue mass with villiform projections extending from its surface located in the oropharyngeal cavity. An initial biopsy was performed, and the lesion was diagnosed as squamous papilloma. Swabs taken for virological examination tested negative with specific PCRs for papillomavirus and herpesvirus. Further analysis of the oropharyngeal mass via metagenomic sequencing revealed sequence reads corresponding to a member of the family Adintoviridae. The tissue mass was removed one week after the initial examination. The oral cavity remained unsuspicious in follow-up examinations performed after one, five and twenty weeks. However, a regrowth of the tissue was determined 23 months after the initial presentation. The resampled biopsy tested negative for sequence reads of Adintoviridae. Conclusively, this report presents the diagnostic testing and therapy of an oral cavity lesion of unknown origin. The significance of concurrent metagenomic determination of adintovirus sequence reads within the tissue lesion is discussed.