Isolation of a Bohle-like iridovirus from boreal toads housed within a cosmopolitan aquarium collection

Abstract

A captive ‘survival assurance’ population of 56 endangered boreal toads Anaxyrus boreas boreas, housed within a cosmopolitan collection of amphibians originating from Southeast Asia and other locations, experienced high mortality (91%) in April to July 2010. Histological examination demonstrated lesions consistent with ranaviral disease, including multicentric necrosis of skin, kidney, liver, spleen, and hematopoietic tissue, vasculitis, and myriad basophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies…. This finding has implications for the management of amphibians destined for use in reintroduction programs, as their release may inadvertently lead to viral dissemination.