Evidence of Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) in Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Sabah, Borneo

Abstract

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is characterized by cutaneous tumours and is associated with Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5), an alphaherpesvirus from the family Herpesviridae. Here, we provide the first evidence of ChHV5-associated FP in endangered Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Sabah, which is located at the northern region of Malaysian Borneo. The aims of this study were firstly, to determine the presence of ChHV5 in both tumour exhibiting and tumour-free turtles using molecular techniques and secondly, to determine the phylogeography of ChHV5 in Sabah. We also aim to provide evidence of ChHV5 infection through histopathological examinations. A total of 115 Green turtles were sampled from Mabul Island, Sabah. We observed three Green turtles that exhibited FP tumours and were positive for ChHV5.In addition, six clinically healthy turtles were also positive for the virus based on Polymerase Chain Reaction of three viral genes (Capsid protein gene UL18, Glycoprotein H gene UL22 and Glycoprotein B gene UL27). The prevalence of the ChHV5 was 5.22% in asymptomatic Green turtles. Epidermal intranuclear inclusions were identified in tumour lesions upon histopathological examination. Thus, the emergence of ChHV5 in Green turtle in the waters of Sabah could indicate a possible threat to sea turtle populations in the future and requires further monitoring of the populations along the Bornean coast.