Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2018 Mar;98(3):841-844. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.17-0730. Epub 2018 Jan 4.
Chikungunya virus is an emerging arbovirus of significant human-health concern. Little is known about its sylvatic cycle, including whether ectothermic vertebrates are permissive to infection. In this study, individuals from ten species of reptiles and amphibians were inoculated with chikungunya virus and samples of blood were tested to characterize viremia and seroconversion. Viremia was not detected in cane toads, house geckos, or American alligators, but most of the green iguanas, red-eared sliders, ball and Burmese pythons, leopard frogs, Texas toads, and garter snakes developed viremia. Peak virus titers in serum of up to 4.5, 4.7, and 5.1 log plaque-forming units per milliliter were observed for garter snakes, ball pythons, and Texas toads, respectively. These results add to those of other studies that have suggested a possible role for ectothermic vertebrates in the ecology of arbovirus maintenance and transmission in nature.
基孔肯雅病毒是一种新兴的虫媒病毒，对人类健康有重大影响。目前人们对其森林循环知之甚少，包括冷血脊椎动物是否允许感染。在这项研究中，十种爬行动物和两栖动物的个体接种了基孔肯雅病毒，并检测了血液样本以确定病毒血症和血清转化。在甘蔗蟾蜍、壁虎或美洲鳄中未检测到病毒血症，但大多数绿鬣蜥、红耳滑龟、球蟒和缅甸蟒、豹蛙、德州蟾蜍和束带蛇出现了病毒血症。束带蛇、球蟒和德州蟾蜍的血清中最高病毒滴度分别达到了 4.5、4.7 和 5.1 log 噬菌斑形成单位/毫升。这些结果与其他研究结果一起表明，冷血脊椎动物可能在虫媒病毒在自然界中的维持和传播的生态学中发挥作用。
