Epidemiology: Open Access

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Genetic Epidemiology and Pathogenesis of Spirorchiid Infection in Green Sea Turtles

Helen Cribb

Globally, spirorchiid blood fluke infections have an impact on endangered turtle populations, and they have been linked to a high mortality rate in Queensland green sea turtles. Both the flukes and their ova are harmful and can cause their host to become stranded or die. Ovarian-associated brain lesions, which have been linked to host neurological impairments, are of particular interest. Due to difficulties in the physical identification of adults of some genera and a lack of species-level identifying markers for eggs, it is challenging to make accurate estimates of illness frequency and the relative effect of infection linked to various spirorchiid species. In order to find and identify cryptic spirorchiids and their ova in Queensland green sea turtle tissues collected from 2011 to 2014, a newly developed molecular assay was applied. To look into pathology, tissue tropisms, and epidemiology. Eight spirorchiid genotypes, comprising numerous tissues for each, were found in 14 different tissues. The data instead indicate that a significant part of eggs are lost in dead end tissues; we were unable to identify a distinctive pathway for the eggs to reach the outside. Granulomas, which can affect most organs in varied degrees of severity, were the most frequent lesions seen, followed by arteritis and thrombi in the major vessels