OPMV (Paramyxoviral demyelinating encephalitis.)

[hugsta]

Transmitting OPMV from touching one snake to another would be quite rare, although still posible. OPMV is a saliva transmitted virus, not an ariborne one, at least not at this stage, therefore you would have to have been bitten or handled the water in the water bowl or made contact of some sort along those lines. So transferring of the disease would be limited if you undertook standard hygene protocols within your own collection and those of others. Like using anti-bacterial handwashes etc etc to try and help prevent transfer of diseases, I use microshield hand rub, the same as what is used in many vet surgeries for this reason.

OPMV can also only be detected by a sample of brain tissue, so the the animal must have died by OPMV for any test to be 100% conclusive. OPMV can be tested in the States by blood and hopefully we will see this technology in the near future, but at the moment, the cost do not justify bringing out the necesary testing equipment as it is just not cost effective. You would be paying something like $200 an animal to have it tested for OPMV and most people are not going to spend that. IMO, it is worth every cent.

 

[Hickson]

Huggy,

My understanding is that as a respiratory infection, transmission can be airborne water droplets. Handling the snake may be all that is required for you to get contaminated (the snake breathes on you or 'tastes' you).

But as you say, standard hygiene protocols will reduce the chances of cross contamination.



Hix

 

[rockman]

You would be paying something like $200 an animal to have it tested for OPMV and most people are not going to spend that. IMO, it is worth every cent.

The test now is a fair bit more then that ( $200 ) . I would pay more then that before buying an animal if it would confirm the test for OPMV . Imagine losing 10 snakes , cost of snakes and the fact you may never be able to replace that blood line . $200 is quite petty , if you think about it , eh !

 

[CodeRed]

Whats sort of disinfectant is required to kill these nasties (after handling someone elses snakes)? Is repti-clean sufficient?

One researcher in the States recommends a 0.15% solution of Sodium Hypochlorite. I know ARP uses Virkon in their Quarantine facility (and possibly elsewhere in the Park), but I don't know how effective any of these are.



Hix

Bleech it is then. Gonna be rough on my tender skin

I normally use either repti-clean or a 50/50 metho/water mix for cleaning my hands.

 

[hugsta]

Exactly Hix, saliva transmitted, handling can certainly cause a transfer, but it would be limited.

I agree rockman, worth every cent, although ti would be quite expensive to test an extensive collection, but compared to the actual loss of animals, it would be quite reasonable. You could also sell any animals with a vet certification that the animal is OPMV free.

 

[Reptile City]

Hi All
I have the report & its OPMV for sure!
Next thing to do tommorow is ring the dude & ask for a refund.
I have had other people contact me & he has sold other reptiles with it!!!!
Its amazing how small the herp industry is.
Im so glad the womas didnt go to my collection as I would have huge worries!
I have 9 species of python, over $20,000 easily could have been lost?
Then It would have ruined my business.

Sorry to here about your experiance with OPMV, Peter, that sux!!!

It was said by the vet that you can pass it to other pythons via saliva & feases.

Also 6 weeks to 10 months it takes to show up.
The only symptons shown was respectory infection with one python witch died 3 weeks for purchase & was treated by Dr Ian Hough with "tri vet 240" but it did nothing to improve the python at all.
The other python died just under 2 months, she only had symptons the day before she died.
The second python even ate twice, but lost heaps of weight & was total restless in her enclosure.

Jason Lapins

 

[pugsly]

Are you going to name the breeder?

There might be a fair few more people who would like to know if they have purchased anything off this person so they can get the animals to the vet asap..

Horrible news definately an eye opener..

 

[rockman]

OPMV will spread like aids because no-one wants to talk about it openly until something happens , like this . If we ( combined ) could get a lab to buy the equipment to test blood for this disease , it may save the hobby , before it to late . Imagine how many people would have brought snakes off the original breeder , taken them home with their snakes , let their mates handle their new snakes , handle their snakes then go over to their mates place and handle theirs , sell off some of their older snakes which are now tainted , it is quite scary when you have been there , its great when you have survived it , its sad when no-one really wants to hear about it and ways to stop it spreading . I think we will be hearing about it alot more often in the future .

 

[pugsly]

So, how does it start? What causes it to spread? Whats the preventions? and is there a cure?

Or does anybody know?

 

[Jungleland]

Hi Pugs,
Do a search on OMPV (google) and you should get a few links that will give you a bit of idea on what you want to know about this virus, and as far as I know they can't be cured.

We all know that prevention is better than cure, so get serious on getting new arrivals quarantine , I don't want to alarm fellow hobbyst but these is serious stuff!! it is definately out there. and we cannot relax about it.

Regards,
Joel

 

[pugsly]

Agree, yes I have read a little on it, just wonder how it originates or if there are more preventitive proceedures, why its caused etc.

Definately an eye opener..

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Interesting stuff... I too consider that these viral diseases are serious indeed, and always (thankfully rarely) have central nervous systen sections done on any pythons that die. It's the only way to definitively rule out OPMV, as the symptoms are vague and very varied, even if there are symptoms - sometimes it can just cause sudden death. OPMV is also a common disease in elapids too. I use Virkon S as a cleaning agent, because it is a combined fungicide, bactericide and virus killer (especially effective on viruses). It has very low toxicity for the handler and reptiles - you can wash everything with it, even your hands - and it is a very good cleaning agent with a pleasant odour. When I move a snake from one cage to another, I mist the entire cage, walls, floor, and wash the glass (inside & out) twice with VIRKON solution, leaving it in contact for at least 20 mins each time. (With any form of disinfecting, sufficient contact time with the disinfectant is important - a point often overlooked). Cages should ideally be constructed of a material which has a hard, impervious surface (and therefore washable...) - melamine coated particleboard is very good. This is especially important for cages which may house a number of animals in the course of the cage's life. Thorough disinfection of glass is important for pathogens spread by saliva - a snake running up & down the front of the cage for days, as they do sometimes, is going to leave a residue of saliva on the glass.

Animals of high value (and this is a subjective judgement...) are only rehoused in BRAND NEW cages, and ALWAYS have dedicated feeding & cleaning utensils. Wash hands thoroughly between cages when cleaning or handling snakes.

And above all, try and background the person from whom your are acquiring your animals - this can be difficult given the number of reptiles moved in Oz at any time, but where possible deal with reputable suppliers. Even if you pay a bit more for your snake, it may well be worth it in the long run - an extra 50 bucks is nothing for the peace of mind.

It all seems a lot to be aware of, but it's worth it. One reason why I'm opposed to pet shop reptile sales - the provenance of the animals available is almost impossible to assess - and I used to be a reptile dealer in WA! A lot of suppliers only want your money and don't give a hoot about you or the animal when it goes through the door. Not good.

Jamie.

 

[triptych_angel]

Where do u get this Virkon S? And how much is it?

Cheers Emz

 

[Deb64]

The more advanced ones had the lolling head(this was the one we did the tests on) an unable to right itself.


Pete can you please explain this further?


Cheers Deb

 

[Kersten]

I agree with you to a point Jamie, the only thing I disagree with is the "buying from a reputable dealer" part. And the reason I would have to disagree with it is that (as we've seen in the past) it's more than possible for a person who has the reputation of being reputable, may in fact not deserve it. A case in point would be when a friend of ours was after some particular pythons and asked everyone he could find who kept herps if this guy was trustworthy and if they'd had good dealings with him in the past. He got a 100% approval rating for the guy so he bought what he was after from him. 2 months after buying the animals one of them died and the other one was found to have the same ailment and in both cases they'd been sick for at least 6 months or more....so they were sick before being purchased. No refund was given (despite it being more than obvious that they'd been sick for ages) and from then on the dealer in question wouldn't even respond to emails or calls. When our friend mentioned this issue to some of the people he talked to they said that they'd heard that people have had problems in the past but didn't want to say anything against the guy because he had such a good rep....

People seem to have the impression that someone whose methods are questionable will ALWAYS give whoever they deal with a bad deal and that it's obvious when they're crooked. That's not the case. It might be 9 out of 10 transactions a dealer makes are above board and you just happen to be the unlucky bugger who is number 10. They don't always walk around with flashing neon signs saying "I'm a crook" and it can be years before people wise up to them...usually by the time that happens you find that since the majority of people have been satisfied, those who have been shafted are considered to be poor sports or liars.

Conversely, mud sticks when you throw enough of it and I'd be willing to bet that there are a few people out there who've been labeled as bad dealers who may in fact not be. And all because of one or two people who yelled their lies loud enough that it was taken as the truth.

Sorry Jamie, I wasn't having a go at you at all, just adding my thoughts on the validity of reputable dealers....it may even be in this case that the person bought his womas from such a person....

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Hi Emz,

Virkon is available from Janos-HoeyPty Ltd in Forbes, 02 6852 1044. It comes as a powder, and used at 7gm/litre is pretty economical. I bought a 2.5kg pack for about $160 about 3 years ago and still have more than half of it here. (2.5kg makes up over 350 litres of cleaner, so it's less than 50c per litre) You can get smaller amounts though, and you could also organise a purchase with some friends and break the amount up between you.

I'm sorry mods - not sure if I'm supposed to do this with proprietary products, but this is such an important issue, I think we all need to be aware of the problem, and any potential way to minimise it. There are of course other similar products, such as F10, which I've not used, but a vet should be able to give you details. Also there is actually a good article on disinfectants in the current Aussie Reptiles magazine - the only point I disagree with is the comment that Virkon and F10 are too expensive for general use. They may be a bit expensive to buy initially, but they are VERY economical in use.

Cheers, Jamie.

 

[triptych_angel]

thanks for that...will look into it

Cheers
Emz

 

[hugsta]

I tend to agree Kersten. I have dealt with a large breeder in FNQ and was told he was a good bloke and that he does the right thing by people. Turned out they were very wrong and took me months to get back what he owed me along with some very abusive phone calls from him, these people that said he was OK have now also had some very bad dealings with him and have nothing do with anymore as well.

It is very sad that these people exist as the hobby isn't that large on the scale of things and if a newbie has a bad experience they will most likely tar the rst of us with the same brush.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

I do have to agree with you Kersten - there are no guarantees really, and it can be as you say. All you can do is try and cover all bases - but you might still come unstuck! Life's a fickle thing... and people are always looking for a bargain... And of course that's not to say that all bargains are bad either!

I guess it's called risk minimisation.

Cheers, J.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

But not risk elimination...