Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting and Symposium of the Desert Tortoise Council, March 5-8, 1999
Abstracts

Chronic upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) of tortoises is a syndrome of nasal and ocular discharge, conjunctivitis, and palpebral edema. Inflammation accompanies degeneration of upper respiratory tract epithelium. Appetite and social interactions may be disrupted by olfactory lesions or occlusion of the respiratory tract with mucus, reducing fitness of severely affected individuals. Stress from chronic immune stimulation can become debilitating, and the disease is probably a predisposing factor to secondary illnesses. The URTD of Gopherus agassizii is thought to have contributed to population declines over parts of the species’ natural ranges during the past two decades. Mycoplasma agassizii was shown by experimental infection studies of G. agassizii and G. polyphemus to be an etiologic agent of URTD. Seropositive status is a significant risk factor for transmitting URTD. Serological monitoring therefore may be valuable for epidemiology of natural populations, and for management decision-making to minimize the risk of spread of mycoplasmosis. However, quantitative ELISA is limited by sample handling requirements and by turnaround time which requires tortoise quarantine before decision-making. A qualitative field test for specific antibodies against mycoplasma could provide an alternative test without the need for sample refrigeration and shipping, and also provide nearly instant information for management decision-making.