Fungal infections...

[kinyonga]

"fungi other than those already listed can infect reptiles, and none among those is more of a threat than the fungus currently referred to as the “Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii” (CANV), which we now know is an established cause of contagious, deep, and often fatal dermatomycosis in a variety of lizards and snakes and in crocodiles.2,3 The CANV might not be a truly emerging reptile pathogen but rather one that has gone undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or unrecognized for decades. Nevertheless, this fungus is the single most important fungal pathogen of reptiles, and research has demonstrated it may act as a primary pathogen"...

https://veteriankey.com/update-on-fungal-infections-in-reptiles/

 

[jamest0o0]

Fungi in general are a PITA to treat almost always, let alone deadly forms in reptiles. I don’t have time to read this ATM, but I’d imagine it’s game over for any reptiles that come across CANV? Just a guess… microbiology class comes in handy once in a while

 

[kinyonga]

Fungi in general are a PITA to treat almost always, let alone deadly forms in reptiles. I don’t have time to read this ATM, but I’d imagine it’s game over for any reptiles that come across CANV? Just a guess… microbiology class comes in handy once in a while

No...it's not game over. It can usually be treated and cured. However, you can't just treat it topically.
2 of my chameleons (1 Parson's and one lateralis) were the ones that started the studies of CANV in Canada and are the ones mentioned in the CANV studies done by Dr. Jean A Pare and associates. The Parson's was treated and cured but the lateralis had other issues as well and didn't make it.

 

[jamest0o0]

According to google, it says most reptiles die that get canv. honestly though, I have no experience with it. Could be more to it than that. I’m not set on anything from a 10 second google search haha. I just remembered from microbio that fungal infections are generally difficult to treat so I was taking a blind guess that a potentially fatal fungal infection would be a bad bet for a reptile. Also, you’re talking about a study your animals were in, is this a readily accepted and used treatment now (because most people don’t have access to being part of reptile studies)? And if so why do so many articles online still expect such a high mortality rate, maybe it’s talking about untreated(I’ll have to look more into it when I have the time+remember)?

I have too many questions, too little time

 

[kinyonga]

you said..."According to google, it says most reptiles die that get canv. honestly though, I have no experience with it. Could be more to it than that. I’m not set on anything from a 10 second google search haha. I just remembered from microbio that fungal infections are generally difficult to treat so I was taking a blind guess that a potentially fatal fungal infection would be a bad bet for a reptile"....I know a lot of bearded dragons were dying from it even with treatment in the beginning. I know a lot of other reptiles were dying because they didn't have it figured out in the beginning.

You said..."Also, you’re talking about a study your animals were in, is this a readily accepted and used treatment now (because most people don’t have access to being part of reptile studies)?"...the treatment they gave my chameleons seems to be what they are still using to treat it...oral itraconazole was used. My chameleons were in it because my vet was interested in it and decided to study it. It was a new fungus without a name and was killing many reptile species. It took a lot of work to even figure out what it was and what to name it.

This will get you started...
https://www.uamh.ca/Research/_/medi...NV_mycoses_in_chameleons_JZooWildMedJSTOR.pdf

You said..."And if so why do so many articles online still expect such a high mortality rate, maybe it’s talking about untreated(I’ll have to look more into it when I have the time+remember)?"... I'll see if I can post some info on here in a bit.

One of the big issues with it is that it can't just be treated on the skin's surface because it goes deep into the chameleon and hits the organs....so if it isn't identified and treated quickly it will kill the animal. If it's caught in time, it seems to be treatable.

 

[jamest0o0]

you said..."According to google, it says most reptiles die that get canv. honestly though, I have no experience with it. Could be more to it than that. I’m not set on anything from a 10 second google search haha. I just remembered from microbio that fungal infections are generally difficult to treat so I was taking a blind guess that a potentially fatal fungal infection would be a bad bet for a reptile"....I know a lot of bearded dragons were dying from it even with treatment in the beginning. I know a lot of other reptiles were dying because they didn't have it figured out in the beginning.

You said..."Also, you’re talking about a study your animals were in, is this a readily accepted and used treatment now (because most people don’t have access to being part of reptile studies)?"...the treatment they gave my chameleons seems to be what they are still using to treat it...oral itraconazole was used. My chameleons were in it because my vet was interested in it and decided to study it. It was a new fungus without a name and was killing many reptile species. It took a lot of work to even figure out what it was and what to name it.

This will get you started...
https://www.uamh.ca/Research/_/medi...NV_mycoses_in_chameleons_JZooWildMedJSTOR.pdf

You said..."And if so why do so many articles online still expect such a high mortality rate, maybe it’s talking about untreated(I’ll have to look more into it when I have the time+remember)?"... I'll see if I can post some info on here in a bit.

One of the big issues with it is that it can't just be treated on the skin's surface because it goes deep into the chameleon and hits the organs....so if it isn't identified and treated quickly it will kill the animal. If it's caught in time, it seems to be treatable.

Ahhhh okay I got you. So it seems to be something where there is a treatment, but might go unnoticed in many animals to the point it is too late. Or I’d imagine there are a lot of vets that don’t do the 2 step treatment process, which also would lead to death?

 

[kinyonga]

If I remember right, normal fungal tests might not show that it's CANV...just that its fungal. There was a different testing that had to be done to prove it was CANV I think. I know temperature might have played a part.

 

[kinyonga]

After searching today about survival rates, it seems that more are dying from CANV than seemed to be at the beginning. Things like resistance to the drugs might be playing a part...but it might be that it's just better at killing the reptiles now than it seemed to be in the beginning. Sorry if I mislead you @jamest0o0

"Previously, clinical cure of CANV infection was established after itraconazole administration in a Parson’s chameleon (Chamaeleo parsonii, Paré et al., 1997) and in a bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps, Bowman et al., 2007) and following ketoconazole treatment in two green iguanas (Iguana iguana, Abarca et al., 2008). In salt water crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) debridement of dermal lesion combined with iodine-based antiseptic betadine swab- bing and formalin bathing eliminated CANV infection (Thomas et al., 2002). Nevertheless, therapeutic failure has repeatedly been reported in reptiles suffering from CANV infection, even in spite of the use of antimycotics (Bertelsen et al., 2005; Bowman et al., 2007; Martel et al., 2006; Nichols et al., 1999; Paré et al., 1997; Thomas et al., 2002). This might be at least partly explained by the lack of knowledge concerning drug susceptibility patterns of Chrysosporium species and pharmacokinetics of antifungal drugs in reptiLes"...
https://www.vetesweb.com/pluginfile.../dermatologia_en_reptiles.PDF?forcedownload=1