Blue sea turtles are reptiles found in the tropical waters of the world. These turtles are getting smaller and smaller as humans hunt turtles for meat and eggs. The blue sea turtle's leather is sturdy and used for a variety of purposes.
The number of blue sea turtles affected by the disease is also increasing.
Fiber papillomatosis is a disease that forms a cauliflower-shaped tumor on the eyes, mouth and skin of a turtle. The disease is a deadly disease that causes harm to the immune system of the turtle and eventually causes complications and spreads to internal tumors.
Turtles living in Brazil, Hawaii and Florida are the most prevalent in this disease. More than 0.2% of the dead or weak blue sea turtles found in Florida have been found to have fiber papillomatosis.
Scientists have found breakthroughs that can help alleviate blue sea turtle disease.
The researchers used a blue sea turtle skin to develop a virus called Chelonid Herpes Virus (ChHV5). The virus causes tumors in the body of a turtle.
To better understand this problem, scientists used the cells of the tumor, combined with healthy skin, to make a detailed 3D replica of the turtle skin.
This allowed us to develop ChHV5 and observe how the virus developed in blue sea turtles. Through experiments, scientists were able to understand the virus that caused the disease.
Scientists are hoping to use the results of the experiment to treat future endangered turtle species.
