ABSTRACT

Fifty eight plasma samples, collected in the wild, from Brazilian boa constrictors, Boa constrictor, were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for exposure to a retrovirus isolate obtained from captive boa constrictors with inclusion body disease (IBD). Monoclonal antibodies (HL 1785 and HL 1787) specific for boa immunoglobulin (IgG) were used to detect binding of boa IgG to the retroviral isolate. Mean optical density (OD₄₀₅) at a 1:1250 dilution of boa plasma was 0.161 (range 0.110 – 0.258 [standard deviation 0.034]) for HL 1785 and 0.170 (0.134 – 0.266 [0.023]) for HL 1787. The values from this study can be used as baseline reference range for future comparison to known IBD positive snakes and the eventual establishment of a group of naive boas to be used in transmission studies, needed to establish a causal relationship between previously isolated retroviruses and IBD.