The host: the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta
The disease: Ozobranchus margoi, is a marine parasitic leech that infects the sea turtle, Caretta caretta. Although the occurrence of these parasites is not uncommon, their association with the transmission of fibropapilloma-associated turtle herpesvirus,the causative agent of fibropapillomatosis, an emerging neoplastic disease threatening sea turtles, is alarming.
Epidemiology: Ozobranchus margoi is a cosmopolitan leach associated with different turtle species but mostly with the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas (Linnæus) and loggerhead seaturtle, Caretta caretta.
