Origin of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Weldon, Ché ; du Preez, Louis H. ; Hyatt, Alex D. ; Muller, Reinhold ; Speare, Rick
• Description:
  The sudden appearance of chytridiomycosis, the cause of amphibian deaths and population declines in several continents, suggests that its etiologic agent, the amphibian chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, was introduced into the affected regions. However, the origin of this virulent pathogen is unknown. A survey was conducted of 697 archived specimens of 3 species of Xenopus collected from 1879 to 1999 in southern Africa in which the histologic features of the interdigital webbing were analyzed. The earliest case of chytridiomycosis found was in a Xenopus laevis frog in 1938, and overall prevalence was 2.7%. The prevalence showed no significant differences between species, regions, season, or time period. Chytridiomycosis was a stable endemic infection in southern Africa for 23 years before any positive specimen was found outside Africa. We propose that Africa is the origin of the amphibian chytrid and that the international trade in X. laevis that began in the mid-1930s was the means of dissemination.
• Subjects:
  Amphibians Animals Mycoses Retrospective Studies Time Factors
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 10(12):2100-2105.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Africa ; Central America ; Europe ; North America ; Oceania ; South America
• Volume:
  10
• Issue:
  12
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:c2817eafcd69a5a9fdf9143304165570cf9eb2e842fc145fa398723b3e4b9b3f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/14508/cdc_14508_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 227.23 KB ]