SPI - Disease Causing 95% Mortality Rate In Frogs - Confirmed In UK For First Time
A disease that causes mass die-offs in frogs has been found in captive UK populations for the first time, scientists have warned.
Severe perkinsea infection (SPI) has caused large tadpole mortality events across the US, and this is the first proof that its geographic range is spreading. Researchers also found the disease-causing microbe in wild and seemingly healthy populations in Panama, where some of the most rapid declines in frog populations globally have occurred.
“This has alarming implications for conservation, as many amphibian species are suffering catastrophic population decline,” the researchers say in their paper, published in Biology Letters. The disease causes bloating in frog tadpoles, leaving them unable to dive, and leading to rapid death from multiple-organ failure. Separate research suggests the infection causes more than 95% mortality in affected populations.
The disease was found in European tree frogs bought from a pet store and kept in an aquarium in Surrey. It probably came in via contaminated tank water or equipment, but it is almost impossible to trace the source. Currently, there is no evidence of SPI in wild amphibian populations in the UK or Europe, but there has been little testing. “Where we’ve looked, we’ve seen it,” said Prof Tom Richards from the University of Oxford, one of the paper’s authors.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/16/disease-causing-mass-deaths-frogs-reaches-britain-aoe