Science Article Calls Frog Doomsday Fungus “The Deadliest Pathogen Known To Science”
Jonathan E. Kolby/Honduras Amphibian Rescue & Conservation CenterThe mossy red-eyed frog, just one of the amphibious species threatened by the pathogen.
First, scientists told us that the bees were dying. Then, they found out about the frogs. Of course, discovering a plague that was killing frogs all over the world was bad enough; then scientists realized the plague they were suffering from was the “deadliest pathogen known to science.”
Earlier this year, a group of 41 scientists released a study revealing just how damaging Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis was to the species, and just how much they’d been underestimating it.
The disease, which appears to affect more than 500 amphibian species, is estimated to have wiped out 90 species from the planet.
“That’s fairly seismic,” said Wendy Palen, a biologist at Simon Fraser University and co-author of the science article that accompanied the published study. “It now earns the moniker of the most deadly pathogen known to science.”
Deadly, and anything but pretty. When first infected, the pathogen attacks the amphibian’s skin cells and multiplies rapidly. From there, the affected skin begins to peel back from its body, while causing the amphibian to grow weary and ultimately die. The pathogen spreads through the water and through spores, making it almost impossible to avoid.
Worse, the pathogen seems to be spreading and multiple species are on the decline as a result. There is hope, however, as the numbers for other affected species seemed to have bounced back somewhat.
