Study finds fungal disease of snakes in 19 states, Puerto Rico

Date:
October 8, 2020
Source:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau
Summary:
Researchers surveyed for an infection caused by an emerging fungal
pathogen that afflicts snakes. The research effort found infected
snakes in 19 states and Puerto Rico, demonstrating that the fungus
is more widely distributed than was previously known.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
In a collaborative effort between scientists and personnel on military
bases in 31 states in the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico, researchers surveyed for an infection caused by an emerging fungal pathogen that
afflicts snakes. The effort found infected snakes on military bases in
19 states and Puerto Rico, demonstrating that the fungus is more widely distributed than was previously known. The team reports the findings in
the journal PLOS ONE.


========================================================================== "Ophidiomycosis -- formerly known as 'snake fungal disease' -- is
an emerging infectious disease caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces
ophidiicola," said Dr.

Matt Allender, a professor in the veterinary diagnostic laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who led the new study. "It has
been documented in over 15 genera of wild and captive snakes. Infection
with the pathogen causes a wide range of clinical signs in snakes, from difficulty shedding skin, to crusts and ulcers on the head and body,
and even death in some cases." Allender is the director of the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab at the U. of I. and an expert on ophidiomycosis.

"We looked for this pathogen in samples from 657 snakes and found that
17% were infected. Our findings include the first reports of this disease
in Oklahoma, Idaho and Puerto Rico," he said.

The team tested swab samples taken from snakes representing 58
species. The researchers used a qPCR assay they developed, which
amplifies the DNA in small samples to detect and measure the extent of infection. Biologists who collected the samples also inspected the snakes
for scabs or other signs of disease. The scientists detected the pathogen
in samples from 113 snakes representing 25 species including copperheads, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, Puerto Rican boas, sidewinders and
whip snakes.

"Adults had greater odds of being diagnosed with ophidiomycosis than
younger snakes," the researchers reported. "Snakes from Georgia,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all had greater odds of ophidiomycosis diagnosis, while snakes from Idaho were less likely to be diagnosed with the disease." This likely reflects a larger distribution
of this disease in snakes in the eastern U.S. than previously thought,
and its possible expansion from east to west, Allender said. The disease
was first confirmed in 2006 in a population of timber rattlesnakes in
New Hampshire.

Snakes worldwide are suffering as a result of habitat loss, climate
change and infectious diseases like ophidiomycosis. Their health and
abundance are important to human health, as snakes control populations
of small mammals that carry and amplify pathogens that also cause disease
in humans such as hanatavirus and Lyme disease, Allender said.

Natural lands on military bases provide an unexpected sanctuary for many threatened or endangered species, he said.

Previous studies by project co-investigators with the Department of
Defense have found that amphibian and reptile species living on DOD
lands represent nearly two-thirds of the total native amphibian and
reptile species documented in the continental U.S.

"Ophidiomycosis has potentially serious consequences for the success of
snake conservation efforts in North America, threatening biodiversity
across several habitats," Allender said.

The paper "Ophidiomycosis, an emerging fungal disease of snakes: Targeted surveillance on military lands and detection in the western US and Puerto
Rico" is available from the U. of I. News Bureau.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Illinois_at_Urbana-Champaign,_News_Bureau.

Original written by Diana Yates. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Matthew C. Allender, Michael J. Ravesi, Ellen Haynes, Emilie Ospina,
Christopher Petersen, Christopher A. Phillips, Robert Lovich.

Ophidiomycosis, an emerging fungal disease of snakes: Targeted
surveillance on military lands and detection in the western
US and Puerto Rico. PLOS ONE, 2020; 15 (10): e0240415 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0240415 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201008142057.htm

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