Monday 11 August 2008

The distribution of Bd in Europe grows.....

Bad news, more Bd to be found in Europe, and this time in one of Europe's most endangered amphibians. As we report in the July issue of Journal of Wildlife Diseases, Bd infection was found in diseased Sardinian brook newts (Bovero et al 2008 Detection of Chytridiomycosis Caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the Endangered Sardinian Newt (Euproctus platycephalus) in Southern Sardinia, Italy, J Wildl Dis 44: 712-715). We (the ZSL amphibian disease team and "Zirichiltaggi" S. W. C. Non-profit Association for Wildlife Conservation) have been carrying out further surveys in Sardinia and have found further evidence of infection in Sardinia's native (and endemic) amphibian fauna, along with evidence of Bd-driven mortality.