Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
EmailIphone Application    Posted: 30th September 2013
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.
Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Missouri ponds hold clues for frog disease
Researchers find chytrid fungus may also lurk in invertebrates

Key new research carried out in the US state of Missouri, has offered clues on chytrid fungus, which is responsible for sickening and killing amphibians all over the world.

Scientists carrying out research in Missouri ponds found that not only did the fungus not reside in all ponds, but it was possible to distinguish between infected and non-infected ponds.

Furthermore, researchers believe that the fungus, which was thought to be specific to amphibians, could also be lurking in invertebrates, such as insects.

The effects of the fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which is also known as amphibian chytrid, were first seen in 1993 when dead or dying frogs began turning up in Queensland, Australia.

Since then the fungus, which infects the skin that amphibians use to breathe and absorb water, has sickened and killed frogs, toads, salamanders and other species, driving hundreds to extinction, according to researchers.

Having studied Bd in South Africa, lead researcher Kevin Smith, from Washington University in St. Louis, began collecting tadpoles from Missouri ponds, where the disease in endemic, and testing their mouth parts under a microscope.

Finding fungus in only a third of the ponds whose tadpoles he tested, Dr Smith decided to investigate more widely and study the entire pond ecosystem.

Along with then-undergraduate Alex Strauss, Dr Smith surveyed the species living in 29 ponds in east-central Missouri. The patterns found in Bd infection could be an indirect effect of variations in the invertebrate communities, according to Dr Smith.

"Alternative hosts and reservoirs have been a key missing piece in our understanding of chytrid epidemiology," he said. "The fungus, like any pathogen, cannot be effectively controlled unless all its hiding places are known."
It is hoped that research in areas where chytrid is endemic could be put to use in areas where it is epidemic. The full study has been published in the September 25 edition of PLOS ONE journal.

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."