Contamination and an emerging snake fungal disease. Can snakes beat this new threat?

10.18258/2888 ◽  
2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth LaGrange Seth LaGrange
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease

scholarly journals Snake fungal disease caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in a free-ranging mud snake (Farancia abacura)

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 709-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Last ◽  
Heather Fenton ◽  
Jessica Gonyor-McGuire ◽  
Matthew Moore ◽  
Michael J. Yabsley
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease ◽  
Free Ranging

Testing the febrile response of snakes inoculated with Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, the causative agent of snake fungal disease

2021 ◽  
pp. 103065
Author(s):  
Cody Davis Godwin ◽  
Donald M. Walker ◽  
Alexander S. Romer ◽  
Alejandro Grajal-Puche ◽  
Matthew Grisnik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Febrile Response ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease

scholarly journals Revisiting Ophidiomycosis (Snake Fungal Disease) After a Decade of Targeted Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina M. Davy ◽  
Leonard Shirose ◽  
Doug Campbell ◽  
Rachel Dillon ◽  
Christina McKenzie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Sublethal Effects ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Molecular Testing ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease ◽  
Free Ranging

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are typically characterized by novelty (recent detection) and by increasing incidence, distribution, and/or pathogenicity. Ophidiomycosis, also called snake fungal disease, is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (formerly “ophiodiicola”). Ophidiomycosis has been characterized as an EID and as a potential threat to populations of Nearctic snakes, sparking over a decade of targeted research. However, the severity of this threat is unclear. We reviewed the available literature to quantify incidence and effects of ophidiomycosis in Nearctic snakes, and to evaluate whether the evidence supports the ongoing characterization of ophidiomycosis as an EID. Data from Canada remain scarce, so we supplemented the literature review with surveys for O. ophidiicola in the Canadian Great Lakes region. Peer-reviewed reports of clinical signs consistent with ophidiomycosis in free-ranging, Nearctic snakes date back to at least 1998, and retrospective molecular testing of samples extend the earliest confirmed record to 1986. Diagnostic criteria varied among publications (n = 33), confounding quantitative comparisons. Ophidiomycosis was diagnosed or suspected in 36/121 captive snakes and was fatal in over half of cases (66.7%). This result may implicate captivity-related stress as a risk factor for mortality from ophidiomycosis, but could also reflect reporting bias (i.e., infections are more likely to be detected in captive snakes, and severe cases are more likely to be reported). In contrast, ophidiomycosis was diagnosed or suspected in 441/2,384 free-ranging snakes, with mortality observed in 43 (9.8 %). Ophidiomycosis was only speculatively linked to population declines, and we found no evidence that the prevalence of the pathogen or disease increased over the past decade of targeted research. Supplemental surveys and molecular (qPCR) testing in Ontario, Canada detected O. ophidiicola on 76 of 657 free-ranging snakes sampled across ~136,000 km2. The pathogen was detected at most sites despite limited and haphazard sampling. No large-scale mortality was observed. Current evidence supports previous suggestions that the pathogen is a widespread, previously unrecognized endemic, rather than a novel pathogen. Ophidiomycosis may not pose an imminent threat to Nearctic snakes, but further research should investigate potential sublethal effects of ophidiomycosis such as altered reproductive success that could impact population growth, and explore whether shifting environmental conditions may alter host susceptibility.

Effects of snake fungal disease on short‐term survival, behavior, and movement in free‐ranging snakes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. McKenzie ◽  
Steven J. Price ◽  
Grant M. Connette ◽  
Simon J. Bonner ◽  
Jeffrey M. Lorch
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Short Term Survival

scholarly journals Development of Snake Fungal Disease after Experimental Challenge with Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorous)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e0140193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Allender ◽  
Sarah Baker ◽  
Daniel Wylie ◽  
Daniel Loper ◽  
Michael J. Dreslik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease ◽  
Experimental Challenge

scholarly journals Snake fungal disease: an emerging threat to wild snakes

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1709) ◽  
pp. 20150457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Lorch ◽  
Susan Knowles ◽  
Julia S. Lankton ◽  
Kathy Michell ◽  
Jaime L. Edwards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Broad Host Range ◽  
Skin Infections ◽  
Health Food ◽  
Current State ◽  
New Information ◽  
Eastern Usa ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease

Since 2006, there has been a marked increase in the number of reports of severe and often fatal fungal skin infections in wild snakes in the eastern USA. The emerging condition, referred to as snake fungal disease (SFD), was initially documented in rattlesnakes, where the infections were believed to pose a risk to the viability of affected populations. The disease is caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola , a fungus recently split from a complex of fungi long referred to as the Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii (CANV). Here we review the current state of knowledge about O. ophiodiicola and SFD. In addition, we provide original findings which demonstrate that O. ophiodiicola is widely distributed in eastern North America, has a broad host range, is the predominant cause of fungal skin infections in wild snakes and often causes mild infections in snakes emerging from hibernation. This new information, together with what is already available in the scientific literature, advances our knowledge of the cause, pathogenesis and ecology of SFD. However, additional research is necessary to elucidate the factors driving the emergence of this disease and develop strategies to mitigate its impacts. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Tackling emerging fungal threats to animal health, food security and ecosystem resilience’.

Interactive Effects of Food Supplementation and Snake Fungal Disease on Pregnant Pygmy Rattlesnakes and Their Offspring

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig M. Lind ◽  
Amber Clark ◽  
Sarah A. Smiley-Walters ◽  
Daniel R. Taylor ◽  
Marcos Isidoro-Ayza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease

First Documented Case of Snake Fungal Disease in a Free-Ranging Wild Snake in Louisiana

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. N4-N6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad M. Glorioso ◽  
J. Hardin Waddle ◽  
D. Earl Green ◽  
Jeffrey M. Lorch
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Documented Case ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease ◽  
Free Ranging
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