Detection of Ophidiomyces, the Causative Agent of Snake Fungal Disease, in the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) in Michigan, USA, 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 694-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Allender ◽  
Eric T. Hileman ◽  
Jennifer Moore ◽  
Sasha Tetzlaff
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Sistrurus Catenatus ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease

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 Soil Reservoir Dynamics of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, the Causative Agent of Snake Fungal Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 461
Author(s):  
Lewis J. Campbell ◽  
Joanna Burger ◽  
Robert T. Zappalorti ◽  
John F. Bunnell ◽  
Megan E. Winzeler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Disease Dynamics ◽  
Wildlife Diseases ◽  
Sterile Soil ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease ◽  
Wildlife Pathogens ◽  
High Degree

Wildlife diseases pose an ever-growing threat to global biodiversity. Understanding how wildlife pathogens are distributed in the environment and the ability of pathogens to form environmental reservoirs is critical to understanding and predicting disease dynamics within host populations. Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging conservation threat to North American snake populations. The causative agent, Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (Oo), is detectable in environmentally derived soils. However, little is known about the distribution of Oo in the environment and the persistence and growth of Oo in soils. Here, we use quantitative PCR to detect Oo in soil samples collected from five snake dens. We compare the detection rates between soils collected from within underground snake hibernacula and associated, adjacent topsoil samples. Additionally, we used microcosm growth assays to assess the growth of Oo in soils and investigate whether the detection and growth of Oo are related to abiotic parameters and microbial communities of soil samples. We found that Oo is significantly more likely to be detected in hibernaculum soils compared to topsoils. We also found that Oo was capable of growth in sterile soil, but no growth occurred in soils with an active microbial community. A number of fungal genera were more abundant in soils that did not permit growth of Oo, versus those that did. Our results suggest that soils may display a high degree of both general and specific suppression of Oo in the environment. Harnessing environmental suppression presents opportunities to mitigate the impacts of SFD in wild snake populations.

PLASMA ELECTROPHORETIC PROFILES IN THE EASTERN MASSASAUGA (SISTRURUS CATENATUS) AND INFLUENCES OF AGE, SEX, YEAR, LOCATION, AND SNAKE FUNGAL DISEASE

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Allender ◽  
Randall E. Junge ◽  
Sarah Baker-Wylie ◽  
Eric T. Hileman ◽  
Lisa J. Faust ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Disease ◽  
Sistrurus Catenatus ◽  
Snake Fungal Disease

Evaluation of Common Disinfectants Effective against Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the Causative Agent of Snake Fungal Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 759-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Rzadkowska ◽  
Matthew C. Allender ◽  
Miranda O'Dell ◽  
Carol Maddox
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
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

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.

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