Thursday 17 July 2014

Scientists gear up to fight deadly snake fungal disease

Date:
July 15, 2014

Source:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Summary:
A faster and more accurate way to test for infection with Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, a fungus that is killing snakes in the Midwest and eastern United States, has been devised by researchers. The test also allows scientists to monitor the progression of the infection in living snakes. Researchers first took notice of Ophidiomyces in snakes in the mid-2000s. Today the fungus threatens the last remaining eastern massasauga rattlesnake population in Illinois and has been found to infect timber rattlesnakes, mud snakes, rat snakes, garter snakes, milk snakes, water snakes and racers in several states.


No comments:

Post a Comment

You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!

Related Posts with Thumbnails

ShareThis