Mar. 6,
2013 — A team of scientists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
and the National University of Singapore (NUS), revealed in a new study, for
the first time, the presence of the pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in
amphibians sampled in Singapore
The study
appears in the current issue of the journal EcoHealth, and is the first to
consider the role that Southeast Asia 's
commercial trade plays in the spread of amphibian pathogens.
Demand for
amphibians through local and international trade is high and fueled by use of
frogs as pets, food, bait, and as a source of traditional 'medicine.' More than
40 percent of amphibian species are in decline globally due, not only to
chytrid fungus, but also overharvesting, competition from invasive species,
habitat loss, pollution, and climate change.
In the study,
scientists collected samples from 2,389 individual animals in Lao PDR,
Cambodia, Vietnam, and Singapore at 51 different sites including farms, locally
supplied markets, pet stores, and from the wild.
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