Central Idea

• A multinational study has recently published a breakthrough method in the journal Transboundary and Emerging Diseases to detect all known strains of the amphibian chytrid fungus.
• This method will enhance our ability to detect and research the disease and work towards finding a widely available cure.

Chytridiomycosis: The deadly frog disease

• Chytridiomycosis, also known as chytrid, is a fungal disease that has been decimating frog populations worldwide for the past 40 years.
• The disease has caused severe declines in over 500 frog species and led to 90 extinctions, making it the deadliest animal disease known.

How does it infect?

• Chytrid infects frogs by reproducing in their skin, damaging their ability to balance water and salt levels.
• The mortality rate is extreme, and the disease has affected a high number of species, causing devastating declines and extinctions.
• The disease originated in Asia and spread globally through amphibian trade and travel.

Limitations in diagnosis

• Researchers traditionally used swabs and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) tests, similar to COVID-19 testing, to detect chytrid in frogs.
• The existing qPCR test could not detect chytrid strains from Asia, limiting research efforts.

New and Improved qPCR Test

• Researchers in India, Australia, and Panama have developed a new qPCR test that can detect strains of chytrid from Asia.
• The test is also more sensitive, allowing for the detection of low infection levels and expanding the range of species that can be studied.
• The test can also detect a closely related species of chytrid that infects salamanders.

Understanding natural immunity in frogs

• Some amphibian species, even those without an evolutionary history with chytrid, do not become sick when carrying the fungus, indicating natural immune resistance.
• Frog immunity is complex, involving anti-microbial chemicals, symbiotic bacteria, white blood cells, antibodies, and more.
• Research in Asia, where chytrid declines have not been observed, may provide insights into how resistance evolves and aid in finding a cure for affected regions.

Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your personal mentor for UPSC 2024

Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024

Attend Now