Self-medication is dangerous, a trained professional is best able to treat your loulou. The drugs named are only for your veterinarian.

A microscopic Asian fungus is causing a major biodiversity crisis, the largest ever. It has caused an unprecedented decline among hundreds of amphibian species, devouring their skin to the point of causing cardiac arrest. An ecological disaster that went unnoticed for a long time.

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A fungus that devours the skin of frogs

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis belongs to the chytrid family, aquatic fungi that usually consume decaying organic matter. But, unlike its congeners, Bd attacks all living amphibians: frogs, salamanders, newts ... It devours their skin and causes scaling and deep ulcerations. As amphibians use their highly permeable skin to breathe, the infection eventually causes cardiac arrest . Its virulence is particularly high in certain species, where mortality can reach 100%. More than 30 species of Atelopus, small frogs from Central America, have been completely wiped out.

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Global dissemination fostered by international exchanges

Identified in 1998, the "Bd" nevertheless began its devastation in the 1970s. But it was in the 1980s that the epizootic peaked, especially on the American continent. Native to Asia, the fungus quickly spread to the whole world thanks to international trade . Europe seems to have been less affected, but according to the researchers, the disaster may have occurred before it was noticed on the continent: massive declines in amphibians did indeed take place in the 1950s and 1960s.

Attributed at the time to the intensification of agriculture , they could actually have been caused by the pathogen. Curiously, the disease seems to have spared Asia, where it originates from. Researchers hypothesize that Asian amphibians were able to adapt to resist the pathogen. However, it is also possible that species are simply less well studied there.

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A new strain that decimates European salamanders

Fortunately, the decline appears to be slowing in recent years. But of the 501 species in decline, barely 12% have started to recover, and 39% are still experiencing a decline. In addition, the fungus is emerging in new places so far untouched, such as Papua New Guinea or Madagascar.

A new strain of the fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, recently landed in Europe via the amphibian trade and appears particularly virulent in local salamanders. A 2017 Nature study thus showed a massive collapse of the affected populations. The United States and Canada have already adopted preventive measures, banning the importation of 201 species of salamanders. In Europe, the risk of another mass extinction cannot be ruled out.