Ranaviruses have been associated with amphibian, fish and reptile mortality events worldwide and with amphibian population declines in parts of Europe. is a widespread invasive amphibian species in Chile. Recently, (FV3), the type species of the genus, was detected in two wild populations of this frog near Santiago in Chile, however, the extent of ranavirus infection in this country remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmerging infectious diseases in wildlife are increasingly associated with animal mortality and species declines, but their source and genetic characterization often remains elusive. Amphibian chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus (), has been associated with catastrophic and well-documented amphibian population declines and extinctions at the global scale. We used histology and whole-genome sequencing to describe the lesions caused by, and the genetic variability of, two isolates obtained from a mass mortality event in a captive population of the threatened Chilean giant frog ().
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmphibian chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has caused the greatest known loss of biodiversity due to an infectious disease. We used Bd infection data from quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assays of amphibian skin swabs collected across Chile during 2008-2018 to model Bd occurrence with the aim to determine bioclimatic and anthropogenic variables associated with Bd infection. Also, we used Bd presence/absence records to identify geographical Bd high-risk areas and compare Bd prevalence and infection loads between amphibian families, ecoregions, and host ecology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is an infection endemic in Chile and Argentina, caused by Andes hantavirus (ANDV). The rodent Oligoryzomys longicaudatus is suggested as the main reservoir, although several other species of Sigmodontinae are known hosts of ANDV. Here, we explore potential ANDV transmission risk to humans in southern South America, based on eco-epidemiological associations among: six rodent host species, seropositive rodents, and human HPS cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmphibians are hosts for a wide variety of micro- and macro-parasites. Chigger mites from the Hannemania genus are known to infect a wide variety of amphibian species across the Americas. In Chile, three species (H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmphibians face an extinction crisis with no precedence. Two emerging infectious diseases, ranaviral disease caused by viruses within the genus Ranavirus and chytridiomycosis due to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), have been linked with amphibian mass mortalities and population declines in many regions of the globe. The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) has been indicated as a vector for the spread of these pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF