In this section
@article{Clare:2016:10.1007/s10393-016-1114-z,
author = {Clare, F and Daniel, O and Garner, T and Fisher, M},
doi = {10.1007/s10393-016-1114-z},
journal = {Ecohealth},
pages = {360--367},
title = {Assessing the ability of swab data to determine the true burden of infection for the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10393-016-1114-z},
volume = {13},
year = {2016}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a pathogenic fungus which causes the disease chytridiomycosisin amphibians by infecting the animals’ epidermis. The most commonly applied method for the detectionof Bd is the use of a sterile swab, rubbed over the keratinized areas of an amphibian and then processed to yieldDNA for detection by qPCR. This method has been used to infer a threshold of lethal infection in some species;however, how reliable and reproducible the swabbing method is at detecting the true burden of infectionsuffered by individuals is not known. European midwife toads, Alytes obstetricans, are susceptible to chytridiomycosisand are highly parasitised by Bd across Europe. By quantifying Bd-load throughout the entire skinand comparing this to swab results taken from the same individual, we determined whether epidermal swabsprovide a quantifiable and accurate indication of the true fungal burden suffered. Further, we examinedwhether we could infer a threshold for lethal infection based on comparison of swab data taken from infectedA. obstetricans exhibiting different clinical states. From swab data, we detected significantly higher fungalburdens from moribund metamorphs compared to visually healthy individuals; however, the ability of theseswab data to provide an accurate indication of the true fungal burden was not reliable. These data suggest thatfungal load dynamics play an important role in disease-induced mortality in A. obstetricans at these sites, butthat using swab data to infer an exact threshold for Bd-associated mortality might be inappropriate andmisleading.
AU - Clare,F
AU - Daniel,O
AU - Garner,T
AU - Fisher,M
DO - 10.1007/s10393-016-1114-z
EP - 367
PY - 2016///
SN - 1612-9210
SP - 360
TI - Assessing the ability of swab data to determine the true burden of infection for the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
T2 - Ecohealth
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10393-016-1114-z
VL - 13
ER -
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