Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans not detected in U.S. survey of pet salamanders.

ABSTRACT: We engaged pet salamander owners in the United States to screen their animals for two amphibian chytrid fungal pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal). We provided pet owners with a sampling kit and instructional video to swab the skin of their animals. We received 639 salamander samples from 65 species by mail, and tested them for Bd and Bsal using qPCR. We detected Bd on 1.3% of salamanders (95% CI 0.0053-0.0267) and did not detect Bsal (95% CI 0.0000-0.0071). If Bsal is present in the U.S. population of pet salamanders, it occurs at a very low prevalence. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed 201 species of salamanders as "injurious wildlife" under the Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. § 42) on January 28, 2016, a precautionary action to prevent the

SUBMITTER: Klocke B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5640657 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature