Monday, 20 May 2013

Frog once imported for pregnancy testing brought deadly amphibian disease to US

San Francisco CA (SPX) May 20, 2013



African frogs, originally imported for early 20th century pregnancy tests, carried a deadly amphibian disease to the U.S., according to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

African Clawed Frogs have long been suspected of introducing a harmful fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd to new populations that haven't been exposed to this pathogen before. The fungus has le