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1 July 2016 Detection of Ophidiomyces, the Causative Agent of Snake Fungal Disease, in the Eastern Massasauga ( Sistrurus catenatus) in Michigan, USA, 2014
Matthew C. Allender, Eric T. Hileman, Jennifer Moore, Sasha Tetzlaff
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Abstract

Snake fungal disease (SFD), caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, threatens free-ranging snake populations across the US. We assayed 112 swabs from 102 individual eastern massasaugas (Sistrurus catenatus) at three locations in Michigan in 2014 for Ophidiomyces using quantitative PCR (qPCR). We observed a 12.7% qPCR prevalence of skin lesions. Individuals at each site had lesions, and occurrence of skin lesions was not significantly different between sites. We detected Ophidiomyces DNA at each of the three sites in five individuals (4.9%). We found no difference in detection probabilities between sites; however, snakes with dermatitis had higher Ophidiomyces DNA detection probabilities (P=0.15±0.08 SE) than snakes without dermatitis (P=0.02±0.01 SE, P=0.026). The emergence of SFD mortalities has potentially serious consequences for the viability of the eastern massasauga in Michigan. Future work should track temporal patterns in vital rates and health parameters, link health data to body condition indices for individual snakes, and conduct a “hotspot” analysis to examine health on a landscape scale.

Matthew C. Allender, Eric T. Hileman, Jennifer Moore, and Sasha Tetzlaff "Detection of Ophidiomyces, the Causative Agent of Snake Fungal Disease, in the Eastern Massasauga ( Sistrurus catenatus) in Michigan, USA, 2014," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 52(3), 694-698, (1 July 2016). https://doi.org/10.7589/2015-12-333
Received: 12 December 2015; Accepted: 1 February 2016; Published: 1 July 2016
KEYWORDS
disease
eastern massasauga
infection
Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola
reptile
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