School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK.
Ecohealth. 2009 Sep;6(3):335-9. doi: 10.1007/s10393-009-0271-8. Epub 2010 Feb 5.
Amphibian declines are occurring on a global scale, and infectious disease has been implicated as a factor in some species. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been associated with amphibian declines and/or extinctions in many locations, however, few of the studies have actually performed detailed pathological investigations to link the emergence of the disease with mortality rates large enough to cause the declines. Many studies are based solely on the presence of infection, not disease, because of the reliance on molecular tests for Bd. The emphasis of the importance of Bd combined with easy molecular tests has resulted in poor investigations into amphibian mortality and declines in many areas. The line between infection and disease has been blurred, and a step back to basic pathological and biological investigations is needed as other disease risks to amphibians, such as ranaviruses, are likely being missed. In this article, starting points for proper investigative techniques for amphibian mortalities and declines are identified and areas that need to be improved, especially communication between biologist and veterinarians involved in amphibian disease research, are suggested. It is hoped that this will start a much needed discussion in the area and lead to some consensus building about methodologies used in amphibian disease research.
两栖动物的数量在全球范围内正在减少，传染病被认为是一些物种减少的因素之一。Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis（Bd）与许多地方的两栖动物减少和/或灭绝有关，但很少有研究实际上进行了详细的病理学调查，将疾病的出现与死亡率联系起来，死亡率大到足以导致减少。由于对 Bd 的依赖，许多研究仅基于感染的存在，而不是疾病，因为分子测试。Bd 的重要性加上易于进行分子测试，导致许多地区对两栖动物的死亡率和减少的调查不足。感染和疾病之间的界限已经模糊，需要退回到基本的病理学和生物学调查，因为其他疾病风险，如蛙病毒，可能被忽视。在本文中，确定了适当调查两栖动物死亡率和减少的技术的起点，并提出了需要改进的领域，特别是涉及两栖动物疾病研究的生物学家和兽医之间的沟通。希望这将在该领域引发一场急需的讨论，并就用于两栖动物疾病研究的方法达成一些共识。
