Chytridiomycosis
29th June 2008, SundayA little good news is that samples of amphibians tested by Ed Brede of the Institute of Zoology from Northiam and Dungeness in April this year have proved to be negative for this disease. Further samples were taken for testing in May from smooth newts and marsh frogs, so the sites do not have the all clear yet.
Dungeness has been tested because it supports marsh frogs, a species that is a possible carrier of the disease. The Northiam site was my back garden. When we were removing the 12,000 North American bullfrogs that had colonised a site on the Kent/East Sussex border quite a few were temporarily held in tanks in our property, including some of the first animals to test positive for the disease in Britain. I am glad it does not appear to have escaped!