Amphibian Disease Portal

In an unprecedented wildlife policy move, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has come out with an interim rule that lists 201 salamander species as “injurious” to wildlife due to the risk of a pathogen (the chytrid fungal pathogen that is lethal to salamanders, Bsal) under the Lacey...

The Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats is binding international legal text that was adopted over thirty years ago to protect Europe’s wild plants and animals. In December 2015 the Convention had its 35th annual Standing Committee meeting at the Palace of Europe in...

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) has recommended that all importers, exporters and buyers place a voluntary temporary moratorium on firebelly and paddletail newts (Cynops orientalis and Pachytriton labiatus*, respectively) to thwart the spread of Bsal to US salamander populations. They also ask all businesses to regularly sanitize their...

The US is evaluating which salamander species to list as “injurious” under the Lacey Act. Since there are no current international or US laws or regulations in place to call on emergency protocols for emerging infectious diseases in wildlife, the US must rely on the Lacey Act to prevent Bsal...

Amphibian experts from the Amphibian Survival Alliance, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Services, the PARC National Disease Task Team and their partners held a workshop in Asheville, NC in August of 2015 to bring experts and stakeholders together to address the threat of Bsal to North...