A recent study has confirmed the presence of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola  (Oo), the fungus responsible for Ophidiomycosis—better known as Snake Fungal Disease—among wild snake populations in Italy. This discovery sheds new light on a silent but serious threat to European snake species. A Silent Threat to European Snakes Ophidiomycosis has been a growing concern for snake populations worldwide, yet its presence and impact in Europe have remained largely unexplored. To address thi

(c) Elin Verbrugghe In our latest study, we have developed an innovative in vitro  infection model  to study Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans  (Bsal) without the use of live animals . Why is this important? Bsal poses a serious threat to European salamanders, leading to dramatic population declines. Traditionally, research on this deadly fungus relies heavily on live animal experiments. Our A6 cell model offers an ethical and scientifically valuable alternative! What did we

The team at Wildlife Health Ghent, in collaboration with the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres (VOC), has identified a new circovirus.

(c) Frank Pasmans Several members of our Wildlife Health Ghent team are diving into a new research project investigating the role of skin glycosylation patterns on salamander resistance to disease. Indeed, our group recently discovered that the galactose content in salamander skin correlates with the intensity of infection by the fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, responsible for the deadly chytridiomycosis disease. Investigating the variability of hereditary skin glyc

Divergent population responses following salamander mass mortalities and declines driven by the emerging pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans. A new paper by WHG led by PhD researcher Jesse Erens was published on the cover of Proceedings of the Royal Society B. In this paper, we found that fire salamanders are still surviving up to 10 years after a deadly chytrid fungus (Bsal) started causing near-extinctions in The Netherlands and Belgium. Although this might be reason

Barbi et al. (2023) Widespread triazole pesticide use affects infection dynamics of a global amphibian pathogen. Ecology Letters Ichthyosaura alpestris (c) Frank Pasmans Fungicides are widely used pesticides to control fungal diseases in crops. Negative effects on the environment are well document and include toxicity and bioaccumulation. We have recently discovered that the extensive pr

A new article by researchers of Wildlife Health Ghent and others :-) Wild birds and their habitat are inextricably linked to human activities as their natural environment is subjected to an increasing pressure of fragmentation. Despite its pivotal role in host health, it remains largely unknown whether the gut microbiomes of wild birds are affected by habitat fragmentation and/or whether other factors are also involved. In fact, studies examining the gastrointestinal flora in