Abstract
Ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease) is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola and threatens snake health worldwide. It has been documented throughout the eastern United States and severe cases have recently been reported in Georgia, USA. To evaluate disease distribution and prevalence in this state, 786 free-ranging snakes were examined for skin lesions consistent with ophidiomycosis and swabbed to detect O. ophiodiicola DNA using qPCR. Sampled snakes represented 34 species and 4 families; 27.5% had skin lesions, 13.3% were positive for O. ophiodiicola DNA, and 77.8% of the qPCR positive individuals had skin lesions. This is the first report of O. ophiodiicola in five of the 22 species that were qPCR positive. Multinomial logistic regression modeling indicated that Drymarchon couperi had a higher relative risk of apparent ophidiomycosis (lesions present and qPCR positive), and the best models predicting qPCR result and ophidiomycosis category included individual factors and excluded temporal and spatial factors. Phylogeny-based bipartite network analysis showed that Nerodia erythrogaster, Nerodia taxispilota, and D. couperi had the highest prevalence of apparent ophidiomycosis; this category was more prevalent in the subfamily Colubrinae and less prevalent in Natricinae. These results provide important information about ophidiomycosis epidemiology, which has implications for snake conservation.
Highlights
Ophidiomycosis is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola and threatens snake health worldwide
O. ophiodiicola DNA was detected in 22 snake species in Georgia, USA, five of which have not been previously reported with the pathogen in the wild
Our statistical modeling indicated that D. couperi had a higher relative risk of possible ophidiomycosis, and, along with N. erythrogaster and N. taxispilota, had a higher relative risk of being in the apparent ophidiomycosis category, compared to the negative category
Summary
Ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease) is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola and threatens snake health worldwide. Previous published reports of the disease in wild-caught snakes in the state of Georgia are rare, but include a black rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus) with swelling around the right eye[19], a mud snake (Farancia abacura) with head swelling and dysecdysis[20], and populations of eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi), which are a species of conservation concern[15]. While these case reports indicate that the disease is present in wild snakes in the state, they do not provide information about the overall distribution and prevalence of the disease in wild populations. We hypothesized that the prevalence of skin lesions, O. ophiodiicola DNA, and ophidiomycosis categories would be associated with temporal, spatial, and individual factors, including month, year, county sampled, sex, age class, and snake taxonomic group
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