A fungus that is devastating amphibian populations around the world is a relatively new disease that is spreading rapidly, rather than an old disease that has recently become more virulent, according to research on frogs in California's Sierra Nevada.
Worse, not only is the fungus being spread by infected water, it may also be transmitted in the form of spores carried on the wind or birds' feathers, for example, a genetic analysis of the Californian frogs suggests. This would help to explain outbreaks of the disease, called
chytridiomycosis, in remote, inaccessible habitats like the Sierra Nevada lakes.
Comment: In contrast the Iraqis have to live in 117 degrees heat without fans, air conditioning, electricity or water due to the wholesale destruction of the Iraqi infrastructure over the last 4 and a half years by Uncle Sam!