A disease caused by a highly contagious fungus has wiped out as many as 200 species of frog worldwide since the 1970s, and pushed many more to the brink of extinction.
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| The Panamanian golden frog is presumed to be extinct in the wild. |
But researchers now believe that some frogs may be developing a resistance to the deadly chytrid fungus.
When chytridiomycosis wiped through a biodiversity hotspot called El Cope in Panama in 2004, scientists said the spread was so rapid that, in places, dead frogs littered the forest floor.
In the study published today in Science, researchers have documented the recovery of nine frog species in three regions of Panama, including El Cope, and have observed infected frogs showing no ill effects from the fungus.
Read the ABC News story by Nick Kilvert - “Frogs show signs of immunity to chytrid fungus pandemic that has wiped out about 200 species.”
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