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The Worst Disease Ever Recorded
www.theatlantic.com ^ | Mar 28, 2019 | Ed Yong

Posted on 03/29/2019 6:24:52 AM PDT by Red Badger

A doomsday fungus known as Bd has condemned more species to extinction than any other pathogen.

A century ago, a strain of pandemic flu killed up to 100 million people—5 percent of the world’s population. In 2013, a new mystery illness swept the western coast of North America, causing starfish to disintegrate. In 2015, a big-nosed Asian antelope known as the saiga lost two-thirds of its population—some 200,000 individuals—to what now looks to be a bacterial infection. But none of these devastating infections comes close to the destructive power of Bd—a singularly apocalyptic fungus that’s unrivaled in its ability not only to kill animals, but to delete entire species from existence.

Bd—Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in full—kills frogs and other amphibians by eating away at their skin and triggering fatal heart attacks. It’s often said that the fungus has caused the decline or extinction of 200 amphibian species, but that figure is almost two decades out-of-date. New figures, compiled by a team led by Ben Scheele from the Australian National University, are much worse.

Scheele’s team estimates that the fungus has caused the decline of 501 amphibian species—about 6.5 percent of the known total. Of these, 90 have been wiped out entirely. Another 124 have fallen by more than 90 percent, and their odds of recovery are slim. Never in recorded history has a single disease burned down so much of the tree of life. “It rewrote our understanding of what disease could do to wildlife,” Scheele says.

“It’s a terrifying summary,” says Jodi Rowley from the Australian Museum. “We knew it was bad, but this really confirms how bad. And these are just the declines we know about.”

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; History; Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: batrachochytrium; bd; dsj02; fungus; teotwawki
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1 posted on 03/29/2019 6:24:52 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

liberalism?


2 posted on 03/29/2019 6:27:09 AM PDT by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: Red Badger

There’s a fungus among us!


3 posted on 03/29/2019 6:27:21 AM PDT by Wally_Kalbacken
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To: Red Badger

As usual, I see the author gets around to blaming humans.


4 posted on 03/29/2019 6:28:25 AM PDT by caver
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To: Red Badger

Lemme guess - fork over large amounts of dollars to the UN and the problem will magically disappear.


5 posted on 03/29/2019 6:28:33 AM PDT by MichaelCorleone (Jesus Christ is not a religion. He's the Truth.)
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To: Red Badger

A bacterium that completely kills off its hosts is not very smart.


6 posted on 03/29/2019 6:28:37 AM PDT by rightwingcrazy (;-)
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To: Red Badger

Golly Gee Wiz just what I want to read with My Morning Coffee.

Time to switch to Gin and Grapefruit Juice.


7 posted on 03/29/2019 6:29:29 AM PDT by mabarker1 (Congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
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To: Fungi

Ping


8 posted on 03/29/2019 6:29:43 AM PDT by rfp1234 (I don't watch CNN for the same reason I don't drink from the toilet.)
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To: Red Badger

“No one knew what the problem was, let alone the culprit.”

I remember reading … global warming


9 posted on 03/29/2019 6:29:49 AM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: Red Badger

doomsday fungus


Have we had a movie on that yet? If not, it is coming.


10 posted on 03/29/2019 6:31:40 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: rightwingcrazy
A bacterium that completely kills off its hosts is not very smart.

It sure seems to be successful, though.

11 posted on 03/29/2019 6:31:56 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux - The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: Red Badger

Imagine how good the world was before it was cursed by the fall of man.


12 posted on 03/29/2019 6:34:48 AM PDT by DungeonMaster (...the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world has been crucified to me.)
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To: Red Badger

Genetically modify the fungi to target cane toads.


13 posted on 03/29/2019 6:35:05 AM PDT by Hootowl
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To: Red Badger

14 posted on 03/29/2019 6:36:49 AM PDT by gaijin
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To: DungeonMaster
Imagine how good the world was before it was cursed by the fall of man.

You said a mouthful there. I'm not sure we can imagine it.

15 posted on 03/29/2019 6:37:34 AM PDT by BipolarBob (I got dozens of friends and the fun never ends that is, as long as I'm buying)
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To: rightwingcrazy

It’s a Woke bacterium, decrying multicellular privilege.


16 posted on 03/29/2019 6:38:11 AM PDT by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
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To: Red Badger

Trump’s fault.


17 posted on 03/29/2019 6:38:35 AM PDT by Mercat
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To: Red Badger

... if you’re a frog.


18 posted on 03/29/2019 6:38:58 AM PDT by dangus
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To: Red Badger

You want to see terrifying? Walk into any nursing home. That will bring you back to reality and what really matters.


19 posted on 03/29/2019 6:39:39 AM PDT by devane617 (Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.~ George Orwell, 1984)
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To: rightwingcrazy

>> A bacterium that completely kills off its hosts is not very smart. <<

Not a bacterium, not species-specific, not “trapped” inside its own host.


20 posted on 03/29/2019 6:39:46 AM PDT by dangus
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