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Experimental Evidence that Amphibian Ranaviruses are Multi-Host Pathogens
- Article from:
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Copeia
- Article date:
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March 21, 2008
- Author:
- Schock, Danna M; Bollinger, Trent K; Chinchar, V Gregory; Jancovich, James K; Collins, James P
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Copyright informationCopyright American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Mar 21, 2008. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Infectious diseases, including those caused by ranaviruses (family Iridoviridae), are among the suspected causes of global amphibian declines. Like many pathogens, ranaviruses appear to infect multiple species. We examined several North American amphibian ranavirus isolates to improve our understanding of the effects these viruses have on host communities. Our study had two objectives. The first was to characterize isolates from epizootics affecting wild amphibian populations and compare them to previously described isolates. The second was to test whether amphibian ranaviruses infect ecologically relevant heterologous species, and If so, document the outcome of exposure. The combined ...