wes_von_papineäu
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THE TELEGRAPH (London, UK) 11 November 07 Foreign goldfish bring death to our frogs
The humble goldfish is being blamed for spreading a deadly virus that has wiped out tens of thousands of frogs in Britain.
Fish imported from breeding farms in the United States are believed to be infected with Red Leg disease, a virus that causes frogs' limbs to waste away and leads to their bleeding to death. Now a major European project is investigating how the international trade in ornamental fish is causing the devastating disease to spread.
Dr Andrew Cunningham, from the Zoological Society of London who has been investigating the disease, said: "One of the most common factors that has been associated with the virus in frogs was deaths in goldfish, so there is an epidemiological link. Goldfish might be carriers of this virus."
Red Leg disease, named after the red sores it produces on frogs' legs before they die, was introduced from the United States nearly a decade ago but until recently had been confined to south-east England. Scientists now claim it has begun spreading west and north.
While the virus has been found to be harmful to Britain's population of common frogs, it is also thought to infect other amphibians such as the common toad and newt.
Dr Barry Hill, of the Centre for Fisheries, Environment and Aquaculture Science at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "We have found that almost without exception, the virus is present in the dead frogs we are testing. It is thought that the pet trade is the main route of entry for this virus."
Lucy Benyon, wildlife information officer at conservation charity Froglife, said: "It can be alarming for people to find up to 20 frogs at a time dead in their gardens and we sometimes have people contacting us in tears."
Originally bred from Chinese Crucian carp in the 11th century, the goldfish was introduced to Europe in the 17th century and is now the most commonly kept aquarium fish.
Contrary to popular myth, they have memory spans of at least three months.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/11/eafish111.xml
The humble goldfish is being blamed for spreading a deadly virus that has wiped out tens of thousands of frogs in Britain.
Fish imported from breeding farms in the United States are believed to be infected with Red Leg disease, a virus that causes frogs' limbs to waste away and leads to their bleeding to death. Now a major European project is investigating how the international trade in ornamental fish is causing the devastating disease to spread.
Dr Andrew Cunningham, from the Zoological Society of London who has been investigating the disease, said: "One of the most common factors that has been associated with the virus in frogs was deaths in goldfish, so there is an epidemiological link. Goldfish might be carriers of this virus."
Red Leg disease, named after the red sores it produces on frogs' legs before they die, was introduced from the United States nearly a decade ago but until recently had been confined to south-east England. Scientists now claim it has begun spreading west and north.
While the virus has been found to be harmful to Britain's population of common frogs, it is also thought to infect other amphibians such as the common toad and newt.
Dr Barry Hill, of the Centre for Fisheries, Environment and Aquaculture Science at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "We have found that almost without exception, the virus is present in the dead frogs we are testing. It is thought that the pet trade is the main route of entry for this virus."
Lucy Benyon, wildlife information officer at conservation charity Froglife, said: "It can be alarming for people to find up to 20 frogs at a time dead in their gardens and we sometimes have people contacting us in tears."
Originally bred from Chinese Crucian carp in the 11th century, the goldfish was introduced to Europe in the 17th century and is now the most commonly kept aquarium fish.
Contrary to popular myth, they have memory spans of at least three months.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/11/eafish111.xml