Decline of Amphibians Like Frogs Can Get People More Sick

Amphibians like frogs and salamanders are known for controlling the population of some animals within the food web, including mosquitoes that spread human diseases.

These amphibians are crucial to the environment, as well as to their immediate neighboring human settlement. According to a new study, a declining amphibian population can get people sicker, especially from mosquito-borne diseases.

The report is based on previous research which showed that ecologists first noticed in the 1980s a quiet and gradual decline of these small vertebrates due to a pathogen in Costa Rica and Panama. The infectious agent is also responsible for causing the deaths and wipe out of frogs in multiple continents worldwide, including the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Scientific literature behind the killer fungus and its associated infectious disease called chytridiomycosis has relatively grown in recent decades. Its impact to other amphibian species in the hundreds were also recorded. The new research regarding the relationship between ecology and biology concerning human health was not clearly understood. Now, a paradigm shift is possible based on recent developments.

Increased Malaria Incidence

In a new paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters on Tuesday, September 20, researchers concluded that amphibian collapses have led to increased malaria incidence in Central America. This comes after the pathogen led to localized extinction or decrease of amphibian population, including frogs and salamanders, in the sub-continent.

The paper highlights the importance of biodiversity and its role in ecosystems, as well as supporting human welfare, including regulating infectious disease transmission. Yet, this notion is reportedly often overlooked and are not fully appreciated due to lack of data or complex environmental factors at play. With this, the research team proved that amphibians have direct impact to human health for the first time.

Malaria is a potentially fatal disease caused by a parasite that latches into a mosquito that feeds on human, with related symptoms include flu-like illness, high fever, and shaking chills. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that there were 241 million recorded malaria cases in 2020, as cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Killer Fungus

The team focused on the fungal pathogen called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which is responsible for multicontinental amphibian decline.

A number of scientists argue that Bd led to the greatest recorded loss of biodiversity, causing a population to decline to 501 amphibian species, including 90 extinctions, all the way from Asia to South America.

Amphibian Die-Off

The new study's authors acknowledged that their findings is the first causal evidence of amphibian losses affecting human health in a natural setting, Science Alert reports.

To arrive at their conclusion, the team relied on multiple regression model to measure the causal impact of Bd-driven amphibian deaths on malaria incidence in Costa Rica and Panama.

The research led by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) said the "amphibian die-off" was the main cause of the spike in malaria cases, as cited by Earth.com.