Superfungus‘ threatens to wipe out 1/3 of amphibian species in Panama

The fungus becomes embedded in the animal's skin and infects it, causing it to be unable to exchange salts and water with the environment.

The disease causes irreparable damage to vital functions. Eventually the animal dies of heart failure caused by asphyxiation.

"It's a pretty dramatic and painful disease," said Angie Estrada, a biologist at Virginia Tech University and administrator of Panama's Summit. "When the fungus gets to a place where it wasn't, it affects populations very much and animals die en masse. It causes certain death in the individuals it infects. It's a devastating phenomenon”.

The microorganism was first detected in the 20th century in the Korean Peninsula and scientists warn that it has already spread throughout the world.

"Anywhere in the world where there are amphibians, the fungus is already there," 

Glimmers of hope

Despite the gloomy scenario, scientists point to some glimmers of hope, saying that in the past few years some species believed to have gone extinct have been re-discovered.

Specialists suspect that some amphibians have been able to bolster their defenses against infection.

Meanwhile, in Gamboa, the STRI maintains some 2,000 specimens from 12 frog species in the hope they can one day be released into the wild to fend for themselves.

"The idea is not to keep these animals in captivity forever. We want to be able to re-establish populations in their natural habitat."

To that end, Smithsonian researcher Della Togna is carrying out an assisted reproduction project, where she freezes the animals' semen in order to impregnate the females and increase their numbers.