Snake Fungal Disease Survey at Zoo Atlanta

     On March 4th, 2015, graduate students Cami Rose, Juliana Eslava, Blake Cherney, and Kyle Gabriel, with the help of undergraduates Samaya Henry and Summer Mashayekh, visited Zoo Atlanta to conduct a survey for the fungus that causes snake fungal disease (SFD), Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola. This was the second of several sampling expeditions, as this project seeks to survey most of the Zoo’s reptiles over a period that spans their relocation to the zoo’s newly-built reptile housing and exhibit facility. Samples of the animals and their enclosures will be tested for the presence and quantity of O. ophiodiicola DNA, in hopes of better understanding its transmission and environmental reservoirs.

Photos © 2015 Kyle Gabriel