Confirmed amphibian chytrid in Mount Mulanje Area, Malawi

The amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is responsible for widespread morbidity and mortality
in susceptible species, leading to population declines (Berger et
al. 1998; Bosch et al. 2001; Fisher et al. 2009; Lips 1999; Rachowicz et al. 2006; Skerratt et al. 2007; Stuart et al. 2004). Although
Bd is believed to have originated in Africa (Weldon et al. 2004),
relatively little work has been done on the continent to assess
its occurrence and distribution. African countries where Bd has
been identified include Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, South
Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia (www.Bd-maps.net,
accessed 5 November 2010; Kielgast et al. 2010). More recently
sources also indicate Bd-positive records from Cameroon, Malawi and Uganda (Goldberg et al. 2007; Sotoz-Azat et al. 2010),
Democratic Republic of Congo (Greenbaum et al. 2008), Nigeria (Imasuem et al. 2009; Imasuem et al. 2011), Gabon (Bell et al.
2011), and Morocco (El Mouden et al. 2011)