PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Yoshinori Takami
AU  - Yumi Une
AU  - Ikki Mitsui
AU  - Chizuka Hemmi
AU  - Youki Takaki
AU  - Tsuyoshi Hosoya
AU  - Kyung-Ok Nam
TI  - First report of emerging snake fungal disease caused by <em>Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola</em> from Asia in imported captive snakes in Japan
AID  - 10.1101/2020.09.03.281154
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.09.03.281154
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/04/2020.09.03.281154.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/04/2020.09.03.281154.full
AB  - Snake fungal disease (SFD) (Ophidiomycosis) is an emerging infectious disease caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola which has been affecting wild and captive snakes in North America, Europe, and Australia. We report the cases of 12 imported captive colubrid snakes in Japan suspected of having SFD. Pathological and microbiological examinations were performed, and the results confirmed the diagnosis of SFD in two snakes, which indicated that the remaining sympatrically raised snakes also had SFD since they exhibited similar lesions. The oral administration of ciprofloxacin in addition to itraconazole had a significant treatment effect. This is the first report of SFD in Asia caused by O. ophiodiicola. To prevent the expansion of SFD in the natural environment in Japan, there is a need to evaluate the SFD carrier status of imported snakes, the pathogenicity of the infection in native snakes, and the prevalence and distribution of SFD in wild and captive snakes. Measures also must be taken to prevent endemicity globally.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.