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Isolation of the virus from a number of garden ponds enabled a
comparison with other ranaviruses from around the world and -
based on similarities between the viruses - a likely
introduction to Britain from North America was suggested.
How this introduction occurred is still not known but suspicion
lingers around the involvement of imported amphibian species
(e.g. bullfrogs) as well as goldfish (since some ranaviruses
infect fish).
Originally the disease was found in southeast England but since
then it has spread across the UK. It's been recorded in
Cornwall, Cardiff, Lancashire and Newcastle. There are often
'hot-spots' of disease - clusters of incidents reported in one
area - but it's unclear how it jumps from one location to
another. Check out our
map of disease
locations.
It is still largely unknown how the disease spreads between
ponds/frog populations but we do know that it is more likely to
spread in certain conditions. Ranavirus seems to be temperature
and density dependant - this is why there is a peak during the
summer months of July and August when air temperatures are high
and when there are large numbers of frogs in and around ponds.
As it is not clear how the disease spreads we advise against
introducing plants, spawn or animals from other ponds and also
donating these from your own pond. Introducing fish should also
be avoided - as well as being detrimental to your amphibian
population they could be a potential source of disease.
FAQ:
Why shouldn't I introduce fish to my pond?
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