De slangenschimmel Ophidiomyces ophidiicola bij ringslangen in Nederland

De schimmel Ophidiomyces ophidiicola veroorzaakt de huidziekte ophidiomycose bij slangen. De aandoening is ook wel bekend als ‘Snake Fungal Disease’ (SFD). Na de ontdekking in Noord-Amerika, Azië en enkele Europese landen, leek het een kwestie van tijd voordat deze schimmel ook in Nederland zou worden aangetroffen. Gericht onderzoek bracht Ophidiomyces ophidiicola inderdaad onlangs aan het licht. First report of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola in wild barred grass snakes (Natrix helvetica) in the Netherlands Ophidiomyces ophidiicola is the causative agent of ophidiomycosis (also called snake fungal disease) and has been associated with mycosis in individual snakes and population declines in several North American snake species. While cases of ophidiomycosis from North America have been numerous in the past two decades, reports from Europe remain sparse and are lacking from the Benelux. Between 2017 and 2023 sloughed skins, carcasses and swabs from 284 free-ranging, captive and introduced snakes belonging to 22 species were screened for the presence of O. ophidiicola in the Netherlands. Two free-ranging barred grass snakes (Natrix helvetica) shed skin sloughs tested positive despite a lack of gross cutaneous signs of disease. These findings are presented in this article. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of the presence of O. ophidiicola in the Netherlands