Een groene kikker met een paddenparasiet

A Water Frog with a Toad parasite Myiasis is an infectious disease caused by the parasitic fly Lucilia bufonivora, that mainly uses the common toad (Bufo bufo) as its host. We here report on an uncommon case of a successful L. bufonivora infection on a water frog (Pelophylax esculentus synklepton) from the south of the Netherlands. Only incidentally this amphibian parasite has been found to infect other amphibians than the common toad. The exact reasons for this host specificity remain unclear, however, it has been suggested that the fly’s eggs have less grip on smooth skinned amphibians contrary to rough-skinned toads. In addition to the toad fly infection, the frog and several collected tadpoles showed symptoms of systemic microbial infection, possibly Ranavirosis (Ranavirus). As Ranavirosis is considered to be a serious threat to the European fish- and herpetofauna, the close monitoring of cases of Ranavirosis is of critical importance.