Chytridiomycosis and ranavirus are devastating amphibian populations globally, causing mass mortality events and threatening species with extinction across multiple continents.
Chytridiomycosis disrupts electrolyte balance through the skin causing cardiac arrest; affected amphibians show lethargy and abnormal posture before death. Ranavirus causes haemorrhagic disease with rapid deterioration. Both diseases cause suffering to individual animals and ecological collapse. Mass mortality events involve thousands of animals dying simultaneously.