A pregnancy test frog carries a deadly fungus.
Inspite of all the precautions, medical experiments can have unintended consequences.
A species of frog that was used as a pregnancy test for women has been found to carry a fungus that is fatal to many amphibians.
Before the mid 20th century, thousands of African clawed frogs were used around the world as a pregnancy test for women who would have doctors inject the frog with their urine sample to see if it would start ovulating.
If the frog started laying eggs within 10 hours, it was likely that the woman was pregnant.
Although the frogs are no longer used for this purpose, they are an invasive species on other continents all over the world.
They are killing off other species by spreading a fungus called Bd, that they carry, causing disease, and death or extinction of over 200 species of frogs.
The African clawed frog is reportedly not affected by the fungus.
It is possible that other species of frogs are immune to the fungus and carry it themselves, like the American bullfrog, which has also seen a global demand to be raised for their leg meat.
