Health assessment of some amphibian and reptile species in Armenia with special focus on emerging infectious agents

Infectious diseases have surfaced as major stressors contributing to the decline of many animal species around the world including reptiles and amphibians with a significant impact on biodiversity. This would provide a critical baseline data to assess the current situation in Armenia as concerns the present and distribution of significant infectious agents and relevant data important to develop guidelines and recommendations that could positively impact the conservation of amphibians and reptiles in Armenia. In particular, along the well-known and investigated fungal agents (chytrids) and viruses (Ranavirus) recognized as significant threat to reptiles and amphibians respectively, herpesviruses have proven to be significant infectious agents associated with the mass mortalities both in amphibians and reptiles.