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One of the interesting, or mysterious things about SFD is its relationship with the more common, and much less lethal, hibernation fungus that we've probably all seen on wild snakes. or even snakes we have brumated / hibernated ourselves.
In one recent study something like 40 of the snakes in a given study area (N=82 I think) showed signs of 'water blisters' or "hibernation blisters" and of them 75% tested positive for SFD. And the researchers suggested this was a low estimate.
So its starting to seem that *maybe* the same fungal species (O.o.) is present in both mild cases and severe / lethal cases. Maybe its a secondary infection?
But if it is the cause, why is it so often shed off with no serious repercussions but sometimes wipe out a big hunk of the population? I don't think anyone knows.
(The study is paywalled but I may be able to provide an illegal Russian link)
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