Data from: Reconstructing the emergence of a lethal infectious disease of wildlife supports a key role for spread through translocations by humans

There have been few reconstructions of wildlife disease emergences,
despite their extensive impact on biodiversity and human health. This is
in large part attributable to the lack of structured and robust
spatio-temporal datasets. We overcame logistical problems of obtaining
suitable information by using data from a citizen science project and
formulating spatio-temporal models of the spread of a wildlife pathogen
(genus Ranavirus, infecting amphibians). We evaluated three main
hypotheses for the rapid increase in disease reports in the UK: that
outbreaks were being reported more frequently, that climate change had
altered the interaction between hosts and a previously widespread
pathogen, and that disease was emerging due to spatial spread of a novel
pathogen. Our analysis characterized localized spread from nearby ponds,
consistent with amphibian dispersal, but also revealed a highly
significant trend for elevated rates of additional outbreaks in localities
with higher human population density—pointing to human activities in also
spreading the virus. Phylogenetic analyses of pathogen genomes support the
inference of at least two independent introductions into the UK. Together
these results point strongly to humans repeatedly translocating
ranaviruses into the UK from other countries and between UK ponds, and
therefore suggest potential control measures.