Florida has many invasive species, with Burmese pythons being one of the best known. However, while impacts of these reptiles are often framed in terms of threats they pose to the environment or other species due to habitat encroachment, the risks of diseases associated with emerging pathogens they carry are worthy of further study.

Rob Ossiboff, D.V.M., Ph.D., shares his study and the implications of the introduction of novel pathogens and diseases that are less obvious, but can be equally problematic and harder to monitor