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How do we stop it? “Is it the type of thing that will heal itself over time? That’s the real question,” Raimondi said.

The science so far seems to show that starfish species are affected differently depending on their physical location. For species in tide pool areas, the sores show up first and are followed by tissue decay, Raimondi said. Death might follow in a matter of weeks, or even not at all. But in underwater sea star species the sickness is much quicker and more deadly. When starfishes under the surface get the disease, tissue decay happens in hours or a day rather than weeks.

He also said that the term “wasting” describes the symptoms. These symptoms are actually seen all the time, he said, and are put down to stress, such as a starfish drying out or getting sick.