As new disease wipes out Caribbean coral, scientists tear up reefs to stop the spread

Marilyn Brandt, a research associate professor at the University of the Virgin Islands' Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, applies an antibiotic paste to corals being killed by Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) near the University of the Virgin Islands campus in St Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

ST THOMAS, Virgin Islands/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Off the coast of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a group of scientists is tearing a reef apart in a feverish attempt to save some of its coral.

They are battling a fast-moving, lethal disease that researchers say is unprecedented in the speed with which it can damage large numbers of coral species across the Caribbean Sea.