The plant as a whole suffers as the leaves develop lesions with spores to spread the disease.
Once the plant has been infected, the disease spreads throughout the leaves and then attacks the fruit, causing it to rot on the skin and then the core.
[citation needed] Countries depend on growing strawberries as profits.
If the disease manifests in the area then by the time farmers locate it, a percentage of the plants are wiped out and profits are lost.
Countries most affected are those that do not have access to pesticides or greenhouses to protect the plants.