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James Cook University scientists have discovered that a commercially available disinfectant can kill the deadly chytrid fungus, which has wiped out several Australian frog species.
Researchers from JCU’s School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences have been testing commercially available disinfectants for their effectiveness in killing the fungus, thereby reducing the disease’s spread.
Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) causes chytridiomycosis, a highly infectious amphibian disease first discovered in dead and dying frogs in Queensland in 1993. The fungus is widespread across Australia and has been present since at least 1978. It infects the skin of frogs, disrupting the epidermal layers and causing increased shedding and death.
Researchers Ms Rebecca Webb, Ms Diana Mendez, Dr Lee Berger and Professor Rick Speare have studied the effectiveness of the disinfectants TriGene, F10 and Betadine against the fungus.
Their findings are published in the February issue of the journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms.
“Identifying efficient and practical disinfectants effective against chytrid fungus is important to reduce the spread of the disease, both in the wild and captivity,” Ms Webb said.
“TriGene is the most effective disinfectant yet to be found, and both TriGene and F10 are more effective than disinfectants tested in previous studies. TriGene and F10 are recommended for use in the field over the previously recommended DDAC (didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) products, as they are active at much lower concentrations and appear to have no record of environmental toxicity.”
The disinfectants are used to clean equipment that has been used when handling amphibians or that has been in contact with contaminated water bodies.
The team is also investigating how chytrid fungus causes frog deaths as well as mortality rates, transmission rates, differences in species susceptibility, and the spread and origin of fungal strains.
Epidemiologist, parasitologist and one of the leaders of JCU’s Amphibian Disease Ecology Group, Dr Lee Skerratt, said chytrid fungus had led to the extinction of up to 122 frog species, eight in Australia.
“We are dealing with a disease that drives its host to extinction, which is very rare,” Dr Skerratt said.
“Some of the species that have been lost were unique,” Dr Skerratt said. “For example, the Southern Day Frog used to sit on rocks in streams calling during the day, delighting people who visited rainforests.
“And the remarkable gastric brooding frogs, that swallowed their eggs which then developed into frogs in their stomach before hatching out their mouth, have also gone.”
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