Finding a Cure for the Chytrid Fungus
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Bd thrives in higher elevation, cool, moist habitats. In the United States, its presence has been most problematic in the Mountainous West, where a handful of species, including the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog population, an endemic species of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, have been affected.
East Coast frog populations, generally found in lower elevation, higher temperature habitats, have not been hard hit. However, recent research suggests that the introduction of Bd into the ecosystem potentially endangers the Southeast's diverse salamander population.
Elsewhere, Bd outbreaks have caused severe stress on frog populations in Australia and Central and South America.
Recently a few, small research studies have shown promise for treating the fungus.
Chytridiomycosis in an aquarium collection of frogs: diagnosis, treatment, and control., reported that a small sample of frogs with Bd were cured following a treatment with an anti-fungal, itraconazole.
A March 2009 research report called Elimination of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis by Archey's frog Leiopelma archeyi, showed positive results when using a topical anti-biotic called chloramphenicol.
Another March 2009 research report called Skin microbes on frogs prevent morbidity and mortality caused by a lethal skin fungus showed that the introduction of an "antifungal bacterial species, Janthinobacterium lividum" reduced mortality in a sample of Mountain Yellow-legged frogs.
While the research does not provide solutions for maintaining frog populations in the wild, they provide help for saving affected frogs in captive breeding programs. Further research might then provide avenues for neutralizing Bd in the natural environment, allowing for the reintroduction of healthy frog populations from the breeding programs.
Additional Information: Articles on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
© 2009. Patricia A. Michaels