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Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

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DAO 159:1-7 (2024)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03795

Voriconazole successfully treats chytridiomycosis in frogs

Laura A. Brannelly1,*, Preeti Sharma1,2, Sofia Ballesteros1, Alexander S. Wendt1

1Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia
2Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland 4215, Australia
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Chytridiomycosis is a devastating disease and is a key cause of amphibian population declines around the world. Despite active research on this amphibian disease system for over 2 decades, we still do not have treatment methods that are safe and that can be broadly used across species. Here, we show evidence that voriconazole is a successful method of treatment for 1 species of amphibian in captivity and that this treatment could offer benefits over other treatment options like heat or itraconazole, which are not able to be used for all species and life stages. We conducted 2 treatments of chytridiomycosis using voriconazole. The treatment was effective and resulted in 100% pathogen clearance, and mortality ceased. Additionally, treating frogs with voriconazole requires less handling than treatment methods like itraconazole and requires no specialized equipment, like heat treatment. We highlight that clinical treatment trials should be conducted to identify an optimum dosage and treatment time and that trials should test whether this treatment is safe and effective for tadpoles and other species.


KEY WORDS: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis · Voriconazole · Chytridiomycosis · Treatment · Captive management · Disease outbreak · Animal husbandry · Amphibian


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Cite this article as: Brannelly LA, Sharma P, Ballesteros S, Wendt AS (2024) Voriconazole successfully treats chytridiomycosis in frogs. Dis Aquat Org 159:1-7. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03795

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