Guinto, Daniel J., Hernández-Poveda, Melissa, Aquilina, Amy, Davidson, Mikaeylah J., Skerratt, Lee F., Kosch, Tiffany, and Berger, Lee (2026) Voriconazole is an effective treatment for clinical chytridiomycosis in two Critically Endangered amphibians. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 165. dao03889.

PDF (Published Version) - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 16 January 2031.

Abstract

Voriconazole treatment for amphibian chytridiomycosis has emerged as a less toxic alternative to the widely used itraconazole, although its efficacy needs to be validated across different species, particularly for frogs with clinical signs of disease. We assessed the effectiveness of topical voriconazole antifungal treatments for subclinical and clinical chytrid infections after experimental Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) exposure. In addition, we looked to validate this treatment for use with multiple age classes of 2 highly susceptible, Critically Endangered Australian myobatrachid frogs: southern corroboree frogs Pseudophryne corroboree and northern corroboree frogs P. pengilleyi. Treatment involved twice daily topical application of a 0.00015% voriconazole solution for 7 d or until clear of Bd. Supportive care was provided for frogs displaying clinical signs of chytridiomycosis. This study was conducted across 2 experiments: experiment 1 (Expt 1) involved only P. corroboree and Expt 2 included P. corroboree and P. pengilleyi. In Expt 1, voriconazole treatment cleared Bd from 78% (N = 21/27) of infected P. corroboree, resulting in 68% survival among the P. corroboree with clinical chytridiomycosis. In Expt 2, 100% of Bd-positive P. pengilleyi (N = 7) cleared and survived infection, including all 4 cases with clinical disease. In Expt 2, none of the P. corroboree (4) tested positive for Bd, and all remained normal throughout treatment. Our results demonstrate that voriconazole is an effective treatment for chytridiomycosis in P. corroboree and P. pengilleyi, and that clinically ill frogs of multiple age classes can recover with the addition of electrolyte therapy and antibiotics.

Item ID:	90818
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1616-1580
Related URLs:	https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/dao/v1...
Copyright Information:	© Inter-Research 2026
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants:	ARC FT190100462, ARC LP200301370
Date Deposited:	25 May 2026 23:44
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310308 Terrestrial ecology @ 20% 30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3009 Veterinary sciences > 300908 Veterinary mycology @ 30% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410401 Conservation and biodiversity @ 50%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1806 Terrestrial systems and management > 180602 Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in terrestrial environments @ 100%
	More Statistics