Spontaneous reoccurrence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infections in Australian green tree frogs (Litoria caerulea) following apparently successful heat therapy: Case report.

ABSTRACT: Heat therapy has been reported as a safe, effective, and readily available treatment method for heat-tolerant frogs infected with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We treated wild-caught Australian green tree frogs (Litoria caerulea) infected with Bd using two periods of elevated ambient room temperature (28.2-30.3 °C for 7 weeks followed by 28.9-34.1 °C for 4 weeks). Frogs exhibited persistent and even increasing infection loads in the first treatment period despite prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures, likely due to the presence of cooler microenvironments within their enclosure (25.5-27.0 °C). All frogs eventually returned negative qPCR tests for Bd at the end of the second treatment period, but detectable infections reoccurred one month after frogs were returned to standard h

SUBMITTER: Holmes ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11442541 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature