ABSTRACT
The Infectious disease chytridiomycosis, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, has been identified as one of the most important drivers of amphibian declines and extinction. In vitro B. dendrobatidis is susceptible to a range of disinfectants, but not all have been tested on animals and some that have been proven effective have harmful side effects on the surrounding environment or the animals being treated. We tested the efficacy of F10SC veterinary disinfectant to treat B. dendrobatidis in experimentally infected tadpole and juvenile Sclerophrys gutturalis and tadpoles of Sclerophrys poweri and Amietia hymenopus. The minimum inhibitory concentration for F10SC on in vitro B. dendrobatidis ranged between 1:7000 for 5-min contact time and 1:10000 for 10-min contact time. Based on the survival data of test animals the no observed effect concentration for 15-min contact time was estimated to be 1:2000 dilution for juveniles, and 1:10000 for tadpoles. In S. gutturalis juveniles an 86% infection clearance rate was achieved after five 15-min doses of 1:3000 dilution. A 100% clearance was achieved in A. hymenopus tadpoles after seven 15-min doses of 1:10000 dilution, and after nine doses of the same treatment in S. poweri tadpoles. F10SC has the benefit of being a concentrated compound that provides a treatment protocol which is nontoxic to tadpoles and post-metamorphic individuals, has a short half-life and is effective against B. dendrobatidis during short contact times, but further testing on different species of amphibians is advised.
