A sauna for fungus-infected frogs

The world’s amphibians have a mold problem and that’s decimating their numbers on almost every continent. The amphibian chytrid fungus, also called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd,  auses Chytridiomycosis—a skin disease marked by reddened skin patches and shedding skin patches. When the infection is severe, frogs go into a zombie, unresponsive state, often resulting in their deaths. Since its discovery in 1993, 90 frog species have gone extinct, and more than 100 species are on the verge of extinction due to chytrid fungal infections. Batrachiologists worldwide are scrambling to find a cure for the fungal problem, but they have not had much success until now. 

Although present on all continents, the chytrid fungus has infected frogs primarily in parts of the world where the temperature hovers between 17C and 25C. Studies show frogs exposed to higher temperatures are less likely to be infected with the fungus. This was a key information scientists in Australia leveraged to develop a splashy solution: a specially designed frog sauna. 

In a recent research, scientists in Australia used bricks, PVC greenhouses and other inexpensive materials to build tiny cubbyholes for frogs to sit in, where the temperature reached about 30C. The idea was that when infected frogs exposed themselves to such high temperatures in the sauna, they could ‘bake off’ their fungal infections. And it worked! The researchers found that frogs who used the tiny spas had their chytrid infections reduced, making them immune to future infections. 

As chytrid continues to flare worldwide, intensified by climate change, such inexpensive, local interventions give hope to the already-dwindling amphibians battered by habitat loss. After all, humans may not be the only ones enjoying a spa day!