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Toon bijdragen-menuCiteerThe introduction of a new group of dendrobatid frogs to an established captive amphibian collection was followed by several acute mortalities in both resident and introduced frog populations. Chytridiomycosis, caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, was diagnosed by histology in two of the dead frogs. Following the diagnosis, all amphibians were moved to a specially made quarantine room with strict handling protocols and treated with itraconazole. Frogs, being terrestrial amphibians, were treated with itraconazole (Sporanox, 10 mg/ml) at 0.01% in 0.6% saline in a 5-min bath for 11 consecutive days. Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) and Kaup's caecilians (Potomotyphlus kaupii), being aquatic amphibians, were treated with itraconazole administered directly in their primary tank water to achieve a concentration of 0.01% for 30 min every 5 days for four treatments. Itraconazole was removed from the tank water after 30 min by high-rate-of-flow activated charcoal filters. The treatment and quarantine procedures were successful in eradicating the disease. The few amphibian mortalities that occurred in the 18 mo after the start of the treatment have been histologically negative for the presence of chytrid fungi. The collection is now considered free of chytridiomycosis.
CiteerRAVON en Landschap Noord-Holland organiseren in samenwerking met Staatsbosbeheer een avondexcursie in Waterland. Op 14 maart wordt per boot gezocht naar de zeldzame heikikker. Deze excursie is bedoeld voor enthousiaste kikker, pad, salamander, hagedis en/of slangliefhebbers die een bijdrage willen leveren aan het atlas project.
Landschap Noord-Holland gaat in samenwerking met RAVON en de Provincie de komende twee jaar werken aan een nieuwe verspreidingsatlas van reptielen en amfibieën in Noord-Holland. De nieuwe atlas is nodig voor een adequate bescherming van deze dieren. De laatste atlas dateert alweer uit de jaren 80 van de vorige eeuw. Tijd voor actualisatie dus!
CiteerA date for your diaries: we begin broadcasting in the UK on BBC One at 9pm, February 4th with a repeat on Sunday around 6pm - check local press for details.
Unfortunately we don't have dates for broadcasting outside the UK - please check locally.
The Cold Blooded Truth: Monday 4th Feb
Land Invaders (Amphibians): Monday 11th Feb
Dragons of the Dry (Lizards): Monday 18th Feb
Sophisticated Serpents (Snakes): Monday 25th Feb
Armoured Giants (Tortoises, Turtles and Crocodilians): Monday 3rd March
For more about Life in Cold Blood andto see exclusive clips visit
www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/lifeincoldblood (from 28th Jan)
Miles Barton, Series Producer
CiteerNew Zealand scientists have found what appears to be a cure for the disease that is responsible for wiping out many of the world's frog populations.
Chloramphenicol, currently used as an eye ointment for humans, may be a lifesaver for the amphibians, they say. The researchers found frogs bathed in the solution became resistant to the killer disease, chytridiomycosis.
The fungal disease has been blamed for the extinction of one-third of the 120 species lost since 1980. Fearful that chytridiomycosis might wipe out New Zealand's critically endangered Archey's frog (Leiopelma archeyi), the researchers have been hunting for a compound that would kill off the disease's trigger, the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
We are losing an awful lot of these creatures now and if we don't do something intelligent, then we're going to lose an awful lot more.They tested the chloramphenicol candidate on two species introduced to New Zealand from Australia: the brown tree frog (Litoria ewingii) and the southern bell frog (L. raniformis).
"We found that we could cure them completely of chytrids," said Phil Bishop from the University of Otago.
"And even when they were really sick in the control group, we managed to bring them back almost from the dead."
"You could put them on their back and they just wouldn't right themselves, they would just lie there. You could then treat them with chloramphenicol and they would come right," Dr Bishop explained.
But the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) expressed caution at the news. Wildlife epidemiologist Dr Trent Garner said there would be reluctance to take up chloramphenicol as a solution, certainly in Europe and North America, because of the chemical's link to harmful side-effects in humans.
The NZ researchers tried using chloramphenicol as both an ointment, applied to the frogs' backs, and as a solution. They found that placing the animals in the solution delivered the best results. The team has admitted it was surprised by the outcome.
"You don't usually expect antibiotics to do anything to fungi at all. And it does. We don't understand why it does, but it does," said Russell Poulter.