title: Clinical diagnosis and treatment of epidermal chytridiomycosis in African clawed frogs (Xenopus tropicalis).
abstract: An investigation was conducted to determine the cause of morbidity and mortality in a collection of 55 adult male Xenopus (Silurana) tropicalis at the University of California, Berkeley. More than 80% of affected frogs died during the epizootic. All frogs were anorectic and lethargic, had dark pigmentation and excess skin sloughing, and lacked a slime layer. Histologic examination revealed severe hyperplastic and spongiotic dermatitis associated with colonization of the stratum corneum by large numbers of zoosporangia diagnostic of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Treatment with a commercial formalin/malachite green solution at a dilution of 0.007 ml/L of tank water for 24 h, repeated every other day for four treatments, eliminated the organism and was curative. These findings are indicative of epidermal chytridiomycosis as a primary cause of death in this collection of X. tropicalis.
authors.affiliation: Office of Laboratory Animal Care, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mikaelian
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Helen E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Diggs
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D008411:Chytridiomycota / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D012394:Rosaniline Dyes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; C005095:malachite green; D005557:Formaldehyde