Wildlife Health Ghent, Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Laboratory of Chemical Analysis, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
PLoS One. 2020 Oct 29;15(10):e0241048. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241048. eCollection 2020.
To prevent transmission of the pathogenic chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), hygiene protocols prescribe the single use of disposable gloves for handling amphibians. We discovered that rinse water from nitrile gloves instantly kills 99% of Bd and Bsal zoospores. Transmission experiments using midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans) and Bd, and Alpine newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris) and Bsal, show that the use of the same pair of gloves for 2 subsequent individuals does not result in significant transmission of any chytrid fungus. In contrast, handling infected amphibians bare-handed caused transmission of Bsal in 4 out of 10 replicates, but did not result in transmission of Bd. Based on the manufacturer's information, high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and colorimetric tests, calcium lactate and calcium nitrate were identified as compounds with antifungal activity against both Bd and Bsal. These findings corroborate the importance of wearing gloves as an important sanitary measure in amphibian disease prevention. If the highly recommended single use of gloves is not possible, handling multiple post-metamorphic amphibians with the same pair of nitrile gloves should still be preferred above bare-handed manipulation.
为了防止致病性粘菌真菌（Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis，Bd）和蛙壶菌（Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans，Bsal）的传播，卫生协议规定处理两栖动物时应一次性使用一次性手套。我们发现，从丁腈手套冲洗水中可以立即杀死 99%的 Bd 和 Bsal 游动孢子。使用助产蟾蜍（Alytes obstetricans）和 Bd，以及高山蝾螈（Ichthyosaura alpestris）和 Bsal 进行的传播实验表明，同一副手套连续使用两次不会导致任何粘菌真菌的显著传播。相比之下，徒手处理受感染的两栖动物会导致 10 次重复中有 4 次传播 Bsal，但不会传播 Bd。根据制造商的信息、高分辨率质谱（HRMS）和比色试验，乳酸钙和硝酸钙被确定为对 Bd 和 Bsal 均具有抗真菌活性的化合物。这些发现证实了戴手套作为预防两栖动物疾病的重要卫生措施的重要性。如果无法高度推荐地一次性使用手套，那么处理多只后变态的两栖动物时，仍应优先选择使用同一副丁腈手套，而不是徒手操作。
