Are You a 'Spreader'?

Can you answer yes to any of these questions:

Do you collect tadpoles and/or give them out to people?
Are you a volunteer for a frog watch or monitoring program?
Do you breed frogs to sell?
Do you have a frogpond?
Do you work with frogs as a job?
Do you have frogs around your home?

If you answered yes to any of these, then PLEASE read this page now!

If you are around frogs and especially if you handle them, you should be aware of the spread of disease and prevent yourself from being a 'spreader'. At the Amphibian Disease conference in Cairns, Australia in August 2000, it was accepted by all delegates that the movement of frogs and tadpoles is helping to spread diseases. This is so whether the movement is for the pet trade, conservation assistance or accidental translocation (such as when frogs 'hitch a ride' with fruit and vegetable shipments). In the Cairns area, we know of specific cases where tadpoles have been deliberately located and those batches turned out to be diseased - now we have new suburbs to add to the list of areas affected by such nasty pathogens as the "Redlynch virus". We also know that interstate illegal trafficking in frogs and tadpoles is definitely spreading "Redlynch" virus as well as chytrid fungus.

You might be thinking, "but I'm helping frogs by handing out tadpoles for people to put in their frog ponds". On the one hand - YES, you are helping to replenish frog numbers and assist more tadpoles to survive to metamorphosis. BUT, on the other hand, if you collect the tadpoles from one catchment and hand them out to someone dozens of kilometres/miles away - especially if the recipient is in a different water catchment to you - then you could be handing out little disease carriers and not know it.

Perhaps you are someone who breeds your own frogs in captivity and sells tadpoles to others including customers who might even be in a different state from you. You might think your frogs are safe because they are in captivity but there is no security in captive-bred frogs. There have been several outbreaks of chytrid fungus in captive collections in Victoria and New South Wales because one breeder was selling tadpoles carrying chytrid fungus to keepers, and we have had proof of breeders selling frogs diseased with "Redlynch" virus in southern states.

Following are some situations and suggestions for reducing the spread of disease. You may decide that following these guidelines is too much of a pain and you're not going to do all that work. All we can say is that times change and we have to adjust - or else we risk losing the entire plot!

If you are handing out tadpoles to people or you breed frogs to sell, you need to exercise more caution now about how you keep the animals and where you move them to. (Please note that in QLD, the regulations have changed and it is now against the law to relocate frogs and tadpoles without a permit.)

You should take the time to familiarise yourself with how frog diseases spread and adjust your cleaning and quarantine practices accordingly.
Find out who can do pathology work for you, what they charge and how to pack the specimens so that if you -- or any of the recipients of your stock -- have any die-offs, you will be ready to get your stock tested quickly.
Learn what adjustments you should make to your captive maintenance practices. For example, in the case of chytrid fungus and the ranaviruses/iridoviruses, both are aquatic. This means that how you handle water and anything coming into contact with the water needs to be considered.
If you are handing out tadpoles to people, you should not mix tadpoles you collect - they should be kept in separate containers and labeled with their species and exact source location.
When you clean tanks, used water should be disposed of down the toilet so that it goes through a sewage treatment system. When a frog or tadpole tank is cleaned, use disinfectant and strong bleach to clean the tank and any bowls, branches, etc. and rinse very well. Then use 10% povidone iodine (betadine) solution in water to soak the tank and components for at least 20 minutes. Then rinse well and dry. Use betadine-based hand washes to wash your hands in between each tank when doing maintenance tasks (disposable gloves can also be used for each tank). If you are doing quarantine or handling large numbers of animals, you may need to consider purchasing a special disinfectant which is specifically used to eliminate viruses and chytrid such as F10 or Virkon.
If you provide frogs or tadpoles to others, you should keep good records of who you have provided what to. For example, if you rescued a spawning of Dainty tree frog (Litoria gracilenta) tadpoles and you want to hand them out to people with frog ponds, you should label the tank with the exact location those tadpoles came from and don't add any tadpoles from other locations to that tank. When you hand them out, first see if the intended recipient is in the same water catchment and no more than one suburb away. If so, then keep a log of how many tadpoles were provided and where they originally came from along with the recipient's address and phone numbers. Instruct the recipient to let you know immediately if they notice any die-off or deformity problems. Ask if they can collect and freeze any freshly dead tadpoles so that they can be tested.
If you notice any die-off problems with tadpoles you have collected, freeze half of the dead ones and preserve the other half (your local vet can help you with this) and label the containers with the exact location they came from and the date. You shouldn't hand out any more tadpoles from that tank until you can obtain pathology results. Where possible, retrieve the tadpoles you've already handed out and ask the recipient to clean out their pond (instructions below) before they put any more tadpoles in it. Lastly, when you have handed out all the tadpoles from that spawning, dispose of the water down the toilet and disinfect the tank according to the above instructions before putting any other tadpoles or eggs in it.
An even safer approach is not to hand out the tadpoles at all but wait until they are metamorphs (which are also kept in a properly set up habitat tank after they emerge). If after four weeks, you have not had any problems with the metamorphs and they are eating well, THEN you can be more confident that they really are healthy (it is more likely that a disease will cause problems within a month or two of a metamorph's life although we have noticed that the new problem we call the "Redlynch virus" can take several months to exhibit clinical symptoms).

If you are a participant in a banana-box frog rescue program, take note of the examples above and below and also be aware that the frogs you rescue will need to be held in quarantine for at least TWO months in order to detect if they are infected with chytrid fungus or other disease problems (except viruses which can't be detected in the time periods used in quarantine). (NSW also has its own guidelines on handling and protocol and this is available from NP&WS.) This is now the standard recommendation for quarantine due to the new information which was presented at the August 2000 Amphibian Disease conference. (Note: two months quarantine was mentioned as sufficient at the above conference but at least one delegate commented that they believed chytrid might still be found after two months so a more conservative measure to ensure that no cases surface after quarantine is to use three months instead of two.)

Volunteers and Monitoring

We want to raise the subject that we know there are quite a few people who like frogs and especially some in certain frog clubs who go out regularly to find frogs. Some even profess to this activity being part of "frog monitoring" programs. We know that the frog monitoring that is run by Harry Hines in SE Qld is professionally conducted and sufficient disinfection is always used. That is not the case for FNQ, however.

We are aware that these folks are not using disinfection procedures - even when they are visiting official chytrid fungus sites - and as such, they have been spreading frog diseases for years, especially our new "Redlynch" virus problem and chytrid fungus. We've also heard some horror stories of visiting uni students who have said they don't need to use disinfection in FNQ. The consequence of this disregard for the rules that all other field professionals are required to comply with is that the recreational and frog monitoring activities in this region are NOT helping frogs at all - it is KILLING them.

If you are a participant in any activity that involves going to out to look for frogs in the bush (and creeks in Cairns would be included), you MUST be using proper procedures so that you don't introduce a problem to that water body, and so that you don't take away a problem from that water body. If you are part of a group and your group leader says that you don't need to use disinfection procedures or that you aren't going to a disease site, you have our permission to call your group leader some derogatory terms! Because of the spread of chytrid fungus and our new diseases, ALL field locations could have one or more disease problems present. If you and the others in your group are not using disinfection procedures, we recommend you not participate in the excursion. At least you can be confident that YOU opted not to spread diseases that are killing this region's frogs!

Volunteers who participate in frog monitoring programs have a responsibility to make sure they know something about the diseases that could be active in their areas and what procedures the professionals use when they visit field sites. If you are a volunteer in a frog monitoring program (in Australia) and the researcher/supervisor of your group has NOT taught you disinfection procedures and the clinical indications of diseased frogs, you can report this to us.

Learn how to recognise the symptoms of a sick frog and don't ignore sick toads (if there are sick toads about, you can be sure there will be sick frogs). Make sure you have disposable gloves and containers for collecting sick and dead amphibians. Never visit more than one site per trip and follow the guidelines below for bushwalkers and campers. If you want personal training in how to identify the various diseases in Australian frogs and you are within travelling distance to Cairns, please contact us.

Backyard Ponds

Disease issues are also very important to the owners of backyard frog ponds. As a rule, never transfer plants or fish from someone else's frog pond to yours. Some pathogens can survive quite happily on plant stems or be carried in fish. When you purchase aquatic plants from a nursery, ask them or your nearest Quarantine Service office DPI rural lands officer about how you can treat the plants for disease before they are added to your pond. Check the bag before you leave the nursery to see if any tadpoles are in the bag. If there are, please ask staff to return them to the aquatic plant trough - don't take them home with you.

Disinfecting a Pond

If you have a frog pond and find that any of the frogs that hang around your property have become sick, the pond needs to be specially cleaned because many of these diseases (like chytrid fungus, ranavirus, and the new "Redlynch" virus we're researching) live in the water. Another problem critter that will live in the water are larval stages of some parasites that attack tadpoles. To clean the pond, remove all the water and dispose this down a sink or toilet that goes through a water treatment system. Once the pond is empty, use 10% bleach to sterilise the walls/surface of the pond and rinse very well and sponge up to ensure all traces of the chemical are gone. Then use betadine straight from the bottle to coat all the surfaces and rub with a sponge to keep the betadine wet for at least five minutes. Rinse out and remove the water to dump down the sink. Let dry in the sun completely for a day or two and then refill the pond with clean water. (If you are using town water, wait a few days for the chlorine to evaporate before adding plants and animals.) Do not return the same plants to the pond unless you are treating the plants with a agricultural disinfectant that kills viruses like Path-X - however Path-X might not get rid of the new "respiratory" disease and it is too strong for delicate plants so your best bet is start with new plants and new fish.

Even if you are not involved in any of the activities described above, please have a read of the recommendations below. If you are reading a frog website, there is bound to be something listed below that applies to you! If you have any questions about these recomendations, please email us.

If conditions are dry where you live for an extended period, place a large bowl of clean water in the garden or on a veranda so that frogs will have access to water supplies. (this will help reduce their stress levels)
If you see anything which indicates a problem such as any sick or dead frogs or large numbers of dead tadpoles, report it immediately. Don't wait until the subject comes up in conversation weeks later because, by then, it is too late to investigate. If you are in Queensland, contact us at the Cairns Frog Hospital.
Wash your hands before and after handling any frog. If you have handled a sick frog, use betadine to wash your hands after handling the frog. You can also handle the frog by putting a plastic bag over your hand if you have nothing else available.
If you like to camp in the bush or do any bushwalking, do not visit more than one site per day and before leaving a site, wash off any dirt or mud from your shoes and inside and outside your vehicle - especially the tyres (tires). (This also helps slow the spread of another fungus called Phytophora or Crown Die-back which is killing trees in Australia, and it helps reduce the spread of invasive weed species (like Parthenium Weed) whose seeds often get stuck to clothing and footwear and muddy tyres.) Wear different clothes to the next site and keep the soiled clothes tied up in a plastic bag until you are ready to put them in the washing machine using hot water and bleach.
If you like to go 'frogging' at night, do not touch the frogs you find at all or wear disposible gloves. Do not visit more than one frog site each night (see previous point) and make sure to bleach (and rinse well) your footwear before going on your excursion.
Some states allow for a limited collection of frogs or tadpoles from the wild for recreational purposes. If you collect anything, do not change your mind halfway home and dispose of it wherever is convenient. Tadpoles are at a much higher risk of exposure to diseases and releasing tadpoles and metamorphs to another waterway allows those diseases to spread into new areas. Ranaviruses' in particular can remain dormant in a frog for three or more years so a tadpole can pick up the virus and carry it through to adulthood. The virus becomes 'activated' when the frog becomes stressed or injured and then it can spread to other frogs.
Do not collect tadpoles from outside your own water catchment and then bring them home to metamorph and disperse. If you are rescuing them, the metamorphs need to be prevented from escaping the tank, moved to a habitat tank until release, and then returned to their area of spawning (or nearby in appropriate habitat if the site no longer exists).
If you are involved with any sort of frog facility (such as frog rescue, zoo keeper, uni student in a lab that has frogs, etc.), you should avoid contact with frogs in the bush or take special precautions as recommended by biology labs and quarantine facilities.