Instant killing of pathogenic chytrid fungi by disposable nitrile gloves prevents disease transmission between amphibians

Abstract

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.

Direct and Indirect Impacts of Disposable Face Masks and Gloves on Freshwater Benthic Fauna and Sediment Biogeochemistry

“…This is consistent with other studies showing the negative impacts of plastic leachate alone on aquatic organisms , and the particularly toxic impact of glove materials. Medical gloves, especially latex rubber, are cytotoxic, and nitrile gloves are extremely toxic to some amphibians and fungi. , Nitrile gloves may have a variety of additives to improve performance, including heavy metals . This is consistent with the diverse compounds we extracted from the gloves, including a number of phthalate compounds, the fungicide dithiocarbamic acid, and zinc dibutyldithiocarbamate, Zn(DDC) 2 (Supplemental Information Figure S-2 and Table S-2).…”

“…The enhanced hypoxia may also contribute to the substantial reduction in denitrification (p = 0.003; Figure 3H,C). Further, gloves may have cytotoxic and antifungal properties, 83,85 which could lead to a reduction of microbial phosphate immobilization, with release to the water column potentially leading to the reduction in soil phosphorus observed elsewhere. 102 The fungicide, dithiocarbamic acid, was identified in our chemical analysis of the nitrile gloves (Table S-2) and may further support potential adverse effects on microbially mediated processes.…”

Successful Drug-Mediated Host Clearance of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans

“…The high variation in infection intensity over consecutive days might be because of excessive skin shedding, a common response of amphibians to chytrid fungi ( 14 ). Moreover, we cannot rule out the possibility that handling specimens with nitrile gloves affected our results, because their runoff impairs the viability of B. salamandrivorans zoospores ( 15 ). However, whether nitrile glove runoff contributes to B. salamandrivorans clearance on live specimens is unknown.…”

The definitive rediscovery of Telmatobius halli (Anura, Telmatobiidae) at its historic type locality and its synonymy with T. dankoi and T. vilamensis

“…The animals were measured, photographed, and finally released back to the capture site. Each individual was handled separately with an unused pair of disposable nitrile gloves ( Thomas et al 2020 ). To avoid possible toxic effects, the gloves were rinsed and the rinse water was discarded away from the watercourse ( Cashins et al 2008 ).…”