Saving Our Frogs: A New Hope with Voriconazole

Frogs are in big trouble. They are dying because of a nasty fungus called chytridiomycosis. But there is some good news. Scientists found a new way to help them. They used a medicine called voriconazole. It is better than the old medicine because it is less harmful. Two types of frogs were in danger. They are the southern corroboree frog and the northern corroboree frog. Both are very rare. Scientists wanted to see if voriconazole could help them. They did two tests. In the first test, they used the medicine on the southern corroboree frogs. The frogs were sick. The medicine worked well. It made 78% of them better. And 68% of the very sick frogs lived.In the second test, they used the medicine on both types of frogs. All the northern corroboree frogs got better. Even the very sick ones lived. The southern corroboree frogs did not get the fungus at all. They stayed healthy. This is great news. Voriconazole can help frogs. It can save them from the fungus. But scientists need to keep testing. They need to make sure it works for all frogs. The medicine is not the only thing that helped. The frogs also got special care. They got electrolytes and antibiotics. This helped them get better faster. But we should not forget. The fungus is still a big problem. We need to keep finding new ways to help frogs. We need to protect them and their homes. Only then can we save them.