It's been described by scientists as the "most devastating wildlife disease ever known" — a deadly fungus that has caused the mass global extinction of hundreds of frog species.
But researchers at the University of Newcastle have discovered a simple solution in the form of salt.
The deadly disease
Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease caused by the chytrid fungus and blamed for wiping out more than a third of the world's frog species.
It is a type of fungus that spreads infection by releasing small bodies known as "zoospores."
It gets into the skin of frogs, disrupting the flow of electrolytes and eventually gives them a heart attack.
University of Newcastle ecologist Simon Clulow said it was devastating the world's frog populations.
"Hundreds of species have already gone extinct and hundreds more are at risk of extinction," Dr Clulow said.
It is continuing to devastate populations in Australia, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa.
A new hope for survival
Dr Clulow said they focused their study on "one species we're particularly fond of that occurs in our area, that's suffered huge, dramatic declines by 90 per cent" — the green and golden bell frog.
Chytrid fungus has devastated the frog's numbers across Australia, but there is hope to repopulate the species.
And the solution is a simple one.
"We use pool salt … It's predominantly sodium chloride, which is your most common salt."
"The study established that by elevating salt levels very slightly, we're still talking fresh water that you could drink, we can block the disease and lower the transmission rate," Dr Clulow said.
The discover has led to staggering results.
"It had a 70 per cent increased survival rate when translocated into habitats where small amounts of salt were added to the water," he said.
A global impact
Dr Clulow now plans to team up with scientists in Ecuador to further test the study.
Habitat is being constructed for a translocation program for the endangered Riobamba marsupial frog.
"This offers an ideal system to further test our salt strategy," Dr Clulow said.
"If we can show that this works just as well on the other side of the globe, it should provide further proof that this strategy could help declining frogs everywhere."
