In Korea, a serious amphibian disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been reported from historical samples collected in the 1900s. In this study, we continue to evaluate the current prevalence of chytridiomycosis in the Korean Peninsula and we include imported frogs from America to our analysis. Non-invasive skin swabs were taken from 275 apparently healthy frogs, and Bd was detected in five free living frogs by the nested PCR protocol consisting of two species: Bombina orientalis and Rana catesbeiana, from Gyeongnam and Cheonbuk provinces. These frogs comprised about 2% of the total number of free living samples. This study might be useful for understanding amphibian chytridiomycosis in Korea.

The international trade of live amphibian can cause spread of the amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which has resulted in amphibian population decline worldwide. Introduction of the causal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), to South Korea via the importation of live amphibians will have a negative effect on the survival of native amphibian communities. We investigated the likelihood that Bd would be introduced to the captive and wild amphibian population in South Korea by applying standardized risk analysis. We found that the likelihood of entry of Bd into South Korea was high, but that Bd exposure to the captive amphibians had a low impact, while it had a high impact on wild amphibians. Overall, the risk of live amphibian importation for pet trade or zoos was high in wild amphibians, while it was moderate for laboratory or human consumption in wild amphibians. Accordingly, risk management measures to reduce the risks related to live amphibian importation are required.