Rescuing amphibian diversity is an achievable conservation challenge. Disease mitigation is one essential component of population management. Here we assess existing disease mitigation strategies, some in early experimental stages, which focus on the globally emerging chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. We discuss the precedent for each strategy in systems ranging from agriculture to human medicine, and the outlook for each strategy in terms of research needs and long-term potential.

Summary: 1. Emerging infectious diseases can have serious consequences for wildlife populations, ecosystem structure and biodiversity. Predicting the spatial patterns and potential impacts of diseases in free‐ranging wildlife are therefore important for planning, prioritizing and implementing research and management actions.2. We developed spatial models of environmental suitability (ES) for infection with the pathogenBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which causes the most significant disease affecting vertebrate biodiversity on record, amphibian chytridiomycosis. We applied relatively newly developed methods for modelling ES (Maxent) to the first comprehensive, continent‐wide data base (comprising >10000 observations) on the occurrence of infection with this pathogen and employed novel methodologies to deal with common but rarely addressed sources of model uncertainty.3. We used ES to (i) predict the minimum potential geographic distribution of infection withB. dendrobatidisin Australia and (ii) test the hypothesis that ES forB. dendrobatidisshould help explain patterns of amphibian decline given its theoretical and empirical link with organism abundance (intensity of infection), a known determinant of disease severity.4. We show that (i) infection withB. dendrobatidishas probably reached its broad geographic limits in Australia under current climatic conditions but that smaller areas of invasion potential remain, (ii) areas of high predicted ES forB. dendrobatidisaccurately reflect areas where population declines due to severe chytridiomycosis have occurred and (iii) that a host‐specific metric of ES forB. dendrobatidis(ES for Bd_species) is the strongest predictor of decline in Australian amphibians at a continental scale yet discovered.5. Synthesis and applications.Our results provide quantitative information that helps to explain both the spatial distribution and potential effects (risk) of amphibian infection withB. dendrobatidisat the population level.Given scarce conservation resources, our results can be used immediately in Australia and our methods applied elsewhere to prioritize species, regions and actions in the struggle to limit further biodiversity loss.