Italy hosts one of the most diverse amphibian fauna of the entire Mediterranean, and several endemic salamander species are found in the Alps, along the Apennines and in Sardinia. Therefore, the introduction of the highly pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) could threaten Italian amphibian diversity and cause the loss of many unique evolutionary lineages of salamanders. To counteract and prevent the spread of this pathogen in Italy, a preliminary molecular screening was performed on wild salamanders from different parts of the country and also from four live collections owned by private keepers. Salamanders\u2019 skin swabs were obtained following a standard protocol and samples were analysed for the presence of both Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Bsal DNA, using a duplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Overall 189 skin swabs were analysed: 136 from seven wild native species, and 53 from seven Asian, two North-American and one European salamanders bred in captivity. All samples were negative for Bsal (prevalence 0%, confidence interval 0 \u2013 2%), while 4 out of 136 wild salamanders were positive for Bd
(prevalence 3%, confidence interval 1 \u2013 7%), with low individual Bd loads (68 64 genome equivalents). Although our findings are not sufficient to infer with confidence about the presence or absence of this pathogen in Italy, they may possibly contribute to increase awareness of professional herpetologists and also among amphibian private keepers
