Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/wcs-hen051612.php
Public release date: 16-May-2012
Contact: John Delaney
jdelaney@wcs.org
718-220-3275
Wildlife Conservation Society
Health experts narrow the hunt for Ebola
WCS and partners recommend focusing on carcasses rather than live animals for samples
Response efforts to outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Africa can benefit from a standardized sampling strategy that focuses on the carcasses of gorillas, chimpanzees and other species known to succumb to the virus, according to a consortium of wildlife health experts.
In a recently published study of 14 previous human Ebola outbreaks and the responses of wildlife teams collecting animal samples, the authors of the new study conclude that most efforts to collect samples from live animals (i.e. rodents, bats, primates, birds) failed to isolate Ebola virus or antibodies. However, they found that collecting samples from animal carcasses during outbreaks was a more effective method for Ebola detection. The early detection of Ebola in animal populations near a human outbreak is crucial for learning more about this virus, which can strike human populations with a mortality rate of more than 80 percent...
...The co-authors of the study, titled, "Dead or alive: animal sampling during Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in humans," include: Sarah Olson of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of Wisconsin; Patricia Reed, Ken Cameron, and Damien Joly of the Wildlife Conservation Society; Benard Ssebide of Gorilla Doctors, Kampala, Uganda; Jonna Mazet and Christine Johnson of the University of California at Davis; Stephen Morse of Columbia University; and William Karesh of EcoHealth Alliance.
Public release date: 16-May-2012
Contact: John Delaney
jdelaney@wcs.org
718-220-3275
Wildlife Conservation Society
Health experts narrow the hunt for Ebola
WCS and partners recommend focusing on carcasses rather than live animals for samples
Response efforts to outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Africa can benefit from a standardized sampling strategy that focuses on the carcasses of gorillas, chimpanzees and other species known to succumb to the virus, according to a consortium of wildlife health experts.
In a recently published study of 14 previous human Ebola outbreaks and the responses of wildlife teams collecting animal samples, the authors of the new study conclude that most efforts to collect samples from live animals (i.e. rodents, bats, primates, birds) failed to isolate Ebola virus or antibodies. However, they found that collecting samples from animal carcasses during outbreaks was a more effective method for Ebola detection. The early detection of Ebola in animal populations near a human outbreak is crucial for learning more about this virus, which can strike human populations with a mortality rate of more than 80 percent...
...The co-authors of the study, titled, "Dead or alive: animal sampling during Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in humans," include: Sarah Olson of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of Wisconsin; Patricia Reed, Ken Cameron, and Damien Joly of the Wildlife Conservation Society; Benard Ssebide of Gorilla Doctors, Kampala, Uganda; Jonna Mazet and Christine Johnson of the University of California at Davis; Stephen Morse of Columbia University; and William Karesh of EcoHealth Alliance.