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| Welcome from Ann Fairbrother, Keynote Speaker |
It is with pleasure and
great anticipation that I welcome you to the second INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE ON
VETERINARY MEDICINE: DISEASES OF EXOTIC ANIMALS AND WILDLIFE. The international, and potentially global, nature
of this conference allows us to not only learn about wildlife disease issues from around
the world, but to begin to understand the underlying ecological processes that result in
overt disease and subsequent wildlife dieoffs. Pathogens,
parasites, and pollutants have been part of natural systems for centuries, and some of the
wildlife diseases that we can now diagnose with such alacrity and specificity also are not
new, only better identified. New diseases,
however, have emerged and others have increased in severity and scope as humans have
encroached on the landscape through population expansion and industrialization. Increases in toxic algal blooms, for example, may
be the result of a higher rate of nutrient discharge into coastal waters due to greater
human populations and industrial-scale livestock production. Infectious diseases have been introduced
accidentally to wildlife populations, such as occurred with avian cholera (Pasteurella multocida) and duck viral enteritis
(a herpes virus) in North American waterfowl. Crowding
of animals onto smaller habitat refugia then creates greater opportunity for spread of
such disease agents. That diseases can spread
rapidly through susceptible wildlife populations has been amply illustrated by the
movement of rabies up the eastern seaboard of the US or through the fox populations of
Europe, and most recently by the rapid spread of rabbit calicivirus in Australia. As human habitation restructures the landscape, we
further modify wildlife habitat, stressing organisms through changing water temperatures,
elimination of dispersion corridors, or erection of physical barriers such as dams, high
voltage electrical lines, or superhighways. Even
well-meaning human intervention in wildlife support structures can initiate and spread
disease, such as artificial congregation of songbirds at feeders and the resulting spread
of Mycobacterium gallisepticum conjunctivitis in
house- and goldfinch populations or salmonellosis in many passerine species in the U.S.
As you browse through the wealth of
information provided in this international discussion of wildlife diseases, I urge you to
look beyond your particular area of expertise. Sample
the descriptions of disease processes in other organisms or by unfamiliar etiologies or
from distant areas of the world. In addition
to broadening the scope of your understanding of diseases, look for underlying
similarities and patterns of where pathogens are found, which species exhibit disease, and
frequency of outbreak reports. If similar
diseases are being reported from diverse areas of the world, is there an underlying
similarity of environmental conditions that may allow this to occur? Practicing eco-epidemiology, while pursuing our
more detailed studies of pathogenesis and etiology, may lead to surprising conclusions
about underlying causes of environmental diseases. Sometimes,
we find unintended consequences from what were previously thought to be benign activities. Often, it is more efficacious to treat the
environment, than to treat the affected animals (such as treatment or reduction of
hazardous wastes) while other circumstances require wildlife treatment while pursuing long
term environmental goals (e.g. , treatment of botulism outbreaks that are occurring as a
result of habitat alterations caused by global climate change).
This forum provides a unique opportunity for
learning about and furthering our understanding of wildlife disease. It is an international venue that will hopefully
become truly global in nature. Opportunities
are available for interactive communication with the authors and scientists who are
presenting their findings, as well as for deliberative study of the information presented. I welcome you to this forum, and am quite certain
you will find yourself thinking on a more global scale as you enjoy your tour through the
wealth of information presented on the following web pages.
ANN FAIRBROTHER
This Page Last Updated November 15, 1999 |