Controlling disease to save species

As the world has scrambled to respond to the threat of SARS-CoV-2, a spotlight has been shone on the interface between humans, wildlife and the health of our planet. While emerging infectious disease has become recognised as a leading cause of species decline over the last few decades, recent months have seen a rapidly growing appreciation of the need for e?ective disease surveillance and control to protect all life on earth, ourselves included. Putting quality veterinary science right at the heart of species conservation has never been more vital. It is essential that those working on the conservation frontline are able to discriminate between existing endemic disease and new emerging diseases with the potential to threaten a multitude of species.

Healthy, biodiverse ecosystems naturally regulate disease. However, population growth, settlement spread and increasing livestock numbers mean habitat is being inevitably reduced and degraded, eroding the natural bu?er between people and wild animals. As a result, ecosystems are weakened, with unregulated hunting and the illegal wildlife trade exacerbating the problem. Different species are coming into ever closer contact and the chances for diseases to jump between hosts are increasing. Canine distemper virus (CDV) is one example, with the pathogen able to spread from domestic dogs to wild carnivores. Painted wolves, tigers and lions are among the species already affected. Disease modelling for threatened Amur tiger populations in the Russian Far East has shown that a small tiger population can be up to a staggering 56% more likely to become extinct if CDV is present (Gilbert, Martin et al. PLoS One 2014; 9(10): e110811).