Bird and Marine Mammal Emerging Zoonoses |
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Enlarge ImageGulls and seals at Jeremy Point, Wellfleet, MA (Andrea Bogomolni)
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Enlarge ImageSeals at Jeremy Point, Wellfleet, MA (Andrea Bogomolni)
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| Project DescriptionMarine animals are major potential oceanic vectors and victims of
zoonotic diseases. Fish and shellfish are directly consumed by
humans, while marine mammals and seabirds prey or scavenge on
fish. Marine mammals and birds often haul out, strand or land on
the same beaches that humans recreate upon. Coastal birds such as
gulls routinely mix with humans in recreational settings, and forage at
human solid and liquid waste facilities. Humans encounter these
animals as processors and consumers of seafood, and as bird and marine
animal rehabilitators. There has been an inadequate knowledge of
the prevalence of zoonotic agents in the marine vertebrates of the
North East United States. In this project, we focus on
surveillance of marine mammals and gulls of New England by screening
for the presence of influenza, Brucella, Leptospira, Giardia and Cryptosporidium in fecal, serum and tissue samples
collected from live, bycaught and stranded animals.
CollaboratorsWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dr. Michael Moore (lead PI)
Dr. Rebecca Gast
Andrea Bogomolni
Mark Dennett
Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Clinic
Dr. Mark Pokras
Dr. Julie Ellis
Cape Cod Stranding Network
Kathleen Touhey
NOAA Fisheries Protected Species Branch and Sampling (Observer) Branch NEFSC
New England Aquarium
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