WCS Health Program

Disturbing image from our team WCS Argentina from Peninsula Valdes. Recently, there was a massive mortality event among elephant seal colonies in Patagonia. All signs point to avian influenza, but lab results are pending.

We are monitoring the situation and informing the authorities for decision making. Also distributing info about how to remain safe in the area. This includes maintaining a safe distance from the colonies, keeping pets clear, and disinfecting any footwear used in the area.

The Wildlife Conservation Society is supporting a vaccination campaign in Cambodia to protect endangered wild cattle from a potentially fatal skin disease that primarily affects domestic cattle and buffalo but can infect wild ruminants...

STUDY: Vaccination Campaign in Cambodia Protects Endangered Wild Cattle from Highly Contagious Potentially Fatal Skin Disease Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of the Royal Government of Cambodia have documented the first case of lumpy skin disease (L*D) in wildlife in Cambodia.

Sarna: la silenciosa amenaza que ronda a las vicuñas en Sudamérica - Ladera Sur En la cordillera de los Andes, en medio de planicies y desiertos, vive la vicuña (Vicugna vicugna), una de las cuatro especies de camélidos nativos de Sudamérica. Este herbívoro estuvo al borde de la extinción por la caza indiscriminada en el siglo XX, pero hoy muestra signos de recuperación, ...

Monkeypox isn’t the disease we should be worried about | John Vidal Climate change is likely to exacerbate the rapid spread of viruses and pathogens, says John Vidal, former Guardian environment editor

Wildlife health surveillance has value for conservation, livestock and public health. The Wildlife Conservation Society is using the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) — ­originally designed for protected area monitoring­­ and management and used in almost 1000 sites worldwide— to support the recording of wildlife health events.

SMART for Wildlife Health Surveillance By Diego Montecino | May 19, 2022

Land-use change for agriculture is also one of the biggest drivers of increased disease emergence from wildlife, so this would have knock-on benefits of reducing future pandemic risks.

Eating one-fifth less beef could halve deforestation Model suggests that switching to microbial ‘meat’ can cut carbon emissions.

Physicians, Epidemiologists, and Ecologists Pen Nature Essay Calling on Policymakers to Take Action Now An essay published today in the journal Nature highlights four leading causes of pathogen spillover and calls on global policymakers to take urgent actions that will help prevent future pandemics of zoonotic origin.

Today is . We must change our relationship with nature and our exploitation of wildlife for our own well-being. https://bit.ly/3uYPFJ7

Best Practices to Confront Pandemics at the Source • The Revelator The international community must agree to end deforestation, close live-wildlife markets, and embrace a treaty to prevent future outbreaks.

‘It’s not a matter of if, but when’: Scientists say pathogens are ‘ubiquitous’ in wildlife trade Project to identify infectious diseases among mammals sold at wildlife markets reveals the perfect conditions to spark a new pandemic

There are over 1,400 known bat species, including the hammer-headed bat of Africa. Bats are often unfairly maligned. In truth, they provide benefits like pest control and seed dispersal. You can do your part today by helping to dispel any myths about them.

Disease Rampant at Lao Wildlife Markets, finds a study by WCS Lao PDR ອົງການອະນຸລັກສັດປ່າ ປະຈຳ ສປປ ລາວ and local partners via
The Laotian Times

Disease Rampant at Lao Wildlife Markets, Study Finds - Laotian Times A new scientific study has tested animals sold for food from several trade sites and roadside stalls around Laos.

Pangolins are the most heavily illegally trafficked mammal. The sale of live mammals and birds in wildlife markets should be prohibited to minimize the risk of future zoonotic outbreaks, alongside increased surveillance of wildlife:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52048195

Coronavirus: Pangolins found to carry related strains Smuggled pangolins were carrying viruses closely related to the one sweeping the world, say scientists.

Pangolins confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade in Viet Nam host SARS-CoV-2 related coronaviruses, a new WCS study confirms. "Eliminating the trade in pangolins and other wild mammals and birds will eliminate this high-risk pathway for viral spillover and pathogen emergence,” said lead author Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga of WCS’s Viet Nam Program. http://ow.ly/AEsL50IeW7P

New papers published this past weekend strengthen the case for the Wuhan market and wildlife trade as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic's origin https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/26/science/covid-virus-wuhan-origins.html?referringSource=articleShare

New Research Points to Wuhan Market as Pandemic Origin Two new studies say the virus was present in animals at the Huanan seafood market in 2019.

Infection in White-tailed deer across N. America is documented, however SARS-CoV-2 has not emerged in roe, red or fallow deer in Germany or Austria during the COVID 19 pandemic

SARS-CoV-2 has not emerged in roe, red or fallow deer in Germany or Austria during the COVID 19 pandemic Spillover of SARS-CoV-2 to North American white tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) has been documented. We evaluated pre and pandemic exposure of German and Austrian deer species using a SARS-CoV-2 pseudoneutralization assay. In stark contrast to North American white tailed deer, we found no evid...

How serious is the presence of the Covid virus in deer for humans?

Controlling the spread of a virus among animals is often difficult or impossible, said Sarah Olson, an epidemiologist at WCS. Covid-19 has been able to spread among humans despite visits to health providers and tools such as vaccines. Diseases such as white-nose syndrome, which has killed more than 90% of three North America bat species, can have devastating impacts on wildlife despite protection efforts.

Applying our standard responses to Covid in people – such as trying to vaccinate them – is not realistic.

Instead, the research is “a call to redouble our efforts, to pay attention to wildlife health, to understand what is going on in these spaces that are currently kind of black boxes”, says Dr Olson.

How serious is the presence of the Covid virus in deer for humans? Scientists think surveillance is urgent as deer could act as large reservoirs for the virus, and serve as a source for new variants

Study finds that three primary pandemic prevention actions -better surveillance of pathogen spillover and development of global databases of virus genomics and serology, better management of wildlife trade, and substantial reduction of deforestation- would cost less than 1/20th the value of lives lost each year to emerging viral zoonoses and have substantial co-benefits.

The costs and benefits of primary prevention of zoonotic pandemics Primary pandemic prevention actions cost less than 1/20th the value of lives lost each year to emerging viral zoonoses.

Detecting species from airborne DNA is a “huge step forward in the eDNA field,” says Tracie Seimon, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s molecular laboratory in New York https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/winds-of-change-detecting-species-from-airborne-dna-just-got-real/… via

Winds of change: Detecting species from airborne DNA just got real Environmental DNA has changed the way conservationists monitor biodiversity. By sequencing the genetic material found in water and soil samples, scientists can study entire ecosystems or detect rare animals too elusive to track using traditional methods. Teams have used environmental DNA, or eDNA, t...

Through , our team in Lao PDR is working with government partners to build wildlife health surveillance networks with a approach and they were recently out in the field conducting joint avian influenza surveillance. Avian influenza has devastated multiple wild bird populations across the globe this Winter.

We strongly support the World Health Assembly’s announcement to launch a process to form an international Pandemic Treaty. Such a treaty must address prevention at source to significantly reduce the risk of pathogen spillover from animals to humans.

We need to change our relationship with nature and our uses of wildlife.

—We must protect ecosystems and increase ecological integrity, function
—Commercial trade and sale of live wildlife for human consumption—legal & illegal, particularly birds & mammals—comprise unacceptable risk

Governments must agree to reduce the risk of pathogen spillover from animals to humans well before they become local outbreaks, epidemics, or global pandemics. Read our statement on the World Health Assembly agreement. http://ow.ly/iEEP50H1R4Q

Understanding bat’s hibernation patterns can inform prevention and conservation efforts for the devastating white-nose syndrome.

Some key recent research findings from
UWaterloo Life, Wildlife Conservation Society, WCS Canada, Texas Tech University, Montana State University, and the Univesity of Winnipeg.

High water loss during hibernation may leave bats vulnerable to population declines | Waterloo News When it comes to hibernation, conserving resources is key for an animal’s survival. For bats of Western North America, water may be the key to assessing a bat species’ ability to thrive during hibernation. New research that comes as part of a larger project to understand the potential impact of ...

The discovery of coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 in bats sampled in Cambodia over a decade ago was published this week by a team of scientists, including from WCS.

Southeast Asia is a region undergoing dramatic land-use changes and with extensive wildlife trade. Both increase contacts between wildlife, people and pathogens. Combined with investment in ecosystem protection and ending commercial wildlife trade, especially of mammals and birds, regional investment in bridging local capacity for wildlife surveillance for coronaviruses and other emerging pathogens is key for future pandemic prevention and preparedness.

Scientists Find SARS CoV-2-Related Coronaviruses in Cambodian Bats from 2010 A team of scientists have identified coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 from two bats sampled in Cambodia more than a decade ago.

China’s Wildlife Is a Pandemic ‘Waiting to Happen,’ Study Finds - BNN Bloomberg Wildlife species sold in wet markets in China were linked to the emergence of SARS and Covid-19. Now a comprehensive survey of viral pathogens has found they harbor a range of diseases threatening humans and other animals.

Today is One Health Day. With its likely wild animal-origin, COVID-19 has served as a devastating reminder of the interconnectedness between animal, human and environmental health. A One Health approach is essential to effectively tackle the infectious and non-infectious health threats to humans and animals that occur as a result of anthropogenic destruction and degradation of the planet.

WCSHealth on Twitter “It's One Health Day! Human, animal, fungi, plant, and environmental health are intrinsically interconnected and profoundly influenced by human activities.”

To have a meaningful impact on the significant reduction of the risk of future pandemics of zoonotic origin, all efforts must be made to prevent the pathogen spillover in the first place. This means, first, protecting intact ecosystems and stopping deforestation and environmental encroachment and conversion to limit the human-wildlife interface; second, strictly restricting legal and stopping illegal commercial wildlife markets and trade that facilitate spillover conditions.

WCS at the WHS The World Health Summit (WHS) took place on 24-26 October in Berlin, with 300 speakers and 6000 participants

In harm’s way: Our actions put people and wildlife at risk of disease Altering Earth’s natural systems not only spreads disease to humans. Ecosystem disruption increasingly puts wild animals at risk of devastating pandemics and threatens endangered species’ survival.

Land-use change for livestock production is a major driver of deforestation and of increased risk for the emergence of zoonotic diseases.
Guatemala is tightening cattle ranching rules, but can they stop deforestation?

Guatemala tightens cattle ranching rules, but can they stop deforestation? Guatemala is getting ready to implement new regulatory programs for the cattle industry in hopes of slowing the rate of deforestation in some of the country’s most at-risk tropical forests. The government has invested in quarantine pens for cattle raised in Petén, a department that has struggled ...

Earlier this fall, WCS Canada scientists discovered the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in ​both eastern ​and southern Saskatchewan for the first time. Just to the west, in Alberta where this picture of little brown bats was taken, Western Canada Bat Conservation Program is studying the situation in the hopes of better understanding the effects and ensuring species survival as best they can.