Hello, I'm M as you know, and I will talk about pathogen pollution and wildlife conservation. So last year we talked about how conservation medicine relates to one health and how important it is in dealing not just with human health issues, but also in the whole scheme of how conservation is closely related to our survival as a species. So to review, let's see how conservation medicine is in the whole scheme of the one health approach.
So essentially we know that conservation medicine is one health. But with emphasis on wildlife and conservation, whether this animal is in its natural habitat or In captivity. The subject of conservation medicine was introduced years ago.
Its principles served as the basis for the One Health approach. In fact, it was started by wildlife veterinarians. But the One Health approach is made more evident today because of the the pandemic that we are facing.
Unfortunately for us, more and more diseases of health and economic importance have entered the country and continue to threaten both domestic and wildlife species. And an example of which is the African swine fever. So some of these species may cause extinction of naive wild populations such as this critically endangered visayan or the pig.
So to review how these emerging infectious diseases are spread, I would like to enumerate the methods of spread, which some of you might have known already, but maybe we need a little backgrounder on them. These diseases are spread through three methods which may overlap, and many of these diseases emerge through multiple methods. The first one is spread through passive emergence.
These are diseases that occur without overt human or animal involvement and are spread as a result of global warming, rising sea levels, ozone thinning, increased exposure to UV. Or climatic instability. Of course, we can argue that many of these phenomena, although natural, have been hastened by human activity.
So an example of passive emergence is according to a wildlife Conservation Society. Bird flu, cholera, Ebola, the plague, and tuberculosis, these diseases may, may be likely to spread easily or get worse as a result of climate change. Thanks.
So the second, the second method is spillover events. These are diseases that emerge when domestic animals infect naive wild populations living in proximity. An example given by Dzak in 2000 is the occurrence of the canine distemper virus in African wild dogs brought about by domestic dogs.
An example which is more relevant for us of a spillover event is African African swine fever in Africa. So African swine fever in domestic pigs in Africa was also a spillover from wildlife to domestic animals, because in this case, wildlife were the first were thought to be the first ones infected, and they infected the domestic populations. So sometimes this is referred to as a spillback.
The 3rd The method which I find really important in this time and age is pathogen pollution. So this is human influenced movement of pathogens outside their host or geographic range. Such movements are connected to human activities such as commercial trade, tourism, even war has been implicated.
Examples of diseases that are spread through pathogen pollution. The classic example is the chytrid fungus, which for years was thought to have been spread because of climate change. However, recent studies showed that it was spread by soldiers who came back from the Korean War and consequently perhaps through the pet trade as well.
The chytrid fungus has caused the extinction of many amphibian species around the world. The next example I would like to give, and because this is very relevant for us, is African swine fever outside of Africa, where the movement of the virus is greatly influenced by commercial trade and international travel. So my talk will centre on these diseases that may adversely affect endemic wild populations if measures are not made.
To stem the influx or and spread of economically important pathogens. So, which pathogens are the scariest? At a conservation standpoint, I'll enumerate about 4 scary diseases that we should look out for and monitor.
So the first disease that I would like to discuss is the Citize big and feather disease virus, and many of us do not take part, you know, pay particular attention to this virus because it hasn't been. Reported or known to have spread in the Philippines, but An NGO in Palawan working for the conservation of the Philippine cockatoo out on a whim, they tried to test pet birds. So birds that were in pet shops were swabbed.
Some of the blood were taken and sent out to detect Cytosine beak and feather disease, and they, many of the samples came out positive. Fortunately, Philippine cockatoos that have been sampled from the wild tested negative. So what I'm saying is if the virus is already in the country through the pet trade, and these birds.
End up in the wild because of escapes or or irresponsible pet ownership, then we might, we might have a ticking bomb on our hands. We might lose our Philippine cockatoos and other citizens as well. So I think we should watch out for this virus eventually.
Another disease that we need to pay close attention to is African swine fever. I know that they are not, that the disease is not present in visayus yet, and we have to make sure it doesn't enter visays, particularly Negros and panafaunal region. As well as the small islands of Mindoro where the Most recently discovered sus Olivera or the Mindoroarty pig is, African swine fever can be very devastating and might cause the extinction of our critically endangered design worthy pig.
Apart from this animal, we have 2 more wild pigs in the red list. They are the Mindoro warty pig and the Philippine warty pig, which is found both in Mindanao and Luzon. They are vulnerable according to the IUCN.
So personally, I'm really, really scared for the Philippinehorty pig. Hopefully, ASF can be controlled in Mindoro and does not infect wild populations. Another scary disease for me or for wildlife practitioners for that matter, is Newcastle disease virus, which have been found to be serologically present in our critically endangered national bird, the Philippine eagle.
Although they do not seem to show signs of being infected, they do have had field exposure. And we noticed in one of our studies that birds that are more exposed to people in places such as parks or zoos are more prone to contract or to be serologically positive with higher titers than those who are not exposed to people. Another thing that we realised was that birds, wild birds that have more contact with domestic birds, such as egrets and brown strikes are more likely to spread the virus to wildlife because they have contact to both domestic and wild animals.
Another disease that we need to look out for in Philippine eagles and other raptors is aspergillosis. And I know that aspergillosis is a common disease, but we're seeing more and more aspergillosis cases recently, particularly in birds that have been confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade. This disease is important because it also poses risk to people who handle these diseased animals.
Particularly because of the zoonosis, threat. Lastly, so I, I made the, the list short, is Mare disease virus. It's an, an important disease for me in that.
We've seen animals that have been infected and And showed pathologic signs, but does not show clinical signs like this egret, for instance, we have. Had an EGR test serologically positive and tested positive for PCR with Marex disease virus, and this bird that tested positive, had all the signs, all the pathological signs of Marre disease. So, it's like a disease that Hidden Because the wildlife look healthy, it's important to monitor this disease in wild populations, particularly those that have contact with domestic animals.
So why are these diseases causes for concern? Number one, because they may cause extinction, and I cannot imagine a Philippines without the visa warty pig or without the Philippine warty thing. And this is the, the threat has become more imminent when African swine fever entered the Philippines.
Another thing is that knowing that these diseases are present in the wild might be a cause for humans. To kill wildlife. And I've seen this in some poultry houses in Region 3 where the order of the owners was for their farmhands to shoot.
Egrets or shoot birds that are not, you know, that, that come into the farm. And this is, I think, anti, productive instead of, you know, monitoring the presence of or absence of these diseases. In fact, we need to know where, where the viruses come from, if it, if it's a spill back or a spill over.
So more studies should be made in terms of knowing whether What method of spread What method of spread was used by these pathogens. Another thing for for concern is These diseases may increase the risk to carers, such as zookeepers and wild animal vets, particularly because There are many unknowns in the wildlife field and It's really important to, to be safe, you know, so whatever you see in this picture. It shouldn't be done anymore.
We need to have personal protective equipment now because it's more, you know, we, we shouldn't be blase about, about things like this anymore. And if before we, we didn't use gloves to handle animals, and now we, we should. It, it's become more evident.
We are seeing more cases of mycobacteria in snakes now compared to before. And it's very scary for for practitioners who work with wildlife because there are many unknowns out there, particularly with the animals that we're working with. So what solutions can we give?
I think we can, we can work with the solutions that have been there for a long time, but do them properly and do them better, I think. So first of all, education. It's, I know it's a little bit more difficult to provide this solution.
In terms of, you know, reach because. We're having a, a. A lot of difficulty now with online classes and, you know, how do you teach medicine remotely, etc.
But I think education shouldn't be limited to the academ, but public education is, should be one of our priorities. Particularly education in the form in, in policies and the laws, you know. Next is Monitoring and surveillance.
It's a wide world out there, and the Philippines hasn't been totally explored, no matter how small our country is. There are a lot of many unexplored places in the Philippines, and because of that, there are many unexplored diseases, and I think it's really important to to couple wildlife surveys with disease surveys. Biologists and veterinarians should always go hand in hand in in doing these surveys because one can benefit from the other.
Mhm Another thing that we can do is to help curb illegal wildlife trade, and this, I think a veterinarian has a big role in. Because many of our clients ask us, you know, to sign health, health, certificates, to check animals, etc. And I think one of the responsibilities of a veterinarian is to educate our clients about the risks of illegal wildlife trade and and the risks of, you know, getting Getting a pet illegally.
One thing I learned about, through the research that we did on wildlife and their diseases is that even though we know that region 3 is Like the poultry capital of the Philippines. We also found out that Region 3, is one of the top illegal bird breeder regions in the Philippines. And I wouldn't be surprised that the ND outbreak began there.
There was an AI outbreak there. Because of all the things happening behind, you know, behind our backs. So to speak And these illegal breeders, illegal traders, they go under the radar, and the animals never get inspected and or tested and inadvertently introduce these pathogens into the country.
So at the end of the day, we need many hands. Like this picture of many hands examining a Philippine eagle. So we need hands to uplift animal welfare and monitor animal health, hands to do our jobs well in whatever field we may be, because in the end we are all connected.
So let us not hesitate to help each other or to offer advice. Or ask questions, because at the end of the day, whatever happens in my field will eventually affect your field. If you're in the domestic animal field, pet, you know, small animal, practise or food animal practise, we're all connected.
So that's my talk. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Thank you for listening.
And good morning.
