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Episode 11: Avian Malaria in UK Zoos
Malaria is a disease usually associated with the tropics. However, avian malaria, caused by similar parasites, is distributed worldwide with the exception of Antarctica. Avian malaria is spread by biting mosquitoes. The impact of the disease on bird populations varies. Some birds will not show any symptoms, but other populations can be driven to extinction by avian malaria. Zoos in particular have suffered from avian malaria outbreaks. London Zoo lost six penguins in 2012 and Longleat took the decision to close their penguin exhibit in 2018 after a second outbreak called into question the viability of keeping penguins. Despite these problems, little is known about the distribution of mosquitoes around zoos and their ability to infect birds with avian malaria. This month we spoke to Arturo Hernandez Colina about his work looking into avian malaria in the UK.
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Episode 10: Acute Encephalitis - Searching for diagnostic markers
Acute encephalitis describes a rapidly developing inflammation of the brain and, as you can imagine, is a neurological emergency. Not only is it a life-threatening disease with a mortality rate of up to 15%, it also presents a unique diagnostic challenge for doctors. Patients presenting to the emergency room with common symptoms of encephalitis such as fever, confusion or seizures, could have any number of other conditions which mimic these symptoms. With roughly 6,000 cases per year, encephalitis is relatively rare compared to, say, drug or alcohol misuse which can present in a similar way. As a result, Even once encephalitis is diagnosed there is a further complication. Inflammation can be caused by an external factor, in the case of encephalitis this is usually a virus, but it can also be caused by autoimmune disease in which the body develops an immune reaction against its own proteins. In cases of autoimmune disease, the aim of treatment would be to suppress the immune system and prevent it from causing further damage. But if a virus is causing the encephalitis such a treatment would remove the body’s own defense mechanisms and worsen the patient’s condition. Therein lies the dilema for a doctor treating a case of encephalitis, they are presented with a condition of two possible causes with opposite treatments. This dilema would be easily resolved with a realiable diagnostic test that could differentiate between viral and autoimmune encephalitis. However, the cause of 37 to 62% of encephalitis cases is not identified, even after a thorough diagnostic investigation. With us today to talk about encephalitis and his work on diagnostic tests for encephalitis is Dr Mark Ellul. Mark is a Specialist Registrar in Neurology and Clinical Research Fellow funded by the Association of British Neurologists at IGH. He recently published a paper in Clinical Medicine “Acute encephalitis – diagnosis and management”, available at: http://www.clinmed.rcpjournal.org/content/18/2/155.abstract.
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Episode 9: The HORN Project
We’ve spoken in previous episodes about zoonotic diseases such as Leptospirosis and Echinococcus. The term zoonosis, which describes diseases that can affect both animals and people, was coined by a German scientist, Rudolf Virchow, working in the 19th century. Virchow could be considered the founder of the One Health approach to medicine and research. He stated that “Between animal and human medicine there are no dividing lines – nor should there be. The object is different but the experience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine”. This concept that human health is inextricably linked to that of animals is the central tenant of One Health which aims to design and implement research, programmes and policy to improve public health. This approach requires collaboration across a wide variety of disciplines from the medical and veterinary fields. The result is a series of large research projects involving multiple research institutes across several countries. One Health projects can have a particularly big impact in areas where people’s income, welfare and opportunities are highly dependent on their livestock. One such area is the Horn of Africa, the north-eastern part of Africa that includes Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. The One Health Regional Network for the Horn of Africa, or HORN project, was established to improve the health and wealth of people living in the Horn of Africa by creating a research network that will focus on the link between human and animal health. This research network connects scientists working at universities in Liverpool, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somaliland and Kenya who work together on projects to address the problems of developing countries. With funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund, the HORN project aims to build research capacity in target countries by training both academic and non-academic staff. The funding is also used to carry out research projects with local students who are mentored and supported by both local and UK academics. With us this month to discuss the HORN project is Professor Matthew Baylis, the lead investigator on the project.
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Episode 8: Echinococcus granulosus and the HyData Project
Parasites come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them can live in their host without causing symptoms whilst others cause debilitating and sometimes fatal disease. A few episodes ago, we talked about lungworm in cattle. While lungworm can affect other species as well, like deer and buffalo, they tend to be closely related to cattle. However, other parasites make a habit of infecting different species as part of their lifecycle. Rather than having a free-living life cycle, which leaves them at the mercy of the elements, they take up residence in an intermediate host. Here they are relatively safe and can busy themselves preparing to infect their definitive host where another round of reproduction will take place. A good example of these types of parasites are Echinococcus, a genus of Cestodes which are more commonly known as tapeworms. This type of tapeworm tends to use livestock as an intermediate host and predatory species, such as canids, as their definitive host. They have an important role in human health too. If a person eats an Echinococcus egg, the parasite can infect them as if they were the intermediate host, causing severe disease. This ability to cause disease in a wide variety of species means that control measures must encompass all affected species in order to provide adequate protection. Marisol Collins is coming to the end of her PhD, during which she has worked on the HyData Project to investigate the distribution of Echinococcus granulosus in the UK. This has involved looking at the potential for Echinococcus transfer in different populations of canids including hunting hounds and zoo animals
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Episode 7: Discovering Measures to Prevent Dog Bites
Dogs are currently the most popular pet in the UK forming 26% of the pet population. Pet ownership has been associated with health benefits such a reduced blood pressure, increased exercise and reduced feelings of loneliness. However, dog bites are also believed to be on the increase and, over the last five years, Merseyside has become the dog bite capital of the UK with the greatest number of dog related hospital admissions per 100,000 population. Recently reported figures suggest that at least 20 people are hospitalised due to dog bites every day in England and Wales. Dog bites can have a devastating impact on all parties involved. Most obviously, the person bitten is left with a physical injury and, perhaps a lasting fear of dogs. These can lead to personal economic losses through time off work. The dog itself is often euthanised after a serious bite which in turn impacts the owner. Even if the dog isn’t euthanised, it may be confiscated or given up to a shelter since the owner feels they can no longer be trusted. All of these come with a cost to society, for example, the estimated bill for police kennelling of potentially dangerous dogs in 2015 was £5 million pounds. Studying dog bites and how they happen is an important part of developing strategies to prevent them. Sara Owczarczak-Garstecka is a PhD student at IGH working on a project: “Dog bites; Perception and Prevention”. As part of her studies she looked at YouTube videos that captured dog bites and statistically analysed their characteristics to show how canine and human behaviour changes before a bite. Her results have been published in an article in Nature Scientific Reports entitled ‘Online videos indicate human and dog behaviour preceding dog bites and the context in which bites occur.’ available via this link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-25671-7.
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