Wildlife
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
FarmVet Dx offers a multiplex PCR test for hunters and farmers intended for the qualitative detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
Samples needed are ear pinna punches specimens from cervids ((muntjac, elk, red deer, and fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including reindeer, white-tailed deer, roe deer, and moose) suspected of CWD.
Wildlife and Antibiotic Resistance
Current evidence supports that the presence of antibiotic resistance genes and/or antibiotic resistant bacteria in wild animals is a sign of anthropic pollution more than of selection of resistance. However, once antibiotic resistance is present in the wild, wildlife can contribute to its transmission across different ecosystems. Further, the finding that antibiotic resistance genes, currently causing problems at hospitals, might spread through horizontal gene transfer among the bacteria present in the microbiomes of ubiquitous animals as cockroaches, fleas or rats, supports the possibility that these organisms might be bioreactors for the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes among human pathogens. The contribution of wildlife in the spread of antibiotic resistance among different hosts and ecosystems occurs at two levels. Firstly, in the case of non-migrating animals, the transfer will take place locally; a One Health problem. Paradigmatic examples are the above mentioned animals that cohabit with humans and can be reservoirs and vehicles for antibiotic resistance dissemination. Secondly, migrating animals, such as gulls, fishes or turtles may participate in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance across different geographic areas, even between different continents, which constitutes a Global Health issue.