"Wildlife immobilization and surveillance of emerging zoonotic diseases for sustainable management and conservation of wildlife resources in Sri Lanka"

Healthy and robust wildlife populations are critical for conservation, tourism, and livelihoods of people in many countries. The health relationships occurring at the interface of humans, animals, and ecosystems are being addressed in the emerging, interdisciplinary fields of Conservation Medicine and One Health. Globalization and global alterations in climate have exacerbated the transmission of disease between wildlife, humans, and domestic animals, and are of particular concern in high biodiversity regions such as Sri Lanka.

Åsa Fahlman, Associate Professor in Wildlife Medicine at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), and Professor N.P. Sunil-Chandra from the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, are the recipients of an International Collaborative Research Grant (2014-2016) for the project "Wildlife immobilization and surveillance of emerging zoonotic diseases for sustainable management and wildlife conservation of wildlife resources in Sri Lanka". The funding is provided from the Swedish Research Council - Swedish Research Links Program.

The overall project goal is to establish a long-term collaborative program that builds capacity and generates new knowledge through research on emerging infectious diseases and safe handling of wildlife species of importance for conservation, tourism, and livelihoods in Sri Lanka. With an emphasis on emerging zoonotic diseases, biological samples are collected from different wildlife species for health evaluation and disease surveillance. To ensure optimal sample collection, human safety and wildlife welfare during handling of wild animals, research is conducted on evaluation and improvement of existing methods and development of new reversible protocols for immobilization of Sri Lankan wildlife species.

The project has collaborators from Europe, Asia and North America. The collaborative partners include researchers and veterinarians from SLU, the National Veterinary Institute (SVA), and Kolmården Zoo and Wildlife Park in Sweden, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), the Department of National Zoological Gardens, the University of Kelaniya and the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, and from Yukon Wildlife Health in Canada.

 Dr Vijitha Perera from DWC, Drs Louise Guevara and Torsten Möller from Kolmården Wildlife Park, Prof. Sunil-Chandra from University of Kelaniya, and Assoc. Prof. Åsa Fahlman from SLU in Sweden.

Specific goals

Capacity building regarding immobilization and health monitoring of Sri Lankan wildlife species through in-field training, workshops, exchange visits, and research studies.

Collaborators within complementary fields of veterinary and human medicine, microbiology, metagenomics, bioinformatics, and wild animal health management at government and scientific institutions contribute to knowledge sharing and capacity development from individual to institutional levels.

 

Participants during the project's 1st Workshop at University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka in February 2014	Prof.Sunil-Chandra & Dr.Ingrid Hansson at the Swedish National Veterinary Institute

 

Physiological evaluation of immobilization protocols currently used in Sri Lankan wildlife.

 In-depth physiological monitoring, including arterial blood gas and acid-base analysis, is conducted to determine drug effects and identify complications in immobilized animals.

 

	Dr Vijitha Perera, Wildlife Veterinarian at DWC, and elephant handlers during evaluation of standing sedation of juvenile elephants at the Elephant Transit Home, Udawalawe
	BSc biology student Tina Jansson documents the behavioural effects of the sedative

 

Development of safe and effective reversible immobilization protocols and establishment of preventative measures against complications.

Optimal drug combinations and doses are researched to ensure quick induction, stable physiology, and smooth reversal. Treatment regimens are developed for prevention and treatment of complications, such as hypoxemia and hyperthermia, which can lead to morbidity and mortality

A new drug combination is evaluated in sambar deer immobilized for translocation.

 Evaluation of wild animal health with an emphasis on selected zoonotic diseases in Sri Lankan wildlife.

Biological samples are collected from wildlife in the animal-human interface to identify bacterial and viral pathogens and novel infectious agents. Elephants undergoing rehabilitation at the Elephant Transit Home are screened in a health evaluation programme, and selected primate populations are sampled near human settlements.

Dr Vijitha Perera, DWC, takes body measurements during health evaluation of juvenile elephants	On-site analysis of blood samples from elephants

Evaluation of enteric pathogens of zoonotic concern in Sri Lankan primates as part of an MSc study by veterinary student Cecilia Tegner at SLU.