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JEPM January 2016 – Avian & Exotic News
AVIAN & EXOTIC NEWS Edited by Connie Orcutt, DVM, Dip. ABVP (Avian; Exotic Companion Mammal)
WESTERN VETERINARY CONFERENCE The Dr. Randall G. Ezel 88th Annual Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) will be held on March 6 to 10, 2016 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The program will include an extensive companion exotic animal program focusing on avian, reptile, and exotic mammal practice. Registration information and the entire conference program are available at the WVC website http://www.wvc.org. BACKYARD POULTRY AT RISK FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) refers to the 2015 epizootic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as “the largest animal health event in our history,” many backyard poultry owners were either uninformed and/or lacking in their understanding of this disease outbreak. The past year's epizootic eventually affected 211 commercial facilities, killed 7.5 million turkeys and 42.1 million chickens, and resulted in a cost to taxpayers of $950 million. Before commercial operations were affected by HPAI, this viral disease appeared in a backyard, mixed-bird flock in Oregon. Eventually, 21 backyard poultry flocks in the northwestern United States were infected, which subsequently resulted in the export ban on poultry from the United States. Foreign countries do not differentiate between commercial and non-commercial flocks when it comes to reportable disease. The scope of the recent avian influenza outbreak forced the USDA to examine its HPAI policies and protocol as well as the manner in which states and poultry producers handle positive flocks. On September 18, 2015, the USDA issued a “worstcase scenario” plan involving 500 hypothetical positive HPAI poultry cases across the United States. Protocols that took days during the winter and spring of 2015 to implement would instead involve the following actions: diagnose HPAI within 6 hours, euthanize and dispose of flocks within 24 hours, and streamline compensation protocols for poultry owners reporting diseased birds. The USDA has authorized development of a vaccine against HPAI and also plans to increase Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 25 (2016), pp 1–3
testing of wild birds to detect the virus before poultry are exposed. The USDA also advised that biosecurity measures be improved in both commercial and backyard flocks. Although migrating birds are often presumed to be the source of infection, exposure to the avian influenza virus can also occur via fomites and airborne transmission. In order to protect commercial poultry flocks from HPAI, biosecurity measures will need to be significantly improved. An example of recommendations by the Washington State Department of Agriculture for improved biosecurity measures to protect poultry against HPAI can be accessed at their published website http://agr.wa.gov/foodanimal/avian health/AIHumans.aspx.
EXOTIC SQUIRREL SPECIES TRANSMITS FATAL BORNAVIRUS TO BREEDERS IN GERMANY The deaths of 3 humans who maintained captive populations of variegated squirrels in Germany between 2011 and 2013 have been linked to a newly discovered bornavirus. Researchers believe the squirrels were subclinically infected with the bornavirus, and the humans became infected after being bit or scratched by the animals. Before death, the human patients developed abnormal neurologic and behavioral symptoms attributed to encephalitis caused by the viral infection. The infected humans died 2 to 4 months after the onset of clinical disease conditions. The virus, named the variegated squirrel 1 bornavirus (VSBV-1), was identified in the brains of both the squirrels and humans and appears to be distinct from other known bornavirus species. Variegated squirrels are native to southern Mexico and Central America; however, at this time, there is little information regarding the epidemiological dynamics of VSBV-1. Since 2013, there have been no other human deaths attributed to VSBV-1 and no other squirrel species appears to be susceptible and/or has been identified as a subclinical carrier of the organism. 1
DISCOVERY OF ANTI-NMDA RECEPTOR ENCEPHALITIS IN FIRST NONHUMAN In 2011, a polar bear died in the Berlin Zoological Garden due to drowning following seizure activity. The initial histopathologic analysis, obtained from tissue samples collected during the postmortem examination, determined the disease diagnosis and cause of the seizure activity as encephalitis of unknown origin. Unfortunately, an exhaustive investigation to identify an infectious agent associated with the inflammatory conditions was unsuccessful. Since 2010, the vast majority of human encephalitis cases, not identified as infectious and of unknown etiology, were classified as an autoimmune disease designated anti-NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. Anti-NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis results from highly specific autoantibodies formed against the NR1 subunit of the NMDA type glutamate receptor. This autoimmune disease causes neurologic abnormalities that progressively increase in severity. In human medicine, this discovery has reportedly revolutionized the field of modern clinical neurology. Histologic findings from the polar bear demonstrated intact neurons (indicating a pathologic process that did not involve cytotoxic T cells) as well as numerous perivascular and parenchymal plasma cells. Analysis of the animal's cerebrospinal fluid revealed high concentrations of antibodies specific to the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor. Furthermore, as in human patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, antibodies from the polar bear showed intense labeling of hippocampal and cerebellar areas in rat brains. Postmortem findings in the polar bear were nearly identical to those found in humans with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, thus identifying the first nonhuman case of this treatable disease. RESEARCHERS DEVELOP VACCINE AGAINST AVIAN BORNAVIRUS Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences have developed a vaccine to protect birds from avian bornavirus infection. The vaccine has been administered to captive psittacine birds with no apparent adverse effects. The next step in vaccine development is to apply for licensing from the United States Department of Agriculture and then commercially manufacture the vaccine. The researchers on this project all work at the Schubot Exotic Bird Heath Center: Ian Tizard, 2
BVMS, BS, PhD, DACVM; Jianhua Guo, DVM, PhD; Susan Payne, PhD; and Samer Hameed, graduate student. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FORMS STRATEGIC ALLIANCE TO SPEED NEW ANTIBIOTIC DEVELOPMENT The Centers for Disease Control has estimated that an annual 20 million infections and 23,000 deaths result from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Morbidity and mortality costs to the U.S. healthcare system are an estimated $35 billion. Moreover, as antibiotic-resistant infections continue to rise, the majority of pharmaceutical companies have decreased or stopped development of new antibiotic compounds. This “perfect storm” has resulted in exploration of innovative public-private partnerships and unique legislative authority to stimulate the interest of pharmaceutical companies in developing antibacterial agents. In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a public-private partnership between the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the purpose of developing multiple drugs to fight bioterrorism threats and the potential of fatal antibioticresistant infections. The agreement used Other Transaction Authority granted to the Secretary of HHS under the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006. This is the second such alliance created by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of ASPR with a private company to develop a portfolio of drug agents for use in treating illnesses caused by bioterrorism agents and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Such an alliance was also called for by March 2016 as part of the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. Both BARDA and AstraZeneca will manage and fund the portfolio for the next 5 years to determine which drug candidates will be included within the portfolio, depending on technical and financial considerations as well as the developmental progress of each evaluated drug. The first drug being developed is a combination of aztreonam and avibactam (ATM-AVI) with proposed use in treating Gram-negative infections for which there is limited treatment. AstraZeneca will also evaluate the use of this drug and others in treating Orcutt/Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 25 (2016), pp 1–3
bioterrorist threats (e.g., meliodosis, glanders, and plague). The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is a similar partnership between the European Union and European pharmaceutical companies. The IMI is currently supporting phase 2 studies of ATM-AVI in Europe and will also join BARDA and AstraZeneca in backing additional requisite clinical studies for regulatory approval of ATM-AVI. Such collaborations are emblematic of the global importance of antibiotic resistance. BUBONIC PLAGUE ERADICATES PRAIRIE DOG COLONY IN UTAH A colony of 60 to 80 prairie dogs in a remote part of the Uintah Basin in Utah was decimated in July 2015 by bubonic plaque. The outbreak was discovered during monitoring of the area as a reintroduction site for black-footed ferrets, which prey on prairie dogs. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is reportedly involved in a study to develop and administer a vaccine to wild rodents to stop the infectious cycles of plague and to maintain a healthy food supply for reintroduced black-footed ferrets. INCIDENCE OF HUMAN PLAGUE RISES IN THE UNITED STATES According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. physicians should consider human plague in the differential diagnosis of their patients with compatible
Orcutt/Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 25 (2016), pp 1–3
symptoms and risk factors, including living or traveling in the western United States, recent proximity to rodent territory, or direct contact with rodents or domestic animals showing signs of illness. Researchers from the CDC recently reported an incidence of 11 cases of human plague since April 1, 2015 among residents of Arizona (n ¼ 2), California (n ¼ 1), Colorado (n ¼ 4), Georgia (n ¼ 1), New Mexico (n ¼ 2), and Oregon (n ¼ 1), which is above the normal annual rate. Plague has resulted in the deaths of 3 of these individuals (ages 16, 52, and 79 years). Humans contract plague through the bite of an infected flea (usually one that has fed on a rodent living in the rural and semirural regions of the western United States), by direct contact with bodily fluids of affected animals, or by inhaling respiratory secretions from sick people or animals, including dogs and cats. Human symptoms associated with plague include a sudden onset of fever, headache, chills, weakness, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and tender swollen lymph nodes. If left untreated, plague can result in mortality rates from 66% to 93%; however, with appropriate antimicrobial therapy (e.g., aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and doxycycline), rates can drop to approximately 15%.
1557-5063/15/2101-$30.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2015.11.002
3
WESTERN VETERINARY CONFERENCE The Dr. Randall G. Ezel 88th Annual Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) will be held on March 6 to 10, 2016 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The program will include an extensive companion exotic animal program focusing on avian, reptile, and exotic mammal practice. Registration information and the entire conference program are available at the WVC website http://www.wvc.org. BACKYARD POULTRY AT RISK FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) refers to the 2015 epizootic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as “the largest animal health event in our history,” many backyard poultry owners were either uninformed and/or lacking in their understanding of this disease outbreak. The past year's epizootic eventually affected 211 commercial facilities, killed 7.5 million turkeys and 42.1 million chickens, and resulted in a cost to taxpayers of $950 million. Before commercial operations were affected by HPAI, this viral disease appeared in a backyard, mixed-bird flock in Oregon. Eventually, 21 backyard poultry flocks in the northwestern United States were infected, which subsequently resulted in the export ban on poultry from the United States. Foreign countries do not differentiate between commercial and non-commercial flocks when it comes to reportable disease. The scope of the recent avian influenza outbreak forced the USDA to examine its HPAI policies and protocol as well as the manner in which states and poultry producers handle positive flocks. On September 18, 2015, the USDA issued a “worstcase scenario” plan involving 500 hypothetical positive HPAI poultry cases across the United States. Protocols that took days during the winter and spring of 2015 to implement would instead involve the following actions: diagnose HPAI within 6 hours, euthanize and dispose of flocks within 24 hours, and streamline compensation protocols for poultry owners reporting diseased birds. The USDA has authorized development of a vaccine against HPAI and also plans to increase Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 25 (2016), pp 1–3
testing of wild birds to detect the virus before poultry are exposed. The USDA also advised that biosecurity measures be improved in both commercial and backyard flocks. Although migrating birds are often presumed to be the source of infection, exposure to the avian influenza virus can also occur via fomites and airborne transmission. In order to protect commercial poultry flocks from HPAI, biosecurity measures will need to be significantly improved. An example of recommendations by the Washington State Department of Agriculture for improved biosecurity measures to protect poultry against HPAI can be accessed at their published website http://agr.wa.gov/foodanimal/avian health/AIHumans.aspx.
EXOTIC SQUIRREL SPECIES TRANSMITS FATAL BORNAVIRUS TO BREEDERS IN GERMANY The deaths of 3 humans who maintained captive populations of variegated squirrels in Germany between 2011 and 2013 have been linked to a newly discovered bornavirus. Researchers believe the squirrels were subclinically infected with the bornavirus, and the humans became infected after being bit or scratched by the animals. Before death, the human patients developed abnormal neurologic and behavioral symptoms attributed to encephalitis caused by the viral infection. The infected humans died 2 to 4 months after the onset of clinical disease conditions. The virus, named the variegated squirrel 1 bornavirus (VSBV-1), was identified in the brains of both the squirrels and humans and appears to be distinct from other known bornavirus species. Variegated squirrels are native to southern Mexico and Central America; however, at this time, there is little information regarding the epidemiological dynamics of VSBV-1. Since 2013, there have been no other human deaths attributed to VSBV-1 and no other squirrel species appears to be susceptible and/or has been identified as a subclinical carrier of the organism. 1
DISCOVERY OF ANTI-NMDA RECEPTOR ENCEPHALITIS IN FIRST NONHUMAN In 2011, a polar bear died in the Berlin Zoological Garden due to drowning following seizure activity. The initial histopathologic analysis, obtained from tissue samples collected during the postmortem examination, determined the disease diagnosis and cause of the seizure activity as encephalitis of unknown origin. Unfortunately, an exhaustive investigation to identify an infectious agent associated with the inflammatory conditions was unsuccessful. Since 2010, the vast majority of human encephalitis cases, not identified as infectious and of unknown etiology, were classified as an autoimmune disease designated anti-NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. Anti-NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis results from highly specific autoantibodies formed against the NR1 subunit of the NMDA type glutamate receptor. This autoimmune disease causes neurologic abnormalities that progressively increase in severity. In human medicine, this discovery has reportedly revolutionized the field of modern clinical neurology. Histologic findings from the polar bear demonstrated intact neurons (indicating a pathologic process that did not involve cytotoxic T cells) as well as numerous perivascular and parenchymal plasma cells. Analysis of the animal's cerebrospinal fluid revealed high concentrations of antibodies specific to the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor. Furthermore, as in human patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, antibodies from the polar bear showed intense labeling of hippocampal and cerebellar areas in rat brains. Postmortem findings in the polar bear were nearly identical to those found in humans with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, thus identifying the first nonhuman case of this treatable disease. RESEARCHERS DEVELOP VACCINE AGAINST AVIAN BORNAVIRUS Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences have developed a vaccine to protect birds from avian bornavirus infection. The vaccine has been administered to captive psittacine birds with no apparent adverse effects. The next step in vaccine development is to apply for licensing from the United States Department of Agriculture and then commercially manufacture the vaccine. The researchers on this project all work at the Schubot Exotic Bird Heath Center: Ian Tizard, 2
BVMS, BS, PhD, DACVM; Jianhua Guo, DVM, PhD; Susan Payne, PhD; and Samer Hameed, graduate student. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FORMS STRATEGIC ALLIANCE TO SPEED NEW ANTIBIOTIC DEVELOPMENT The Centers for Disease Control has estimated that an annual 20 million infections and 23,000 deaths result from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Morbidity and mortality costs to the U.S. healthcare system are an estimated $35 billion. Moreover, as antibiotic-resistant infections continue to rise, the majority of pharmaceutical companies have decreased or stopped development of new antibiotic compounds. This “perfect storm” has resulted in exploration of innovative public-private partnerships and unique legislative authority to stimulate the interest of pharmaceutical companies in developing antibacterial agents. In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a public-private partnership between the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the purpose of developing multiple drugs to fight bioterrorism threats and the potential of fatal antibioticresistant infections. The agreement used Other Transaction Authority granted to the Secretary of HHS under the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006. This is the second such alliance created by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of ASPR with a private company to develop a portfolio of drug agents for use in treating illnesses caused by bioterrorism agents and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Such an alliance was also called for by March 2016 as part of the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. Both BARDA and AstraZeneca will manage and fund the portfolio for the next 5 years to determine which drug candidates will be included within the portfolio, depending on technical and financial considerations as well as the developmental progress of each evaluated drug. The first drug being developed is a combination of aztreonam and avibactam (ATM-AVI) with proposed use in treating Gram-negative infections for which there is limited treatment. AstraZeneca will also evaluate the use of this drug and others in treating Orcutt/Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 25 (2016), pp 1–3
bioterrorist threats (e.g., meliodosis, glanders, and plague). The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is a similar partnership between the European Union and European pharmaceutical companies. The IMI is currently supporting phase 2 studies of ATM-AVI in Europe and will also join BARDA and AstraZeneca in backing additional requisite clinical studies for regulatory approval of ATM-AVI. Such collaborations are emblematic of the global importance of antibiotic resistance. BUBONIC PLAGUE ERADICATES PRAIRIE DOG COLONY IN UTAH A colony of 60 to 80 prairie dogs in a remote part of the Uintah Basin in Utah was decimated in July 2015 by bubonic plaque. The outbreak was discovered during monitoring of the area as a reintroduction site for black-footed ferrets, which prey on prairie dogs. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is reportedly involved in a study to develop and administer a vaccine to wild rodents to stop the infectious cycles of plague and to maintain a healthy food supply for reintroduced black-footed ferrets. INCIDENCE OF HUMAN PLAGUE RISES IN THE UNITED STATES According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. physicians should consider human plague in the differential diagnosis of their patients with compatible
Orcutt/Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 25 (2016), pp 1–3
symptoms and risk factors, including living or traveling in the western United States, recent proximity to rodent territory, or direct contact with rodents or domestic animals showing signs of illness. Researchers from the CDC recently reported an incidence of 11 cases of human plague since April 1, 2015 among residents of Arizona (n ¼ 2), California (n ¼ 1), Colorado (n ¼ 4), Georgia (n ¼ 1), New Mexico (n ¼ 2), and Oregon (n ¼ 1), which is above the normal annual rate. Plague has resulted in the deaths of 3 of these individuals (ages 16, 52, and 79 years). Humans contract plague through the bite of an infected flea (usually one that has fed on a rodent living in the rural and semirural regions of the western United States), by direct contact with bodily fluids of affected animals, or by inhaling respiratory secretions from sick people or animals, including dogs and cats. Human symptoms associated with plague include a sudden onset of fever, headache, chills, weakness, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and tender swollen lymph nodes. If left untreated, plague can result in mortality rates from 66% to 93%; however, with appropriate antimicrobial therapy (e.g., aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and doxycycline), rates can drop to approximately 15%.
1557-5063/15/2101-$30.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2015.11.002
3