2010 - 19th Annual NC State Undergraduate Research Spring Symposium

Session Time : 4/22/10 12:15 PM - 4/22/10 1:30 PM

Content Area : Forestry & Environmental Resources

Student Presenters :
Andeliene Vienna Croce Zoology

Mentors and/or Co-Authors :
Richard Lancia Forestry and Environmental Resources Academic Research

Abstract Title : A Survey of WIldlife Parasites at 2 Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospitals in North Carolina

Abstract :
There are a wide variety of pathogens and parasites shared amongst wildlife, humans, and domesticated animals and as urbanization increases, so does the rate of interspecific contact. Facilities such as wildlife hospitals that temporarily house members of local wildlife populations can serve as disease monitoring hotspots to gain insight on pathogen patterns in an area. This study was conducted from November 2009 to March 2010 to determine the feasibility and necessity of data collection on pathogens hosted by wild birds and mammals in central North Carolina. Two wildlife rehabilitation hospitals, one in Durham County and one in Randolf County, followed protocols for fecal sample selection and submission from birds and mammals that entered their facilities. Samples were obtained for only 44 of the 122 animals that were admitted to the hospitals over the course of this project and exactly 50% of these animals tested positive for at least one parasitic species. Data from this pilot study will be used as a starting point for future disease surveillance at these hospitals and can serve as an indicator for the prevalence of pathogens that hospital workers and other species undergoing care may come in contact with on a frequent basis.