Field Trial of an Aerially-Distributed Tuberculosis Vaccine in a Low-Density Wildlife Population of Brushtail Possums (Trichosurus vulpecula).

Oral-delivery Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine in a lipid matrix has been shown to confer protection against M. bovis infection and reduce the severity of tuberculosis (TB) when fed to brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), the major wildlife vector of bovine TB in New Zealand. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of aerial delivery of this live vaccine in bait form to an M.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Tuberculosis Management in Brushtail Possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), through Indirect Surveillance of Mycobacterium bovis Infection Using Released Sentinel Pigs.

In New Zealand, wild pigs acquire Mycobacterium bovis infection by scavenging tuberculous carrion, primarily carcasses of the main disease maintenance host, the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). We investigated the utility of captive-reared, purpose-released pigs as sentinels for tuberculosis (TB) following lethal possum control and subsequent population recovery. Within 2-3 years of possum control by intensive poisoning, TB prevalence and the incidence rate of M.

Impact of the introduction of drug eluting stents on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous and surgical coronary artery revascularisation procedures in Western Australia.

Background: Increasing rates of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and decreasing rates of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery followed the introduction of drug eluting stents in Western Australia in 2002. We assessed the impact of these changes on one-year outcomes for the total population of patients undergoing coronary artery revascularisation procedures (CARP) in Western Australia between 2000-2004.

Methods: Clinical and linked administrative data (inpatient admissions and death) were merged for all patients who had their first CARP with stent or CABG in Western Australia between 2000-2004.

Percutaneous interdigital injection of Mycobacterium bovis as a model for tuberculous lesion development in wild brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula).

Brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) are the major wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (BTB), in New Zealand. Primary diagnosis of BTB in wild possums is by palpation to detect peripheral lymphadenomegaly followed by necropsy examination, which frequently identifies gross tuberculous lesions in the peripheral lymph nodes and lungs. Experimental infection studies were conducted with wild possums in an attempt to emulate field BTB, focussing on percutaneous administration of virulent M.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in wildlife on three deer farms with a history of Johne's disease.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) infection in wildlife, in pastoral landscapes with a recent history of clinical Johne's disease in livestock.

Methods: A total of 449 wild mammals and birds from three farms in the South Island of New Zealand with recent histories of clinical Johne's disease in their deer herds were trapped and examined for gross pathological changes in the gastrointestinal tract.