Prevention is Better than Cure: An Overview of Disease Outbreak Management in Herptiles.

This article will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases affecting reptiles and amphibians. There will be discussions on the characteristics of each pathogen and treatment strategies based on the differences in pathogens. As the saying goes, "Prevention is better than cure".

Antibody response of five bird species after vaccination with a killed West Nile virus vaccine.

West Nile virus has been associated with numerous bird mortalities in the United States since 1999. Five avian species at three zoological parks were selected to assess the antibody response to vaccination for West Nile virus: black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus), little blue penguins (Eudyptula minor), American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber), Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis), and Attwater's prairie chickens (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri). All birds were vaccinated intramuscularly at least twice with a commercially available inactivated whole virus vaccine (Innovator).