Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease
Many studies and research has gone into Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease, focusing on how it originated, how it is spread between the species, why it is so harmful and life threatening to the largest extant marsupials living, and what scientists are doing to stop it. Even though it seems like a simple disease to be taken care of, the overall effects of the disease are much more complex and life threating than they seem. There has been a dramatic loss in genetic diversity throughout the years since the disease originated. This paper will compare McCallum’s (2008), Miller et al.’s (2011), and Murchison’s (2008) research and studies on the comparison of other life threatening transmissible diseases, genetic diversities, origin of the disease, effects and transmission of the disease, and the endangerment of this marsupial.
According to McCallum (2008), Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease is an aggressive transmissible parasitic cancer that is threatening the lives of the largest surviving marsupial carnivore with extinction. The disease was first discovered in at photograph of a devil with an unusual facial tumor at Mt. William in 1996, on the far northeastern corner of Tasmania. Even though it was common for Tasmanian devils to have tumors now and then, this struck some interest to the marsupial family. Before the disease was discovered, Tasmanian devils were known for being the largest extant marsupial carnivore species. Now that the disease is spreading rapidly throughout the species population, there is a decline in population of more than 60%. This species is now listed as an endangered animal by Australian state of Tasmania in May of 2008.
The devil facial tumor disease is a very unus...
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...e some west coast animals resistant is still unknown
(McCallum, 2008, p.635). Even if some west coast devils are resistant to the disease, they may not be in the future considering that it is possible for the tumor to evolve and adapt on its own.
Finally, there is a possibility that a vaccine might cure the disease. Developing a vaccine for this type of cancer may actually be possible since all the genes are identical to one another. However, since the disease is not recognized by the host immune system during transmission from an infected Tasmanian devil to an uninfected devil, the vaccination may not work for this disease( McCallum, 2008, p.635). With such a broad population of Tasmanian devils spread out in Tasmania, even with the vaccine available, distribution of the vaccine in a large population in the wild as such would be very challenging to say the least.
In 1994, a stable in Hendra, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia broke out with an unknown respiratory disease that resulted in thirteen horses and one horse trainer severely ill, resulting in death. [7, 8] This disease was isolated by scientists and later classified as the Hendra virus. The Hendra virus (HeV), previously unknown, is now classified under the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus along with its sister viruses the Nipah Virus and Cedar virus.[7, 9] HeV has the capability of causing fatal diseases in several animal species including humans.[1] The primary host of the Hendra virus was identified as the flying fox species from the genus Pteropus[1,2,3] that resides and migrates through Northeastern Australia[8] or more specifically, the East coast of Australia to Melbourne and west across Northern Australia to Darwin[7].
Although multifarious people may believe, that the Tasmanian devil is a vicious animal, they are not as vicious as they seem. These devils will feed off of other dead animals, and won’t go hunt for their food. Tasmanians are an endangered species. They are a carnivorous marsupial. Even though they look adorable, they are extremely fierce. The species scientific name is Sarcophilus Harrisii . (“Tasmanian Devil, Sarcophilus harrisii”).
Mesothelioma is a very rare form of lung cancer that starts in the mesothelium. The mesothelium is made up of parietal and visceral membranes, thin layers of tissue, which surround organs and body cavities, such as the lungs or abdomen. The visceral membrane immediately surrounds the organ, and the parietal membrane is a sac covering the visceral membrane. The visceral and parietal membranes that make up the mesothelium. This fluid helps organs move easily among surrounding structures. In the case of the lung, it helps reduce friction between the lung and chest wall during normal breathing as the lung expands. The most common place for mesothelioma to develop is in the mesothelial membrane, also called the pleural lining, surrounding the lungs.
In cats there are many different types of diseases that can harm them greatly. One of the scariest, and comon, in humans and our animal counter parts, is cancer. Cancer can be painful, terrifying, and and too many cases, deadly.
Cancer is a method by which normal cells of the body mutate and develop quickly into abnormal cells. As early as the 1880s, the only method of treatment of cancer was a radical surgery. This same method of treatment continued into the 1980s. Before chemotherapy, people were treated with comfort measures, meaning they were given drugs to help relieve the pain until they died. Also, before the 1950s, if you were admitted into a hospital with a cancer that could not be treated with surgery, it was understood you were there to die. In the beginning of the 20th century, treatment for cancer consisted of removing small cancers and those that were easily removed by surgery. Later on, radiation therapy was used to prevent the growth of those tumors that were not removed during surgery; then, chemotherapy was used to remove even smaller tumors that could not be removed by surgery or treated by radiation.
Cancer is a condition in the body when there is uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that evolve into tumors. Fatty food, smoking, and drinking all affect the chances of developing cancer. Treatments for cancer include, but are not limited to, Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Anyone can become a victim of cancer, but we can decrease our chances of getting cancer by being more informed on the disease and how to prevent it.
The second most typical tumors found in children are brain tumors. Brain tumors are the primary cause of childhood death as they are escalating in frequency. Doctors have found ways to advance their imaging of these brain tumors to help pinpoint the exact location of the tumors, increasing the chance of the children’s survival (Conway, Asuncion, and DaRasso 1). The diagnosing procedure is a crucial process, helping to gain information about the child’s tumor. Brain tumors range in different types of tumors and forms of treatment that can lead to major effects on the children and their families.
Cancer. A word that many people know as a reality. There are many different types of cancer that affect various amounts of people. One especially dangerous cancer is neuroblastoma. “Neuroblastoma . . . accounts for about 6% of all cancers in children . . . The average age at the time of diagnosis is about 1 to 2 years” ("What Are the Key Statistics about Neuroblastoma?"). Neuroblastoma is a devastating cancer found mostly in young children that is hard to terminate but learning the symptoms and most effective treatments can help with diagnosis and cure for an affected child.
There's a disease that lurks among young children even to this day. It's a direct result of a mutation in the genes that could result in the removal of the eye. Both boys and girls are affected, and one in every fifteen to thirty thousand babies is infected every year (Ambramson, Ch1). This eye corrupting, chromosomal abnormality shows up in about 300-350 new cases each year. It is called retinoblastoma.
Cancer is a word which evokes many different images and emotions. Nothing in this world can prepare a person for the utter devastation of finding out someone has been diagnosed with cancer, especially when this person is a child. Over the past twenty five years the amount of research and the survival rate for children suffering with cancer have increased dramatically. Despite these successes, the funding for new research necessary to keep these children alive and healthy is miniscule and too dependent on short term grants. Of the billions of dollars spent each year on cancer treatments and research less than a third is contributed to researching pediatric cancer. Given the media focus on adult cancers, research for pediatric cancer is underfunded. In order to maintain the increasing survival rate of the children undergoing pediatric cancer and support those who have survived the disease, better funding is quintessential to develop and further promote research.
Most parents remembered hearing about the importance of protecting their children from the sun, yet children are still playing in the sun without sunscreen or protective clothing. Many people these days are not taking skin cancer seriously after knowing its significance. Skin cancer has been a growing problem in the United States and millions of people have suffered from it every year. The three most common skin cancers are Melanoma, Basal cell, and Squamous cell, which can cause bumps, sores, growths, etc. Skin cancer is a deadly disease with many causes, but the advantage is that it can be prevented.
The word melanoma comes from the Greek words, melas (black) and -oma (tumour). It is a very serious cancer that most often occurs in the skin and less frequently in the eye or in the lining of the nose, mouth, or genitals. Melanoma begins in melanocytes, cells that make a pigment called melanin. Both light- and dark-skinned people have melanin, which gives colour to the skin, hair, and parts of the eye.
Dian Fossey was so driven to protect mountain gorillas because they are an endangered species. Several threats have kept their population from thriving. One threat is disease, especially those which humans are equally as vulnerable to (Ferber, 2000). Tourists enjoy visiting the mountains of Rwanda to admire the gorillas and encourage their safety; however, humans help put mountain gorillas at risk. In 1999, a team of researchers with the Journal of Parasitology noted roundworm parasites in the feces of mountain gorillas (Ferber, 2000). These parasites normally have affected only humans through contaminated water. Early, in 1988, blood and tissue samples of several mountain gorillas indicated measles infection (Ferber, 2000).
Reports on Veterinary Research Findings from Baylor College of Medicine, College of Medicine Provide New Insights. " Food & Farm Week 92 (2010): n. pag. Print. The. Richman, Laura K., Richard J. Montali, Richard C. Cambre, Dennis Schmitt, Douglas Hardy, Thomas Hildbrandt, Roy G. Bengis, Fayez M. Hamzeh, Akbar Shahkolahi, and Gary S. Hayward. " Clinical and Pathological Findings of a Newly Recognized Disease of Elephants Caused by Endotheliotropic Herpesviruses."
Holcomb, D. 2005. "Pseudoryx nghetinhensis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 14, 2014 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Pseudoryx_nghetinhensis/