Consortium for Conservation Medicine

The Consortium for Conservation Medicine is a unique collaborative institution that strives to understand the link between anthropogenic environmental change, the health of all species, and the conservation of biodiversity.

Top News Stories

Call for Global Disease Surveillance

The sixth, biennial CDC-run International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases promoted an urgent call for more disease surveillance. Military and civilian scientists presented their collaborative efforts at the conference. Peter Daszak, President of the Wildlife Trust, stated, "Once you know the trends in emerging diseases, you can do something to prevent them. I know there has been a lot of effort for avian influenza surveillance, but who is going out there to look for the next disease? That’s my message -- that we can put a little bit of our resources into seeking out the next pathogen and doing something about it."

Breakthrough in modeling emerging disease hotspots

CCM scientists' work is published in a Nature article, which analyzed 335 emerging diseases from 1940 to 2004, then converted the results into maps correlated with human population density, population changes, latitude, rainfall and wildlife biodiversity. The data showed that disease emergences have roughly quadrupled over the past 50 years. Some 60 percent of the diseases traveled from animals to humans (zoonoses) and the majority of those came from wild creatures. Peter Daszak, corresponding author and director of the study, said that "about 20 percent of known emergences are multidrug-resistant strains of previously known pathogens, including tuberculosis. Richer nations’ increasing reliance on modern antibiotics has helped breed such dangerous strains, some strains, such as lethal variants of the common bacteria e. coli, now spread widely with great speed because products like raw vegetables are processed in huge, centralized facilities. Disease can be a cost of development."

Amphibian Salvation via Modern Day Ark

An article in PLoS Biology just released details the plight of amphibians and an ambitions project coordinated by the Amphibian Ark that just may go a good way towards halting the global decline of this veterbrate class. Peter Daszak is quoted as saying that the "the amphibian crisis has put a new perspective on how conservation efforts must address ecosystem health. As climate change shifts the range of species, putting pathogens into contact with new hosts or aiding disease spread, conservation must mature to deal with the problems." Read the full PDF here.

CCM Study Reveals Parasites as Primary Cause of Panda Mortality

Research by scientists at the Wildlife Trust's CCM, published in the March 2008 issue of EcoHealth, suggests that the current most significant threat to wild panda survival is an emerging disease due to an ascarid nematode. ProMed and USA Today have run cover-stories highlighting these findings by Dr. Jinshuo Zhang from the Beijing Institute of Zoology and Dr. Shuyi Zhang from East China Normal University, Shanghai. Click to view PDF.

CCM Seals Joint Initiative with China

In June 2007, the CCM officially entered into an agreement to instate a Joint Institute with Shanghai's East China Normal University (ECNU). The Institute, which will be based at the ECNU campus in China, will foster international collaboration among scientists and promote interdisciplinary education in a means to influence policy. Among key tasks set forth is the collaboration of research laboratories in China and Australia to continue investigations concerning the wildlife reservoir of the SARS-like Corona viruses. The joint Institute is co-directed by Professor Shuyi Zhang of ECNU and Peter Daszak, President of the Wildlife Trust.





	The Consortium for Conservation Medicine is a unique collaborative institution that strives to understand the link between anthropogenic environmental change, the health of all species, and the conservation of biodiversity. Top News Stories Call for Global Disease Surveillance The sixth, biennial CDC-run International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases promoted an urgent call for more disease surveillance. Military and civilian scientists presented their collaborative efforts at the conference. Peter Daszak, President of the Wildlife Trust, stated, "Once you know the trends in emerging diseases, you can do something to prevent them. I know there has been a lot of effort for avian influenza surveillance, but who is going out there to look for the next disease? That’s my message -- that we can put a little bit of our resources into seeking out the next pathogen and doing something about it." Breakthrough in modeling emerging disease hotspots CCM scientists' work is published in a Nature article, which analyzed 335 emerging diseases from 1940 to 2004, then converted the results into maps correlated with human population density, population changes, latitude, rainfall and wildlife biodiversity. The data showed that disease emergences have roughly quadrupled over the past 50 years. Some 60 percent of the diseases traveled from animals to humans (zoonoses) and the majority of those came from wild creatures. Peter Daszak, corresponding author and director of the study, said that "about 20 percent of known emergences are multidrug-resistant strains of previously known pathogens, including tuberculosis. Richer nations’ increasing reliance on modern antibiotics has helped breed such dangerous strains, some strains, such as lethal variants of the common bacteria e. coli, now spread widely with great speed because products like raw vegetables are processed in huge, centralized facilities. Disease can be a cost of development." Amphibian Salvation via Modern Day Ark An article in PLoS Biology just released details the plight of amphibians and an ambitions project coordinated by the Amphibian Ark that just may go a good way towards halting the global decline of this veterbrate class. Peter Daszak is quoted as saying that the "the amphibian crisis has put a new perspective on how conservation efforts must address ecosystem health. As climate change shifts the range of species, putting pathogens into contact with new hosts or aiding disease spread, conservation must mature to deal with the problems." Read the full PDF here. CCM Study Reveals Parasites as Primary Cause of Panda Mortality Research by scientists at the Wildlife Trust's CCM, published in the March 2008 issue of EcoHealth, suggests that the current most significant threat to wild panda survival is an emerging disease due to an ascarid nematode. ProMed and USA Today have run cover-stories highlighting these findings by Dr. Jinshuo Zhang from the Beijing Institute of Zoology and Dr. Shuyi Zhang from East China Normal University, Shanghai. Click to view PDF. CCM Seals Joint Initiative with China In June 2007, the CCM officially entered into an agreement to instate a Joint Institute with Shanghai's East China Normal University (ECNU). The Institute, which will be based at the ECNU campus in China, will foster international collaboration among scientists and promote interdisciplinary education in a means to influence policy. Among key tasks set forth is the collaboration of research laboratories in China and Australia to continue investigations concerning the wildlife reservoir of the SARS-like Corona viruses. The joint Institute is co-directed by Professor Shuyi Zhang of ECNU and Peter Daszak, President of the Wildlife Trust.	In the News Reuters West Nile killing off beloved U.S. birds: Study USA Today West Nile virus depletes bird species from coast to coast Associated Press West Nile virus decimates suburban birds ABC News Avian Flu Migration NPR Researchers Debate Potential Path of Bird Flu Listen to Interview The Boston Globe Scientists Criticize Bird Flu Search CNN.com Study: Look South for Bird Flu Wisconsin State Journal Internatioanl Ecology Group Starts in City Science The Galapagos Islands Kiss Their Goat Problems Goodbye Conservation In Practice Evolutionary Tinkering


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