Public Health in Zoo
Public health is very important in a zoo and wild animal setup to prevent zoonotic diseases. Various procedure are performed by veterinarians team to maintain public health.
Preventive Medicine and Sanitation Related with Carcass Disposal
Glutaraldehyde shall be chosen for the disinfections processes after the disposal of the carcass, subsequent to the post-mortem. Anthrax affected carcass or suspected carcass should not be opened and the burial should be carried out atleast with two metre depth, with a sample spread-over of quicklime.
It may be better to burry the carcass, together with the bedding and soil contaminated with discharge. If spore formation occurs (within few hours of exposure to air), strong-disinfectants may be used like Lysol (this should be in contact with spores for atleast 2 days)or strong solution of formalin or sodium hydroxide at the strength of 5-10%.
Burning by using a incinerator will be a better practice of disposal of carcass, since it avoids feeding of infected carcass by scavengers like hyena, jackals etc. and also helps to prevent the contamination of the environment in which other wild animals are confined.
Clinical and Non-Clinical Waste Disposal Procedures
These procedures need to be maintained in a perfect condition in appropriate polythene bags without any spillage in the environment.
Sanitation and Parturition
Documentations are available on the high incidence of enteric infections in cages with has not been cleaned well after the cubbing / farrowing / calving / whelping etc.
Unhygienic status maintained within the wild animal cages especially the ones with the new born wild animals lead to infection in the young ones.
Sanitation Within the Animal Houses
Despite proper cleaning and one or two times of washing of floor, there are more chances for the accumulation of feces and feces which often get mixed with urine and they get embedded in the crevices of floor or wall. Hence there may be a possibility of a heavy “build-up-of-Potentially Pathogenic Bacteria ”.
Often, due to the conditions like suitable climate that comprises the apt temperature, humidity and rain fall changes, there is increase in the spread and survival of these bacterial organisms especially ,when cleaning works are not done in a proper manner.
Application of effective disinfectants like the glutaraldehyde will be of highly useful in destroying the bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic pathogens.
Sanitation With Regard to Vessels
Any stainless steel surfaces (feeding vessels if any) may be cleaned and disinfected with trisodium phosphate.
During adaptation of the sanitation measures in the animal room, it is to be noted that since the alkalis are non-toxic, when adequately diluted they leave no residual odor and are even used in the treatment of floor in food factories and hence can be safely used for floors.
Particularly these materials will be of useful in places where layers of fatty materials may accumulate.
Other Measures
Inside the animal cage / room, the debris need to be cleaned every day.
The high pressure based hose pipe should not be used, because it will lead to the deposition of fomites, aerosol and debris on walls etc.
Always foot bath is to be provided before each wild animal enclosure and the animal keeper should develop the routine habit of dipping his legs in this, before each time of entry in to the animal place.
Immuno-Globulins as Preventive Medicine
Environmental pathogens do the considerable risk to the new born wild animals like wild felid species. These wild animal species are generally at the greater risk due to the failure of passive transfer of these antibodies, if the young ones are rejected before receiving the colostrums. This is especially true with the underweight and weak neonates or the ones that are unable to compete with the others for feeding.
Collection and long –term storage of serum and or plasma from all exotics that have breeding potential is recommended as a source for supplemental IgG.
Also, screen the potential donors against the commonly encountered diseases in the concerned species.
Preventive Medicine in Metabolic Bone Disease
If wild animals are fed a diet with imbalanced calcium – phosphorous ratio or if they have chronic intestinal malabsorption, metabolic bone disease may occur in them, especially in case of species that are bone eaters like hyaena.
To avoid this, access to sun light may be provided for the prevention of this disease. Provision of supplemental drugs enriched with calcium and phosphorous may be carried out as one of the effective preventive medicine, against the occurrence of metabolic bone disease.
Preventive Measures Against Important Diseases
There are many diseases that occur in a frequent manner in captive wild animal admosphere and vaccinations are being given for some.
However, more research aspects have to be carried out in this regard to strengthen the protective measures in captive wild animals.
Anthrax
Anthrax bacilli sporulate only if exposed to oxygen. Vegetative forms present in tissues and body fluids die out, if the carcase is not opened.
Tuberculosis
Isolate the reactors or the tested ones that are suspected to be positive. Avoid congestion of number of animals in a single enclosure.
Multiple drug combination with isoniazid may be given but the serological monitoring of biochemical parameters should be carried out to assess the health status of the concerned wild animal species
Pasteurellosis in Mammals
Carry out the vaccination in the endemic areas against hemorrhagic septicemia.
Oil adjuvant vaccine protects animals against the attack of the disease for a long time, than the case with alum precipitated vaccine.
Fowl Cholera
In aquatic and semi-aquatic birds, this disease may occur.
Good management, sanitation and hygiene are the preventive steps to be taken with regard to this disease condition.
Leptospirosis
Efficient control of wild rodents should be carried out.
Maintenance of hygienic standards to prevent the contamination of food resources and in particular the water resources with urine.
Detection of the infected animals by serological and bacteriological tests and their separation from healthy animals should be carried out.
Immunization may be carried out in case of carnivores esp. in the endemic areas.
Black Quarter
Hygienic maintenance is the specific preventive step against the occurrence of this disease.
Destruction of carcases by burning and cleaning and effective treatment of wounds should be carried out as preventive steps of minimizing the spread.
Salmonellosis
Culture of diarrhoeic animals will reveal the diseased ones and isolate the diseased animal as one of the preventive step to minimize the spread of the problem.
It is important to remove all the possible sources of infection, carrier animals, rodents, contaminated.
Coli Bacillosis
Coli Bacillosis is common in case of young ones. Provide hygienic management measures.
Avoid over crowding of animals of one species.
Dermatophytoses (Ringworm)
Contaminated enclosures, equipment and bedding should be disinfected by spraying copper sulphate solution or 5 % lime sulphur solution. This helps to diminish the reservoir of infection.
Fallen skin crusts have to be disposed off to check the spread of infection from diseased to other.
Preventive Medicine
Apply suitable antiseptic solution like povidone iodine solution to the severed spot of umbilical cord by careful methods. This helps to avoid the development of umbilical infections especially in case of new born elephants.
The new born elephant has an open umbilical sheath that can be mistaken for an umbilical cord, often. The cord (umbilical artery and veins) actually gets retracted inside the sheath into the abdomen.
When disinfecting the umbilical sheath, use a syringe to deliver disinfectant into the open umbilical sheath and just dipping the umbilical structure as done by many persons will not be adequate as a preventive step to minimize the occurrence of umbilical infections in wild animal species like elephants.
Vaccination
Vaccination as the Preventive Measures captive felids like tigers, lions and panthers are routinely protected by preventive vaccination against calci virus, feline pan leukopenia and feline rhino tracheitis.
Similarly, in endemic areas of specific disease like HS or FMD or Anthrax, the periodical vaccination needs to be carried out against such diseases, in the susceptible hooved stock.
