This webinar was originally presented on August 7th, 2024
This seminar, organized in collaboration with the AAZV Animal Health and Welfare Committee, was originally held on Wednesday, August 7th. Attendees of the live webinar were eligible to earn up to 1.5 CE hours, certified by the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM). Individuals viewing the recorded webinar are not eligible to earn CEs.
Seminar Abstracts:
Mycobacteriosis in Amphibians (click to view slides)
Dr. Ellie Milnes MA, VetMB, MVetSci, DVSc, DECZM (ZHM), DACZM; Lecturer in Conservation Medicine, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, United Kingdom
In 2017, the emergence of a new, highly pathogenic strain of Mycobacterium marinum in a zoo population of frogs not only caused an epizootic in the amphibians, but resulted in a public health investigation that impacted the veterinarians, zoo staff, and the largest mycobacteriology laboratory in North America. This presentation will give an overview of the disease in amphibians including clinical presentation, diagnostics, and management, using the 2017 case series to illustrate important points for practising zoo and companion exotic animal veterinarians.
Tuberculosis in Free-Ranging African Wildlife (click to view slides)
Prof. Michele Miller, DVM, MS, MPH, PhD, DECZM (ZHM); National Research Foundation South African Research Chair in Animal Tuberculosis, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
This presentation will provide an overview of species affected by TB, clinical presentation, pathology, and diagnostic approaches, primarily focused on free-ranging mammals found in South Africa. The learning objectives are to provide a current update to zoo and wildlife veterinarians which will increase awareness of TB in wildlife, potential diagnostic approaches, and species susceptibility.
Avian Mycobacterial: An Overview and Case Series for Practical Management Strategies in a Zoological Setting
Annie Rivas, DVM, DACZM; Director of Animal Health, Minnesota Zoo
This presentation will provide an overview of the mycobacterial disease in avian species, including risk factors, transmission, clinical presentations, diagnostics, and treatment considerations. It will also provide several case studies of mycobacterial disease in zoo-housed birds, with different management strategies for this complex disease in each case.
Tuberculosis in Captive Nonhuman Primates (click to view slides)
Chelsea Wallace, DVM, DACLAM; Senior Director, Program for Conservation Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex includes several bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium that can have profound impacts on captive nonhuman primate colonies. This presentation will give an overview of Tuberculosis in nonhuman primates, discussing transmission, clinical presentations, surveillance and diagnostics, and treatment considerations.
Speaker Bios:
Dr. Ellie Milnes MA, VetMB, MVetSci, DVSc, DECZM (ZHM), DACZM
Ellie graduated from the University of Cambridge vet school in 2010. After a few years of dairy cattle practice in New Zealand, she moved to Canada and completed the joint University of Guelph-Toronto Zoo residency in zoological medicine and pathology in 2018. Subsequently she has worked as an international zoo locum including for the Zoological Society of London, the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine at Auckland Zoo, and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. She is a diplomate of both the American and European Colleges of Zoological Medicine. Ellie is a part-time lecturer in conservation medicine at the Royal Veterinary College in London but is mostly based in South Africa, where she is a PhD student at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Research.
Prof. Michele Miller, DVM, MS, MPH, PhD, DECZM (ZHM)
Michele received her MS and PhD in Immunology, and DVM from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Masters’ in Public Health (MPH) at the University of Florida-Gainesville. She is also a diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine. She did her post-doctoral training at San Diego Zoo, then went onto work at several zoos in the U.S. including being a Veterinary Manager at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. She moved to South Africa in 2013 and is currently the NRF South African Research Chair in Animal TB at Stellenbosch University, although she is based full-time in Kruger National Park. Michele is actively involved in wildlife research, particularly focusing on TB and other zoonotic diseases at human-animal-environment interfaces, using a One Health approach.
Annie Rivas, DVM, DACZM
Anne Rivas is Director of Animal Health at the Minnesota Zoo, where she joined the team in 2021. Previously she worked as an associate veterinarian at the Birmingham Zoo. As with most zoo veterinarian, it was a long path to her current role. Following graduation from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, she completed a one-year clinical internship in small animal surgery, emergency, and internal medicine at VCA Emergency Animal Hospital and Referral Center in San Diego. Subsequently, she pursued specialty training as a zoological medicine intern at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, and then as a zoological medicine and surgery resident at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York. She is a Diplomat in the American College of Zoo Medicine, or in other words a board-certified specialist in zoo medicine, and the first such specialist to work in the state of Minnesota. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking and paddle boarding with her dogs, and exploring the Twin Cities food scene.
Chelsea Wallace, DVM, DACLAM
Chelsea Wallace is Senior Director of the Program for Comparative Medicine in the Gene Therapy Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Following veterinary school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she completed a residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently obtained board certification from the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors, travelling, listening to live music, and a good vintage flea market.