3. Enclosure (Pipe) Sampling
Count Number of Dips
Dip until No Larvae
Captured after 10 dips
Is probability of
transmission
affected?
4. Co-housing Animals
Mean =
0.8 – 0.9 contacts/min for 40 tadpoles/m2
(10 tadpoles per 5-gal [19 L] bucket)
All should contact each other in 9 Minutes
10, 20, 40%
X
15, 30, 60 min
What about
gloves?
Ranavirus Example
5. Methods: Cohousing
450 Total Animals
Cohouse in buckets for 15, 30, or 60 minutes;
10%, 20%, or 40% infected; 50 animals per treatment
7. Methods: Glove Change
(600 total animals)
• Change
gloves
or
don’t
change
gloves
• Vary
density
of
infected
individuals
5%
40%
10%
20%
100
animals
per
treatment
for
14
days
600
animals
total
19. Type of swab:
1. Individually packaged.
2. Wire or plastic shaft (plastic often is
designed with breaking point so no need for
additional instrument to cut the shaft when
placing in tube). NOTE: wood shafts may
interfere with molecular testing
3. Microtip is easier for smaller species
20. Swabbing Anurans
Bd and Bsal Surveillance
Non-lethal Techniques:Brem et al. (2007)
Swabbing Preferred
Swab 5 times in 5 locations
A. Cressler,
USGS
A. Cressler,
USGS
• Ventral feet
• Inner thighs
• Ventral Abdomen
Larvae:
Swab Oral Cavity 5 times
Adults: if needed, lightly rinse with sterile
water to remove any dirt/debris
Store:
1. Dry swab (refrigerate or freeze)
2. 70% EtOH if you cannot dry the
swab or keep it cool
21. Swabbing Salamanders
Bd and Bsal Surveillance
Ventral surfaces (all feet, belly, tail); 5 times
each, often they will grab the swab and you can
twirl it while they hold onto it.
24. Sample Storage
Individual tubes (if shipping, USE SCREW TOP TUBES)
LABEL!! Use marker that will not come off with ethanol/
alcohol
90% EtOH or keep cool
40. Disinfecting Equipment
Spray Bottle or Immersion
• Bleach >4%
• EtOH >70%
• Virkon >1%
• Nolvasan >0.75%
Johnson et al. (2003), Bryan et al. (2009), Gold et al. (2013)
$50/
bottle
41. Amphibian Biosecurity References
www.separc.org
Dodd, C. K., editor. 2009. Amphibian Ecology
and Conservation: A handbook of techniques.
Oxford University Press, UK.
ISBN 9780199541188
Pessier, A.P. and
J.R. Mendelson
(eds.). 2010.
Miller et al. (2015)
50. List of Contents & MSDS if Needed
• Detailed list of all contents
• Description and location of die-off
• Requested services
• Contact information of the shipper
▪ General Pathological Screening
▪ Specific Pathogen Testing
MSDS Required
▪ EtOH or Formalin
51. Labeling
University of Tennessee (Matthew J. Gray, Ph.D.)
Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
Institute of Agriculture
274 Ellington Plant Sciences Building
Knoxville, TN 37996-4563 USA
Debra L. Miller, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
The University of Georgia
43 Brighton Road
Tifton, GA 31793-1389
Contents: Exempt Animal Specimen (Refrigerate upon Arrival)
Phone: 229-386-3340
(5 lbs) (>1 L or 33.8 oz)(<500 mL, <30 mL Container)
Dangerous Goods
Excepted Quantity
Dangerous Goods in
Hazardous Quantity
No statement
required for
environmental
samples
53. Why?
› Culture for pathogen (virus isolation or fungal
culture or if looking for the causative
bacteria): often is not possible from autolysed
tissues because of growth/contamination of
postmortem organisms.
› PCR: DNA becomes compromised and can
be harder to extract and detect with autolysis,
contamination (bacterial overgrowth).
› Histology!! Huge difference in what can be
seen under the microscope.
55. Adult salamander liver
Dead for greater than a day before fixing in alcohol & shipping
Adult salamander liver
Necropsied immediately after death
Adult liver
Fixed in ethanol shortly after
death and then shipped
56. Tadpole liver
Collected fresh and shipped
overnight with plenty of cold packs
Tadpole liver
Collected fresh and shipped
overnight with too few cold packs