5.13 Disease and Pathogens
Wildlife can serve as a reservoir for zoonotic diseases and pathogens that naturally occur within wildlife populations with little efect on populations but which have the potential to create spillover efects that afect human health. Examples of zoonotic diseases that can spillover from wildlife to humans include tickborne diseases (e.g., Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis , Rocky Mountain spotted fever), leprosy, brucellosis, ebola, rabies, and hantaviruses to name a few. Newly introduced diseases can be carried by exotic nonnative species, or captive-raised animals that have been released to the wild. Unnatural high densities facilitated by wild-life feeding and baiting can lead to increased densities of wildlife species and comingling, increasing the prevalence and transmission rates of wildlife disease. When disease in wildlife is associated with human behaviors, steps to educate the public and reduce the incidence of such behaviors should be implemented in an efective way. In some cases, wildlife may develop diseases or conditions they would not normally have but which are the result of human-induced conditions. Examples include the incidence of pancreatic cancer, diabetes, intersex malformations, and tooth decay. Black Bears have been found with tooth decay likely caused by consumption of bait foods containing high concentrations of sugar. Another example is of freshwater fsh species that exhibit intersex characteristics because of exposure to EDCs and hormone-mimicking chemicals found in wastewaters discharged into surface waters. In North Carolina, certain diseases and conditions are reportable to the Department of Health and Human Services, including diseases that afect wildlife or those for which wild- life can be a vector for human infection. A list of reportable diseases and information on each is available at http://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/cd/report.html#which. Additional infor- mation on wildlife diseases is available from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), which conducts research and publishes information about a number of wildlife disease issues (http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information). Te Wildlife Disease Association (www.wildlifedisease.org) is a membership organization that acquires, dis- seminates, and applies knowledge of the health and disease of wild animals in relation to their biology, conservation, and ecology, including interactions with humans and domestic animals. 5.13.1 Amphibians—Anticipated Impacts Worldwide amphibian population declines have been attributed to numerous causes, primarily anthropogenic, but an increasing threat with signifcant impacts comes from Chytridiomycota fungus (e.g., chytrid) and Iridoviridae pathogens (e.g., ranaviruses) (Harp and Petranka 2006) . Fungal diseases have been linked to the global declines and extinctions in amphibian populations because they often interfere with the animal’s ability to regulate body fuids and osmotic pressure, which eventually leads to death (Briggs et al. 2010; Rollins-Smith et al. 2011; McCallum 2012) . Stressors such as pollution, habitat changes, and climate change can
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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