Wildlife Health Research Group

Wildlife Health Research studies pathogens and diseases affecting free-ranging and captive wildlife populations. We provide a wide range of expertise to address important research needs in wildlife health relevant to conservation (in-situ and ex-situ), animal welfare and diseases with significance to livestock and public health.

Contact information

Name : Dr Jasmin Hufschmid
Title: Lecturer in Wildlife Health
Email: huj@unimelb.edu.auPhone: 03 97312020
Campus: Werribee
Faculty: Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne

Researchers

Graduate Research students

Alistair Legione
Amanda Breidahl
Christina Chang
Dani Sisson
Jemima Amery-Gale
Mary Shuttleworth
Paola Vaz
Peter Holz
Siyu Wang

Next : Research

Current Projects

Health surveys of native animals
Identification and characterisation of wildlife pathogens (morphological and molecular), including viruses, bacteria, micro- and macroparasites
Wildlife toxicology
Conservation health/One Health
Wildlife as reservoirs of zoonotic disease
Epidemiology of wildlife diseases
Disease and health investigations of zoo animals
Strong collaboration with Wildlife Health Surveillance Victoria
Wildlife immunology – marsupial and monotreme
Wildlife diagnostic development

Projects for prospective research students:

Health surveys of native animal species
Impacts of Toxoplasma gondii on native animals
Contact us with any specific ideas

Next : Services

We are interested in discussing research contracts in most areas of wildlife health

Members of this research group have a strong interest in wildlife health-related research, and can offer great expertise in a wide range of disciplines, including microbiology, virology, parasitology, epidemiology, toxicology, conservation health, wildlife medicine and disease ecology.

We have established many valuable collaborations with other university-based research teams nationally and internationally, as well as with organisations such as Zoos Victoria, DELWP, Parks Victoria, CSIRO (AAHL) and DEDJTR. These relationships allow us to offer truly multi-disciplinary research teams and projects.

We can provide research services in the following fields:

Health investigations into endangered species to determine if disease is a likely threatening process
Health screening of endangered species involved in captive breeding programs (both before bringing them into captivity, and before release)
Risk analyses for wildlife diseases
Health surveys of wildlife species, including field work
Diagnostic capability for a wide range of micro- and macroparasites, including viruses

Next : Publications

Key Publications

Aussavy, M., Bernardin, E., Corrigan, A., Hufschmid, J., Beveridge, I. (2011) Helminthparasite communities in four species of sympatric macropodids in western Victoria. Australian Mammalogy 33:13-20.

Cuttell L, Corley SW, Gray CP, Vanderlinde PB, Jackson LA, Traub RJ. (2012)Real-time PCR as a surveillance tool for the detection of Trichinella infection in muscle samples from wildlife.Veterinary Parasitology 188(3-4):285-93. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.03.054.

Cuttell L, Gómez-Morales MA, Cookson B, Adams PJ, Reid SA, Vanderlinde PB, Jackson LA, Gray C, Traub RJ. (2014) Evaluation of ELISA coupled with Western blot as a surveillance tool for Trichinella infection in wild boar (Sus scrofa). Veterinary Parasitology,199(3-4):179-90. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.10.012. Epub 2013 Oct 25.

Cuttell L, Corley SW, Gray CP, Vanderlinde PB, Jackson LA, Traub RJ. (2012)Real-time PCR as a surveillance tool for the detection of Trichinella infection in muscle samples from wildlife. Veterinary Parasitology, 188(3-4):285-93. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.03.054.

Death, C. E., Coulson, G. M., Kierdorf, U., Kierdorf, H., Morris, W. K. and Hufschmid, J.(2015) Dental fluorosis and skeletal fluoride content as biomarkers of excess fluoride exposure in marsupials. Science of The Total Environment, 533: 528-541.

Fyfe, J.A., Lavender, C.J., Handasyde, K.A., Legione, A.R., O’Brien, C.R., Stinear, T.P., Pidot, S.J., Seemann, T., Benbow, M.E. & Wallace, J.R. (2010) A major role for mammals in the ecology of Mycobacterium ulcerans. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 4(8):e791.

Holz, P.H., T. Portas, S. Donahoe, S. Crameri, and K. Rose. 2015. Mortality in northern corroboree frog tadpoles (Pseudophryne pengilleyi) associated with Tetrahymena-like infection. Australian Veterinary Journal 93: 295-297.

Hufschmid, J., Beveridge, I., Coulson, G., Walker, G., Shen, P., Reynolds, E. and Charles, J. (2015) Skeletal pathology of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) exposed to high environmental fluoride levels in south-eastern Australia. Journal of Comparative Pathology 153: 167-184

Hufschmid, J., Handasyde, K. A. and Beveridge, I. (2010) The role of host and environmental factors in the epidemiology of rumpwear in brushtail possums. Australian Journal of Zoology 58: 250-262.

Legione A.R., Amery-Gale J., Lynch M, Haynes L, Gilkerson JR, Sansom FM, Devlin JM. (2015) The first detection of Chlamydia pecorum infection in free-ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) on French Island, Victoria, Australia, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, in press

O'Brien, C.R., Handasyde, K.A., Hibble, J., Lavender, C.J., Legione, A.R., McCowan, C., Globan, M., Mitchell, A.T., McCracken, H.E. & Johnson, P.D. (2014) Clinical, microbiological and pathological findings of Mycobacterium ulcerans infection in three Australian Possum species', PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 8(1).

Patterson, J.L.S., Lynch, M., Anderson, G.A., Noormohammadi, A.H., Legione, A., Gilkerson, J.R. & Devlin, J.M. (2015) The prevalence and clinical significance of Chlamydia infection in island and mainland populations of Victorian koalas (Phascolarctos Cinereus), Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 51(2):309-317.

Portas, T.J., Cunningham, R.B., Spratt, D., Devlin, J.M., Holz, P., Batson, W., Owens, J. & Manning, A.D. (2015). Beyond morbidity and mortality in reintroduction programs: Changing health parameters in reintroduced eastern bettongs (Bettongia gaimardi). Oryx, in press

Portas, T., Fletcher, D., Spratt, D., Reiss, A., Holz, P., Stalder, K., Devlin, J.M., Taylor D., Dobroszczyk, D & Manning, A.D. (2014) Health evaluation of free-ranging eastern bettongs (Bettongia gaimardi) during translocation for reintroduction. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 50: 210-223

Stalder, K., PK Vaz, JR Gilkerson, R Baker, P Whiteley, N Ficorilli, L Tatarczuch, T Portas, K Skogvold, GA Anderson, JM Devlin (2015): Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Herpesvirus Infection in Populations of Australian Marsupials. PLoS ONE ; 10(7):e0133807. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0133807

Slocombe, R.F., C. McCowan, J. Wang, and P. Holz. 2013. Avian pox in crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans) in southern Australia. Avian Pathology 42: 147-150.

Vaz, PK., CA Hartley, GF Browning, JM Devlin (2015) Marsupial and monotreme serum immunoglobulin binding by proteins A, G and L and anti-kangaroo antibody. Journal of immunological methods; DOI:10.1016/j.jim.2015.10.007

Vaz, PK, J Motha, C McCowan, N Ficorilli, P Whiteley, CR Wilks, CA Hartley, JR Gilkerson, GF Browning, JM Devlin (2013) Isolation and characterization of a novel herpesvirus from a free-ranging eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). Journal of wildlife diseases 49(1):143-51. DOI:10.7589/2012-01-027

Vaz, PK, P Whiteley, CR Wilks, PJ Duignan, N Ficorilli, JR Gilkerson, GF Browning, JM Devlin (2011) Detection of a Novel Gammaherpesvirus in Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Journal of wildlife diseases 47(3):787-91. DOI:10.7589/0090-3558-47.3.787