A preliminary overview of skin and skeletal diseases and traumata in small cetaceans from South American waters

We succinctly review and document new cases of diseases of the skin and the skeletal system and external traumata in cetaceans from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Venezuela. The survey revealed 590 cases diagnosed with a significant pathology, injury or malformation on a total of 7635 specimens of 12 odontocete species examined or observed in 1984-2007. Tattoo skin disease (TSD), lobomycosis-like disease (LLD) and cutaneous diseases of unknown aetiology seem to be emerging in several populations. TSD was confirmed in eight species from the SE Pacific and SW Atlantic. LLD affected only inshore Tursiops truncatus but was found in four tropical countries, namely Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Lobomycosis was confirmed by histology in one male from the Tramandaí estuary, southern Brazil. All LLD-affected specimens were encountered in the vicinity of major ports and cities and a possible association with chemical or organic water pollution is suspected. Whitish velvety cutaneous marks associated with scars occurred in inshore T. truncatus, Sotalia guianensis and Pseudorca crassidens. Large, rounded lesions were seen in a Cephalorhynchus eutropia calf and a C. commersonii. Cutaneous wounds and scars as well as body traumata possibly related to net entanglements and boat collisions were observed in 73 delphinids and Phocoena spinipinnis. Traumatic injuries resulted in the partial or complete amputation and other disfiguring scars of appendages in 17 cases. Fractures of the skull, ribs and vertebrae thought to be caused by fisheries-related interactions or boat collisions were seen in single individuals of Delphinus capensis, Lagenorhynchus obscurus, T. truncatus, S. guianensis and Ziphius cavirostris. Prevalence of osteopathology in small cetaceans from Peru, Brazil and Venezuela ranged widely, from 5.4% to 69.1%. In four species from Peru, lytic cranial lesions were the most frequently observed disease (5.4%-42.9%), followed by hyperostosis and ankylosing spondylitis in offshore (31%, n=42) and inshore (15.4%, n=26) T. truncatus. Fractures and other bone traumata were present in 47.2% of 53 axial skeletons of S. guianensis from the northern Rio de Janeiro state (Brazil) in 1987-1998. A high prevalence (48.4%, n=31) of, apparently congenital, malformations of cervical vertebrae, observed in a 2001-2006 sample, may be explained by a hypothetical genetic bottleneck in this population. Malformations with deficient ossification would clearly increase susceptibility for fractures. This study demonstrates the utility of a continent-wide analysis to discern epizootiological trends more readily than any local study could provide. Secondly, it underscores the need for focussed research on the effects of human activities on the spread of diseases in cetaceans, particularly in near-shore populations that utilize highly degraded coastal habitats

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Tobacco Smoke Occupational Exposure: Biomarkers of Biological Damage

Work perfomed by Instituto Nacional Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Laboratório de Análises de Dopagem, Instituto do Desporto de Portugal, Clínica Universitária Pneumologia, Faculdade Medicina Lisboa, Hospital Santa MariaHigh concentration of toxic substances emanated from tobacco smoke in entertainment places such as restaurants, bars and nightclubs may compromise indoor air quality (IAQ) generating environments of likelihood health risk. Their employees, particularly those exposed to second-hand smoke, are at increased risk for developing chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung cancer. Objectives In this work, we aimed at evaluating relationships between occupational ETS exposure, biological damage (DNA or proteome alterations) and putative respiratory dysfunctions. Materials and Methods A group of restaurants located in Lisbon has been studied, in which fine particles (smaller than 2.5µm; PM2.5), indicative of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) contamination, were measured. After informed consent, workers were evaluated for acute exposure to ETS based on cotinine levels in urine and clinically evaluated for their respiratory health by spirometry measurements and chestpiece auscultation. Effects of ETS exposure on genotoxic lesions were evaluated by measuring DNA/chromosomes breaks in peripheral blood lymphocytes and buccal mucosa cells. Effects of ETS exposure on plasma proteins is being studied using a 2D-DIGE-MALDI-TOF/TOF approach. To achieve that goal, global proteome characterization is being carried based on the same individual plasma samples collected for genotoxic studies and were pooled according to previous criteria. Results Results have confirmed higher respirable particle levels in smoking-designated areas of those entertainment places, indicating an ETS contamination. Leukocytes from ETS-exposed-workers presented lower levels of genotoxic-induced damage in comparison with non-exposed workers, suggesting an ETS-induced stress adaption response in exposed-workers. By proteomics, we are now to investigating those workers for putative alterations on their plasma proteome to provide additional insights on the adaptative response mechanisms that might be activated by ETS exposition. Conclusion Altogether, this study provides information on indoor air quality of Lisbon smoking entertainment places, in particular ETS contamination, and may provide biomarker candidates for occupational ETS-exposure which might precede respiratory diseases on their employees.Work supported by Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Administração Central do Sistema de Saúde, FCT/PolyAnnual Funding Program and FEDER/SaudeXXI Program, Portugal. VDM, SP,NC,BA and TS, are recipients of FCT fellowships

Peccary movements as determinants of the movements of large cats in Brazilian Amazonia

As part of a study on the ecology of a community of middle-sized and larger mammals in a seasonally dry forest in the far north of the Brazilian Amazonia, peccaries (the white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari and the collared peccary Tayassu tajacu) and large cats (the jaguar Panthera onca and the puma Puma concolor) were regularly surveyed for 1 year. Diurnal and nocturnal surveys were carried out by the line-transect method, in five different forest types along a 10 km transect, and data were collected on their use of the forest types. The peccary herds and the large cats were sighted regularly throughout the study period, but more frequently over the dry season in the high-ground forests in eastern Maracá. Over the dry season, when food was scarce except in the Buritizals, T. pecari, closely followed by a P. onca, monopolized the Buritizal forests, whereas T. tajacu, followed by a P. concolor, exploited the other available high-ground forest types. Fluctuations in food supply regulated the dynamics of the two species of peccaries, which ultimately determined the whereabouts of the large cat predators. This may be a counter-strategy to survive in an extremely seasonal environment where food, more than any other variable, is the key determinant of the survival of both peccaries and large cats. © 2007 The Zoological Society of London