Merging Wildlife and Environmental Monitoring Approaches with Forensic Principles: Application of Unconventional and Non-Invasive Sampling in Eco-Pharmacovigilance

Pharmaceutical residues in the environment have the potential to harm wildlife. A population’s fragility or an animal’s secretive nature may preclude capture and the use of invasive/destructive sampling techniques that are typically used in a risk assessment. Conventionally favoured matrices gathered opportunistically from carcasses have a finite lifespan, thereby limiting the detection window. This multidisciplinary paper aims to promote the use of non-invasive approaches and optimize use of even the most degraded carcasses. We highlight a selection of promising alternative, unconventional and underutilized sample types that could be applied in environmental monitoring efforts and wildlife forensic investigations. With a focus on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), now under increasing scrutiny in the freshwater and terrestrial environment, we first illustrate current sampling practices and gaps in knowledge by summarizing exposure of: 1) aquatic organisms to urban effluent discharged into waterways, and, 2) scavenging species to veterinary residues in livestock and other carrion. We then consider the merits and limitations of a range of alternative environmentally robust sample options that offer a broader detection interval for NSAIDs, with emphasis on hair, wool and feathers. The viability of eyes/ocular material, bone matter, fecal matter, injection sites, ingesta/pellets and scavenging/coprophagous insects are also discussed

The reference site collaborative network of the european innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing

Seventy four Reference Sites of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) have been recognised by the European Commission in 2016 for their commitment to excellence in investing and scaling up innovative solutions for active and healthy ageing. The Reference Site Collaborative Network (RSCN) brings together the EIP on AHA Reference Sites awarded by the European Commission, and Candidate Reference Sites into a single forum. The overarching goals are to promote cooperation, share and transfer good practice and solutions in the development and scaling up of health and care strategies, policies and service delivery models, while at the same time supporting the action groups in their work. The RSCN aspires to be recognized by the EU Commission as the principal forum and authority representing all EIP on AHA Reference Sites. The RSCN will contribute to achieve the goals of the EIP on AHA by improving health and care outcomes for citizens across Europe, and the development of sustainable economic growth and the creation of jobs

A preliminary assessment of the palate and tongue for detecting organophosphorus and carbamate pesticide exposure in the degraded carcasses of vultures and other animals

In many regions of the world, organophosphorus (OP) and carbamate (CM) pesticides are used to poison wildlife thought to be competing with human activities (e.g. hunting). Vultures may be secondarily poisoned or directly targeted, e.g. for muti or traditional medicine. Some OPs and CMs are so acutely toxic that animals will die with poisoned material still in their mouths - un-swallowed, before traces may have spread to other parts of the body. Even when death is more prolonged, the tissues in which residues have accumulated may deteriorate before the carcass is discovered, minimizing the chances of recovering viable samples for toxicological analyses that would conclusively identify poisoning as the cause of death. With all these factors in mind, we investigated the feasibility of detecting OP and CM pesticides in the oral cavity, with emphasis on the tongue and palate. A total of 60 degraded carcasses (n = 28 avian and 32 mammalian) recovered from various scenes of wildlife crime in Andalucía, southern Spain, where poisoning was suspected, were submitted to the Center for Analysis and Diagnosis of Wildlife in Málaga for necropsy and toxicological analyses. Of these, 20 and 24 avian and mammalian tongues, respectively, could be recovered for analysis. Separately, the palate from one degraded Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus carcass was also opportunistically retrieved and analyzed following an incident of vulture mass-mortality in which nine Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus also perished. Residues or presence of OPs and CMs were detected in one avian tongue (analyzed with food from the mouth) and four mammalian tongues. Our findings suggest avian tongues alone are not optimal, but canid tongues and those of larger mammals may lend themselves well to analysis. Detection of the OP chlorfenvinphos (3.39 mg/kg) in the Cinereous Vulture palate (the only part of the carcass in which residues were detected) indicates this is a promising sample. To our knowledge, this represents the first time that OP and CM pesticides have been detected in tongue and palate samples. We recommend further exploration of oral cavity samples, especially within the context of the risk that residues therein may pose to human health.See supplementary file attache

Role of the capsule of Photobacterium damsela subsp. piscicida in protection against phagocytosis and killing by gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata, L) macrophages

The role of the capsule in Photobacterium damsela subsp. piscicida (formerly Pasteurella piscicida) as a virulence factor was evaluated by determining the phagocytic and bactericidal activities of macrophages of gilt-head seabream. Five capsulated strains of P. damsela subsp. piscicida pathogenic for gilt-head seabream and one strain (EPOY-8803-II) described as noncapsulated and avirulent for this fish species were used in the study. Significant di#erences (P<0·025) in the percentages and index of phagocytosis between the EPOY-8803-II strain and capsulated strains were observed, the noncapsulated strain being phagocytosed to a greater degree (86·4%). The induction of the synthesis of a capsule in strain EPOY-8803-II produced a significant reduction in the phagocytic percentage and index for this strain. However, no significant di#erences (P<0·1) in the bactericidal activity of seabream macrophages were obtained between capsulated and noncapsulated strains. 1998 Academic Press Limite