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India’s Protected Areas are surrounded by villages with large numbers of cattle. The #Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Central India is surrounded by around 130 villages. Every day, thousands of cattle enter the forest to graze. Water and food sources are shared by domestic and wild animals, increasing the risk of disease transmission.
WCT’s team of wildlife veterinarians is developing a #disease #surveillance model to assess the prevalence of infectious diseases in cattle populations that come in contact with wild herbivores. The team conducts surveys to estimate cattle populations and collects blood samples to assess the prevalence of diseases. To identify the routes of #transmission, and the extent of interactions, the team collars some domestic animals with GPS devices. The efforts are also aimed at developing standard operating procedures to monitor, diagnose, treat and contain diseases before they metamorphose into epidemics.
Regular monitoring of #wildlife and #livestock interfaces can also help detect early warnings of the emergence of #zoonotic diseases. The project is part of WCT’s integrated #One #Health approach.
To know more about this project, read “Averting Extinction – One Blood Sample at a Time” here.