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Vogelnest L., Portas T. (Eds.). Current Therapy in Medicine of Australian Mammals. CSIRO,2025. — 848 p.. 2025

Current Therapy in Medicine of Australian Mammals provides up-to-date knowledge of Australian mammal medicine. This revised edition is a companion volume to Medicine of Australian Mammals, a text that remains relevant and current, although there have been significant advances in Australian mammal medicine and surgery since its publication in 2008. Together, these two texts remain the most comprehensive source of information on medicine of Australian mammals available.

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Acknowledgements

List of contributors

SECTION 1 GENERAL TOPICS AND CONDITIONS AFFECTING MULTIPLE TAXA

Wildlife health in Australia

Tiggy Grillo and Rupert Woods

Australia’s geographic isolation provides a natural quarantine barrier to disease and Australia is fortunate to be free of most of the serious diseases that affect animals in other parts of the world.

DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS

AUSTRALIA'S BIOSECURITY SYSTEM AND WILDLIFE HEALTH

Why is wildlife health important?

Australia's biosecurity system

Biosecurity protocols and guidelines

Where does wildlife health fit in?

Where do veterinarians fit in?

DIAGNOSTIC APPROACHES

SURVEILLANCE

It has been shown that increased awareness and efficient wildlife health monitoring systems can assist in the detection of EIDs (Morner et al. 2002; Belant and Deese 2010; World Organisation for Animal Health 2010).

Australia's wildlife health surveillance system

National wildlife health surveillance programs

PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

Australia's EAD Preparedness Program

Australian Veterinary Emergency Plan (AUSVETPLAN)

Wildlife and EAD response

Wildlife, emergencies and natural hazards

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CAPACITY BUILDING AND INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

LEGISLATION AND REGULATION

USEFUL RESOURCES AND WHERE TO FIND FURTHER INFORMATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Veterinary aspects of native mammal conservation translocations

Timothy Portas

Conservation translocations (CTs) are increasingly being undertaken for the conservation management of Australian native mammals.

ETHICAL AND ANIMAL WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS IN CONSERVATION TRANSLOCATIONS

VETERINARY ASPECTS OF EX SITU BREEDING FOR CONSERVATION TRANSLOCATIONS

DISEASE RISK ANALYSIS

QUARANTINE AND HEALTH SCREENING

MANAGEMENT OF MICROPARASITES AND MACROPARASITES

The principal reasons for managing parasites (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, helminths and arthropods) in CTs include reducing morbidity and mortality in individuals subjected to the multiple stressors of CTs and to protect recipient populations (conspecifics and sympatric species) and ecosystems from the introduction of novel infectious agents.

Microparasites (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa)

Macroparasites (helminths and arthropods)

CAPTURE, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL RESTRAINT AND ANALGESIA

Detailed information on capture, physical and chemical restraint protocols is provided in Chapter 9.

POST-RELEASE MONITORING

Disease risk analysis for wildlife translocations

Rebecca Vaughan-Higgins

Translocation has been utilised as a tool to facilitate species conservation and is defined as the deliberate movement of organisms from one site for release in another.

PARASITES AND DISEASE

DISEASE RISK ANALYSIS

DISEASE RISK ANALYSIS EXAMPLES

Wildlife rehabilitation practices in Australia

Andrew Tribe and Bronwyn Orr

The rescue and rehabilitation of native wildlife has been practiced extensively in Australia and around the world for many years (Hass 1998; Tribe and Brown 2000; Kelly and Sleeman 2003; Menon et al. 2005; Molony et al. 2006; Rodriguez et al. 2010; Wimberger et al. 2010).

LEGISLATION AND REGULATION

METHODS OF REHABILITATION, RELEASE AND POST-RELEASE MONITORING

BENEFITS AND RISKS OF WILDLIFE REHABILITATION

Assessment and management of reproduction in Australian monotremes and marsupials

Tamara Keeley and Stephen Johnston

Although assessment of reproductive function is essentially similar for all mammals, monotremes and marsupials exhibit anatomical, physiological and behavioural differences that require extra consideration when making diagnostic, therapeutic and reproductive management decisions.

MALE MARSUPIALS

FEMALE MARSUPIALS

REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY OF MARSUPIALS AND MONOTREMES

Management of overabundant populations

Timothy Portas

Although many native Australian mammals have suffered extensive population declines and range contractions since European settlement, some species have benefited from recent anthropogenic environmental modification and have increased in abundance (Gordon et al. 2021).

DEFINITION OF OVERABUNDANCE

REASONS FOR OVERABUNDANCE

CONSEQUENCES OF OVERABUNDANCE

MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

ETHICAL AND WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS

Monotreme, marsupial and bat immunology

Emma Peel, Han Jia Justin Ng and Katherine Belov

Historically, researchers have described monotremes, marsupials, and bats as primitive mammals.

INNATE IMMUNITY

ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY

Stress physiology of Australian mammals

Kerry Fanson

Although most people have an intuitive understanding of what ’stress’ is, it has been difficult for biologists to develop a widely accepted, precise definition (Moberg and Mench 2000; Romero and Wingfield 2015; Bradshaw 2017).

STRESS PHYSIOLOGY

NON-INVASIVE MEASURES OF STRESS IN AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS

POTENTIAL NEUROENDOCRINE INDICATORS OF CHRONIC STRESS

Capture, physical and chemical restraint

Larry Vogelnest

The Australian native mammalian fauna is diverse in terms of taxonomy, anatomy, physiology and ecology.

SHORT-BEAKED ECHIDNA

Dasyurids and the numbat

POSSUMS AND GLIDERS

BANDICOOTS AND THE GREATER BILBY

FIELD INHALATION ANAESTHESIA

10 Surgery

Kimberly Vinette Herrin

General surgical principles and most of the standard techniques used in domestic species can be applied to, or adapted for use in Australian mammals.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL SURGICAL INTERVENTION

ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY

CRANIOFACIAL SURGERY

SOFT TISSUE SURGERY

REPRODUCTIVE SURGERY

SURGICAL INSERTION OF REMOTE MONITORING IMPLANTS

Pharmacology

Merran Govendir

Although therapeutic drugs are routinely used to treat Australian mammals, the dosages have largely been extrapolated from those used in domestic species.

PHARMACOKINETICS AND PHARMACODYNAMICS

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PHARMACOKINETIC PROFILES OF THERAPEUTIC DRUGS

ANTIBACTERIAL-INDUCED DYSBIOSIS

SPECIES EFFECTS ON LABORATORY METHODS

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THERAPEUTIC DRUG USE IN AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS

Dermatology

Linda Vogelnest

Skin disease is common in Australian mammals. Although infectious agents account for the majority of published reports, dermatoses in Australian mammals may also reflect suboptimal health, nutrition or environmental conditions that increase the risk of infections, and inflammatory or degenerative changes.

APPROACH TO MAMMALIAN SKIN DISEASE

Dentistry

Nadine Fiani

Disease of the oral cavity and the dentition can be detrimental to an animal’s welfare and general health.

BASIC DENTAL ANATOMY

PREPARATION FOR ORAL AND DENTAL PROCEDURES

ASSESSMENT OF THE ORAL CAVITY AND DENTITION

Nutrition

Michelle Shaw and Angela Jarman

Australian mammals occupy diverse habitats and have evolved diverse feeding strategies, digestive anatomy and physiology and metabolic strategies to utilise their food for optimal health and reproduction.

MANAGED CARE DIET FORMULATION

NUTRITION AND WELFARE

NUTRITION MANAGEMENT FOR ANIMALS DESTINED FOR RELEASE

KOALA AND WOMBATS

GLIDERS AND POSSUMS

Dasyurids and the numbat

BANDICOOTS AND THE GREATER BILBY

Paediatrics

Michelle Campbell-Ward

Veterinary paediatrics is concerned with the health, growth and development of young animals. In this chapter the following definitions will be used:

CHALLENGES OF PAEDIATRIC MEDICINE

CLINICAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF PAEDIATRIC PATIENTS

THE PAEDIATRIC CONSULTATION AND CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS

STABILISING THE PAEDIATRIC PATIENT

COMMON PRESENTATIONS

PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE

CROSS-FOSTERING

Zoonoses

Frances Hulst

A zoonosis is a disease that can be transmitted naturally from animals to humans (WHO 2017): 61% of known human pathogens are zoonotic and 75% of emerging human infectious diseases are zoonoses (Taylor et al. 2001).

ZOONOSES AND THE ROLE OF THE WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN

ZOONOSES ASSOCIATED WITH AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS

OTHER PATHOGENS WITH ZOONOTIC POTENTIAL

Antimicrobial resistance

Michelle Power and Fiona McDougall

Pathogen exchange between species, and particularly the spread of pathogens from people to wildlife (reverse zoonoses), presents risks for wildlife health.

THE EMERGENCE OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

WILDLIFE, SUPERBUGS AND MULTIDRUG RESISTANCE

DETECTING ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

RESISTANT BACTERIA IN AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS

SPREAD OF ANTIMICROBIAL-RESISTANT BACTERIA IN THE ENVIRONMENT

ANTIMICROBIAL STEWARDSHIP

Neoplasia

Lydia Tong Marwood

A wide range of neoplastic diseases have been documented in Australian mammals.

MARSUPIALS - GENERAL

PLACENTAL MAMMALS

Plant and other toxicoses

Wayne Boardman

Reports of plant toxicoses in Australian native mammals have increased since 2011 when compared with historic reports.

PLANT TOXICOSES

VERTEBRATE TOXIC AGENTS

OTHER TOXICOSES

Emerging infectious diseases

Andrea Reiss

The term emerging infectious disease (EID) is used to describe an infectious disease that has appeared in a population for the first time or one that is increasing in geographical range, host range or prevalence

WHAT ARE EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES?

FACTORS DRIVING DISEASE EMERGENCE

THE ROLE OF SPILLOVER IN EMERGING DISEASE

WHICH PATHOGENS AND HOSTS ARE LIKELY TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH EMERGING DISEASE?

EXAMPLES OF EMERGING AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE DISEASES

HOW SHOULD WE PREPARE FOR EMERGING DISEASES IN AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE?

Toxoplasmosis

Timothy Portas

Australian marsupials are considered particularly susceptible to toxoplasmosis and the disease has been reported as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in marsupials in managed care within Australia and internationally

CLINICAL FINDINGS

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF FREE-RANGING POPULATIONS

Mycobacteriosis

Lydia Tong Marwood

Mycobacteria are bacteria that are taxonomically grouped within the Phylum Actinobacteria, which are environmental and soil-associated organisms noted for their fungus-like qualities.

NON-TUBERCULOUS MYCOBACTERIOSIS

TUBERCULOUS MYCOBACTERIOSIS IN TERRESTRIAL AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS

NECROPSY AND SAMPLING

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Marsupial herpesviruses

Joanne Devlin and Kathryn Stalder

Herpesviruses are a large family of widely distributed viruses.

CLINICAL DISEASE

TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

Neural angiostrongyliasis

Larry Vogelnest

Neural angiostrongyliasis (NA) results from the migration of larvae of the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, within the nervous tissue of accidental hosts.

TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

Cryptococcosis

Mark Krockenberger, Laura J. Schmertmann, Paul Canfield and Richard Malik

Cryptococcosis is a systemic mycosis with a global distribution, predominantly caused by fungi of the Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii species complexes (Kwon-Chung et al. 2017).

DIAGNOSIS AND PATHOLOGY

TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Haemoprotozoan parasites

Amanda Barbosa, Peter Irwin and Una Ryan

Haemoprotozoan parasites are unicellular eukaryotic organisms found in the blood of vertebrate hosts.

Assessment, triage and treatment of bushfire- affected wildlife

Larry Vogelnest

Bushfires are integralto the Australian environment.

ANIMAL WELFARE AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

THE ROLE OF VETERINARIANS IN WILDLIFE EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN BUSHFIRES

ASSESSMENT OF BUSHFIRE-AFFECTED WILDLIFE

TREATMENT OF BUSHFIRE-AFFECTED WILDLIFE

NUTRITION FOR BUSHFIRE-AFFECTED WILDLIFE

Platypus

Larry Vogelnest and Jess Whinfield

The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is the only extant species in the Family Ornithorhynchidae within the Order Monotremata.

THE CRURAL SYSTEM

CONSERVATION STATUS AND THREATS

FIELD TECHNIQUES

Short-beaked echidna

Gabrielle Tobias

TAXONOMY, DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

BREEDING AND WEANING

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND DIAGNOSTICS

CLINICAL PATHOLOGY

Coccidiosis in short-beaked echidnas

Gabrielle Tobias

Coccidiosis is a common and significant disease affecting short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) in managed care.

PATHOGENESIS AND PATHOLOGY

Macropods

David McLelland

The Superfamily Macropodoidea includes kangaroos, wallabies, potoroos, bettongs and the musky rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus), collectively referred to here as ‘macropods’.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND DIAGNOSTICS

PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE

Macropod progressive periodontal disease (‘lumpy jaw')

David McLelland

Macropod progressive periodontal disease (MPPD), or ‘lumpy jaw’, has long been recognised as the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in this taxon in managed care situations.

PATHOGENESIS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY

Koala

Amber Gillett and Jon Hanger

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is the only extant member of the Family Phascolarctidae.

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

Clinical examination

MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT OF SICK OR INJURED KOALAS

Koala retrovirus

Damien Higgins and Iona Maher

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) retrovirus (KoRV) is a gammaretrovirus, related to feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) and murine leukaemia virus (MuLV) and, more closely, gibbon ape leukaemia virus (GALV) (Alfano et al. 2016).

CLINICAL SIGNS, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

Chlamydiosis in koalas

Martina Jelocnik, Amber Gillett, Jon Hanger and Adam Polkinghorne

Chlamydiae are diverse and enigmatic bacteria that infect a broad range of hosts, including the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

CHLAMYDIAL CELL BIOLOGY AND TAXONOMY

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHLAMYDIAL INFECTIONS IN KOALAS

PATHOGENESIS OF CHLAMYDIOSIS

CLINICAL SIGNS AND MANIFESTATIONS OF Chlamydiosis in koalas

TREATMENT AND CONTROL

Veterinary involvement in the research and management of free-ranging koala populations

Jon Hanger and Amber Gillett

Ecological studies and management programs involving free-ranging koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations occur relatively commonly.

TELEMETRY, DATA-LOGGING TAGS AND IMPLANTS

EXAMINATION OF DEAD KOALAS

CAPTURE AND HANDLING OF FREE-RANGING KOALAS

MANAGEMENT OF CHLAMYDIAL DISEASE IN FREE-RANGING KOALA POPULATIONS

Wombats

Michelle Campbell-Ward

Wombats are diprotodont marsupials in the Family Vom- batidae. There are three species in two genera: the barenosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus),

BIOLOGY, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSERVATION STATUS

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

CAPTURE AND RESTRAINT

PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE

DIAGNOSTIC WORK-UP AND SUPPORTIVE CARE OF AN ILL WOMBAT

Possums and gliders

T. Franciscus Scheelings

Possums and gliders are members of the diverse Order Diprotodontia, which contains 10 extant and 8 extinct Families (Kirsch et al. 1997).

INFECTIOUS DISEASE

NON-INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Dasyurids and the numbat

Paul Eden

The Order Dasyuromorphia comprises three Families of carnivorous marsupials.

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND DIAGNOSTICS Approaches to physical examination and diagnostic testing are discussed in Holz (2008), Vitali and Monaghan (2008) and Vogelnest and Allan (2015). Capture

Devil facial tumour disease

Stephen B. Pyecroft

Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is caused by a transmissible cancer (devil facial tumour 1 [DFT1]) and is unique to the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).

AETIOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY

TASMANIAN DEVIL IMMUNITY

PATHOLOGY AND DIAGNOSIS

Preclinical diagnostics

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Bandicoots and the greater bilby

Michael Lynch

The Order Peramelemorphia contains 21 extant species of bandicoots and the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis).

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE

Bats

Keren Cox-Witton and Tania Bishop

There are over 80 bat species (Order Chiroptera) in Australia (Reardon et al. 2015).

CLINICAL ASSESSMENT AND INITIAL TREATMENT OF SICK AND INJURED BATS

Hendra virus

Alison J. Peel and Hume Field

Hendra virus (HeV) is a paramyxovirus of the genus Henipavirus responsible for fatal infection in horses and humans in eastern Australia.

VIRUS BEHAVIOUR AND DIVERSITY

INFECTION DYNAMICS IN FLYING-FOXES

ROUTES OF EXCRETION IN FLYING-FOXES

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL DRIVERS FOR SPILLOVER

SPILLOVER PREVENTION

Rodents

T. Franciscus Scheelings

All Australian rodents fall within the Subfamily Murinae.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE

NON-INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Pinnipeds

Kate Bodley

Marine mammals can serve as sentinels for public health, and recent research on Southern Hemisphere pinnipeds has focused on their role within the context of One Health (Bossart 2011; Lynch et al. 2011c; Rengifo- Herrera et al. 2012; Tryland et al. 2012; Delport et al. 2014).

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

CAPTURE, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL RESTRAINT

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND DIAGNOSTICS

Cetaceans

David Blyde

Of the 80 known cetacean species, 49 are found in waters around Australia.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND DIAGNOSTICS

EUTHANASIA OF LARGE, STRANDED CETACEANS

HUMAN-CETACEAN INTERACTIONS

Dugong

David Blyde

The dugong (Dugong dugon) inhabits the coastal waters of at least 37 and up to 44 countries and territories, making their global status difficult to define; however, they are critically endangered in some areas and at least vulnerable in others (Marsh et al. 2011; IUCN 2015).

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND DIAGNOSTICS

APPROACH TO THE STRANDED DUGONG

Appendix 1. Clinical pathology and physiological values

Appendix 2. Blood collection sites

Appendix 3. Suggested chemical restraint agents, regimens and doses

Appendix 4. Drug formulary

Appendix 5. Dentition charts for selected Australian mammal Families

Appendix 6. Abbreviations

Books and textbooks on the discipline Animal diseases:

- Animal diseases - Veterinary anatomy and physiology of animals -

- Veterinarian -

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