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Anthony W. Sainsbury

Bio: Anthony W. Sainsbury is an academic researcher from Zoological Society of London. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Sciurus. The author has an hindex of 25, co-authored 77 publications receiving 1884 citations. Previous affiliations of Anthony W. Sainsbury include Royal College of Surgeons of England.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors validate the potential role of the parapoxvirus in the red squirrel and prove that the virus is highly pathogenic in red squirrel while having no detectable effect on grey squirrel health.
Abstract: The disease implications of novel pathogens need to be considered when investigating the ecological impact of species translocations on native fauna. Traditional explanations based on competition or predation may often not be the whole story. Evidence suggests that an emerging infectious disease, caused by a parapoxvirus, may be a significant component of the impact that the introduced grey squirrel has had on UK red squirrel populations. Here we validate the potential role of parapoxvirus by proving that the virus is highly pathogenic in the red squirrel while having no detectable effect on grey squirrel health.

184 citations

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TL;DR: Analysis of the incidence of disease and changes in distribution of the two species in Cumbria, from 1993 to 2003 and the predictions of an individual-based (IB) spatially explicit disease model simulating the dynamics of both squirrel species and SQPV in the landscape show grey squirrels increased whilst red squirrels declined.
Abstract: Red squirrels are declining in the United Kingdom. Competition from, and squirrel poxvirus (SQPV) disease carried by, grey squirrels are assumed to be determining the decline. We analyse the incidence of disease and changes in distribution of the two species in Cumbria, from 1993 to 2003 and compare these to the predictions of an individual-based (IB) spatially explicit disease model simulating the dynamics of both squirrel species and SQPV in the landscape. Grey squirrels increased whilst red squirrels declined over 10 years. The incidence of disease in red squirrels was related to the time since grey squirrels arrived in the landscape. Analysis of rates of decline in red squirrel populations in other areas showed that declines are 17–25 times higher in regions where SQPV is present in grey squirrel populations than in those where it is not. The IB model predicted spatial overlap of 3–4 years between the species that was also observed in the field. The model predictions matched the observed data best when contact rates and rates of infection between the two species were low. The model predicted that a grey squirrel population control of >60% effective kill was needed to stop the decline in red squirrel populations in Cumbria.

153 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is postulate that the grey squirrel may act as a reservoir host for the parapoxvirus and be a source of infection for red squirrels.
Abstract: The population of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in the British Isles is in decline and is being supplanted by the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). It has been suggested that parapoxvirus-associated disease has caused significant mortality in red squirrels and that grey squirrels are the source of the virus. A direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the measurement of antibody to squirrel parapoxvirus. We tested 140 sera from red squirrels and 223 from grey squirrels from different populations in the UK. A high percentage (61%) of apparently healthy grey squirrels, were found to have been exposed to the parapoxvirus. Only 2.86% (4/140) of red squirrels had antibody and three of these animals had parapoxvirus-associated disease. We postulate that the grey squirrel may act as a reservoir host for the virus.

118 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
02 Jun 2001-BMJ
TL;DR: Evaluation of the haemoglobin concentration and red blood cell count of women from Canada, Central America, China, and the United States shows that this situation is widespread, and women worldwide are at risk of being in a negative iron balance.
Abstract: The need to transport oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from animal tissue is a fundamental requirement of life, independent of age or sex.1 The role of iron in humans and many other mammals is central to this process. 2 3 Haemoglobin concentration and red blood cell count are important diagnostic indicators for anaemia in humans and animals. In prepubertal humans no major differences can be found between the sexes in red blood cell count or haemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations.4 Only after the onset of menstruation does a difference emerge.4 Not until 10 years after the menopause does this situation revert in women, when the haemoglobin concentration becomes similar to that of aged matched men. 4 5 This situation is compounded by the fact that modern women have a different reproductive history from those in the past. They reach sexual maturity at an earlier age, have fewer pregnancies, and breast feed for shorter periods; as such they menstruate for more years than women in the past. Menstruation is the principal cause of iron loss in women.6–8 Furthermore, 90% of UK females of childbearing age do not achieve the recommended daily intake of elemental iron (14.8 mg) from their diet.9 Evaluation of the haemoglobin concentration and red blood cell count of women from Canada, Central America, China, and the United States shows that this situation is widespread. 4 10–14 Women worldwide are at risk of being in a negative iron balance, and by current criteria if their haemoglobin concentration is less than 115 g/l they are deemed to be anaemic, whereas in men the cut-off point is 130 g/l.15 As far as the authors are aware, of the primates only humans show a sex difference in haemoglobin concentration and red blood …

103 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the absence of better information on the number, identity, distribution, and pathogenicity of parasites of wild animals, there is uncertainty in the risk of disease to translocated animals and recipient populations.
Abstract: Translocations of species are expected to be used increasingly to counter the undesirable effects of anthropogenic changes to ecosystems, including loss of species. Methods to assess the risk of disease associated with translocations have been compiled in a comprehensive manual of disease-risk analysis for movement of domestic animals. We used this manual to devise a qualitative method for assessing the probability of the occurrence of disease in wild animals associated with translocations. We adapted the method such that we considered a parasite (any agent of infectious or noninfectious disease) a hazard if it or the host had crossed an ecological or geographical barrier and was novel to the host. We included in our analyses hazards present throughout the translocation pathway derived from the interactions between host immunity and the parasite, the effect of parasites on populations, the effect of noninfectious disease agents, and the effect of stressors on host-parasite interactions. We used the reintroduction of Eurasian Cranes (Grus grus) to England to demonstrate our method. Of the 24 hazards identified, 1 was classified as high risk (coccidia) and 5 were medium risk (highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, Mycobacterium avium, Aspergillus fumigatus, tracheal worms [Syngamus sp. and Cyathostoma sp.], and Tetrameres spp.). Seventeen other hazards were considered low or very low risk. In the absence of better information on the number, identity, distribution, and pathogenicity of parasites of wild animals, there is uncertainty in the risk of disease to translocated animals and recipient populations. Surveys of parasites in source and destination populations and detailed health monitoring after release will improve the information available for future analyses of disease risk. We believe our method can be adapted to assess the risks of disease in other translocated populations.

87 citations


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3,734 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
12 Apr 2012-Nature
TL;DR: It is argued that nascent fungal infections will cause increasing attrition of biodiversity, with wider implications for human and ecosystem health, unless steps are taken to tighten biosecurity worldwide.
Abstract: The past two decades have seen an increasing number of virulent infectious diseases in natural populations and managed landscapes. In both animals and plants, an unprecedented number of fungal and fungal-like diseases have recently caused some of the most severe die-offs and extinctions ever witnessed in wild species, and are jeopardizing food security. Human activity is intensifying fungal disease dispersal by modifying natural environments and thus creating new opportunities for evolution. We argue that nascent fungal infections will cause increasing attrition of biodiversity, with wider implications for human and ecosystem health, unless steps are taken to tighten biosecurity worldwide.

2,408 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review highlights an important series of wildlife EIDs: amphibian chytridiomycosis; diseases of marine invertebrates and vertebrates and two recently-emerged viral zoonoses, Nipah virus disease and West Nile virus disease, and comments on the need for greater medical and microbiological input into the study of wildlife diseases.

779 citations

01 Jan 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of humans can be found in wildlife and the implications of wildlife EIDs are twofold: emerging wildlife diseases cause direct and indirect loss of biodiversity and add to the threat of zoonotic disease emergence.
Abstract: By using the criteria that define emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of humans, we can identify a similar group of EIDs in wildlife. In the current review we highlight an important series of wildlife EIDs: amphibian chytridiomycosis; diseases of marine invertebrates and vertebrates and two recently-emerged viral zoonoses, Nipah virus disease and West Nile virus disease. These exemplify the varied etiology, pathogenesis, zoonotic potential and ecological impact of wildlife EIDs. Strikingly similar underlying factors drive disease emergence in both human and wildlife populations. These are predominantly ecological and almost entirely the product of human environmental change. The implications of wildlife EIDs are twofold: emerging wildlife diseases cause direct and indirect loss of biodiversity and add to the threat of zoonotic disease emergence. Since human environmental changes are largely responsible for their emergence, the threats wildlife EIDs pose to biodiversity and human health represent yet another consequence of anthropogenic influence on ecosystems. We identify key areas where existing expertise in ecology, conservation biology, wildlife biology, veterinary medicine and the impact of environmental change would augment programs to investigate emerging diseases of humans, and we comment on the need for greater medical and microbiological input into the study of wildlife diseases. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

730 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Continued rapid urbanization, together with risks posed by multi-host pathogens for humans and vulnerable wildlife populations, emphasize the need for future research on wildlife diseases in urban landscapes.
Abstract: Urbanization is intensifying worldwide, with two-thirds of the human population expected to reside in cities within 30 years. The role of cities in human infectious disease is well established, but less is known about how urban landscapes influence wildlife-pathogen interactions. Here, we draw on recent advances in wildlife epidemiology to consider how environmental changes linked with urbanization can alter the biology of hosts, pathogens and vectors. Although urbanization reduces the abundance of many wildlife parasites, transmission can, in some cases, increase among urban-adapted hosts, with effects on rarer wildlife or those living beyond city limits. Continued rapid urbanization, together with risks posed by multi-host pathogens for humans and vulnerable wildlife populations, emphasize the need for future research on wildlife diseases in urban landscapes.

694 citations