This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. of Blastocystis in the elephant, giraffe and quokka are also described. These 42 findings indicate that further exploration of the genetic diversity of Blastocystis is 43 crucial. Most zoo-keepers at the Perth Zoo were harbouring Blastocystis. Four of 44 these zoo-keeper isolates were identical to the isolates from the southern hairy 45 nosed wombat and five primate species. 46

In vitro propagation followed by PCR, and a PCR-based method capable of the direct detection of Blastocystis in faeces were utilized to detect Blastocystis from various hosts in Australia, including primates and their handlers from the Perth Zoo. In addition, Blastocystis isolates from dogs and humans living in a localized endemic community in Thailand were also characterized genetically. PCR-based detection directly from faeces was shown to be more sensitive compared with in vitro culture for the detection of Blastocystis. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis of Blastocystis isolates amplified utilizing in vitro techniques prior to PCR revealed that this method favoured the preferential amplification of Blastocystis subtype 5 over subtype 1. This study is the first to provide molecular-based evidence supporting the zoonotic potential of Blastocystis in dogs, possums and primates in a natural setting.

Background Inclusion body disease (IBD) is a disease of snakes with a global distribution and has recently been shown to be caused by reptarenaviruses. Testing for this group of viruses in asymptomatic snakes allows the association between infection and disease to be further elucidated.Methods A reptarenavirus was detected by RT-PCR in a reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) from an Australian zoological collection that was open-mouth breathing and had erythematous oral mucosa. Another 27 pythons, 4 elapids, 2 colubrids and 2 boas from this collection were then screened. From these animals, swabs, whole blood and/or tissue were tested for reptarenaviruses by RT-PCR. Additionally, blood films from 10 snakes were examined by light microscopy for the presence of inclusion bodies. The majority of samples were collected over a 484-day period.Results A total of 8 animals were RT-PCR-positive (8/36 = 22.2%): 6 were pythons, 1 was a corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) and 1 was a Madagascar tree boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis). From them, 57 samples were collected, but only one from each animal was RT-PCR-positive (8/57 = 14.0%). From all 36 animals in this study, 8/182 samples were RT-PCR-positive (4.4%). Inclusion bodies were not recognised in any of the blood films. Only the reticulated python showed signs of illness, which improved without any further intervention. All other RT-PCRpositive snakes were apparently healthy throughout the duration of the study.Conclusion This study showed a weak association between the presence of reptarenaviruses and disease. Testing serially collected swab and whole-blood samples increased the number of animals in which reptarenaviruses were detected.

Emerging infectious diseases are increasingly originating from wildlife. Many of these diseases have significant impacts on human health, domestic animal health, and biodiversity. Surveillance is the key to early detection of emerging diseases. A zoo based wildlife disease surveillance program developed in Australia incorporates disease information from free-ranging wildlife into the existing national wildlife health information system. This program uses a collaborative approach and provides a strong model for a disease surveillance program for free-ranging wildlife that enhances the national capacity for early detection of emerging diseases.

Conservation medicine, as a distinct discipline investigating health and disease in relation to ecosystems, has grown in recent years. Veterinary teams are developing a growing understanding of the key aspects of conservation medicine, including the potential impact of wildlife disease on biodiversity and the importance of wildlife health within the continuum of human and ecosystem health. Perth Zoo veterinary staff have made an increasing contribution to conservation medicine in recent years, encountering both challenges and rewards, and reaching a clearer understanding of how the conservation medicine ethos can be interpreted within a zoo framework. This paper examines ways in which zoo veterinary teams can contribute to multidisciplinary conservation medicine programmes and discusses some of the challenges for further growth of this discipline in zoos. Opportunities for increased conservation medicine activities may exist within the current zoo framework or may be developed through close collaborative links with other conservation agencies. Successful zoo‐based conservation medicine activities rely on strong relationships and broad acceptance across the entire zoo of the importance of conservation medicine outcomes.