Kirsten Gilardi Content

Study Predicts Poor Survival Rates if Ebola Infects Endangered Mountain Gorillas

Katherine E Kerlin — April 12, 2023 - 1:26pm

If infected with the Ebola virus, less than 20 percent of Africa's endangered mountain gorillas would be expected to survive more than 100 days, finds a study from Smithsonian Institution, the �ٺ��Ƶ-based Gorilla Doctors and others.

Tons of Lost Fishing Gear Recovered off Southern California Coast

Katherine E Kerlin — June 07, 2022 - 9:15am

The California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project recovered more than 45 tons — 90,968 pounds — of lost, abandoned or otherwise discarded fishing gear along the Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego coasts and from around the Channel Islands in 2020 and 2021. The project is a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the �ٺ��Ƶ School of Veterinary Medicine.

A Possible COVID-19 Silver Lining for Great Ape Conservation

Katherine E Kerlin — February 10, 2022 - 12:15pm

Respiratory illness outbreaks among wild mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park have declined since the start of COVID-19, according to a “Correspondence” report in the journal Nature from Gorilla Doctors and the Rwanda Development Board.

Mountain gorillas are susceptible to human-transmitted respiratory pathogens. Respiratory illness is the second leading cause of death in wild, human-habituated populations.

Scientists Find Ebola Virus Antibodies in People Before 2018 DRC Outbreak

Katherine E Kerlin — November 04, 2020 - 8:00am

Scientists found antibodies to Ebola virus in people up to a year before the 2018 Ebola virus disease outbreak began in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC. This suggests that either early cases may have been missed or that exposure occurs more commonly than previously thought, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis.