Observation of a novel babesia spp. in eastern grey kangaroos (macropus giganteus) in australia

The roles and epidemiological features of tick-borne protozoans are not well elicited in wildlife. Babesia spp. are documented in many domestic animals, including cattle, horses, pigs, dogs and cats. Three cases affecting eastern grey kangaroos are described. The kangaroos exhibited neurological signs, depression and marked anaemia, and microscopic examination of blood smears revealed intraerythrocytic piroplasms. One to seven intraerythrocytic spherical, oval, pyriform and irregularly-shaped parasites consistent with Babesia spp. were seen in the blood smears and the percentage of infected erythrocytes was estimated to be approximately 7% in each case. Data suggest that the tick vector for this kangaroo Babesia sp. is a Haemaphysalis species. For Case 2, ultrastructural examination of the erythrocytes of the renal capillaries showed parasites resembling Babesia spp. and 18 of 33 erythrocytes were infected. DNA sequencing of the amplified 18S rDNA confirmed that the observed intraerythrocytic piroplasms belong to the genus Babesia. The phylogenetic position of this new kangaroo Babesia sp. (de novo Babesia macropus), as a sister species to the new Australian woylie Babesia sp., suggests a close affinity to the described Afro-Eurasian species Babesia orientalis and Babesia occultans suggesting perhaps a common ancestor for the Babesia in kangaroos. © 2012 Australian Society for Parasitology.

Good science for improving policy: greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural manures

Australia’s and New Zealand’s major agricultural manure management emission sources are reported to be, in descending order of magnitude: (1) methane (CH4) from dairy farms in both countries; (2) CH4 from pig farms in Australia; and nitrous oxide (N2O) from (3) beef feedlots and (4) poultry sheds in Australia. We used literature to critically review these inventory estimates. Alarmingly for dairy farm CH4 (1), our review revealed assumptions and omissions that when addressed could dramatically increase this emission estimate. The estimate of CH4 from Australian pig farms (2) appears to be accurate, according to industry data and field measurements. The N2O emission estimates for beef feedlots (3) and poultry sheds (4) are based on northern hemisphere default factors whose appropriateness for Australia is questionable and unverified. Therefore, most of Australasia’s key livestock manure management greenhouse gas (GHG) emission profiles are either questionable or are unsubstantiated by region-specific research. Encouragingly, GHG from dairy shed manure are relatively easy to mitigate because they are a point source which can be managed by several ‘close-to-market’ abatement solutions. Reducing these manure emissions therefore constitutes an opportunity for meaningful action sooner compared with the more difficult-to-implement and long-term strategies that currently dominate agricultural GHG mitigation research. At an international level, our review highlights the critical need to carefully reassess GHG emission profiles, particularly if such assessments have not been made since the compilation of original inventories. Failure to act in this regard presents the very real risk of missing the ‘low hanging fruit’ in the rush towards a meaningful response to climate change