Devil Facial Tumour Disease - Preservation Response

Preservation Response

Wild Tasmanian devil populations are being monitored to track the spread of the disease and to identify changes in disease prevalence. Field monitoring involves trapping devils within a defined area to check for the presence of the disease and determine the number of affected animals. The same area is visited repeatedly to characterise the spread of the disease over time. So far, it has been established that the short-term effects of the disease in an area can be severe. Long-term monitoring at replicated sites will be essential to assess whether these effects remain, or whether populations can recover. Field workers are also testing the effectiveness of disease suppression by trapping and removing diseased devils. It is hoped that the removal of diseased devils from wild populations should decrease disease prevalence and allow more devils to survive beyond their juvenile years and breed. A study felt that the current system of culling did not impede the disease's spread.

Two "insurance" populations of disease-free devils are being established at an urban facility in the Hobart suburb of Taroona and on Maria Island off the east coast of Tasmania. Captive breeding in mainland zoos is also a possibility. The decline in devil numbers is also seen as an ecological problem, since its presence in the Tasmanian forest ecosystem is believed to have prevented the establishment of the red fox, illegally introduced to Tasmania in 2001. It is believed that Tasmanian devil young would be vulnerable to red fox predation, as they are left alone for long periods of time.

In response to the impact of DFTD on Tasmanian devil populations, 47 devils have been shipped to mainland Australian wildlife parks to attempt to preserve the genetic diversity of the species. The largest of these efforts is the Barrington Tops "Devil Ark"; an initiative of the Australian Reptile Park. This project aims to create a set of one thousand genetically representative devils, and is now a major focus of the insurance policy. In addition, the Tasman peninsula is being considered as a possible "clean area" with the single narrow access point controlled by physical barriers. The Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water is experimenting on culling infected animals with some signs of success.

In 2008, a devil named Cedric was thought to have a natural immunity to the disease, but in late 2008 he developed two tumours on his face. The tumors were removed and officials thought Cedric was responding well until September 2010 when it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his lungs. He was euthanized upon the discovery. A diagnostic blood test was developed in mid-2009 to screen for the disease. In early 2010, scientists found some Tasmanian devils, mostly in the north-west of Tasmania, that are genetically different enough for their bodies to recognise the cancer as foreign. They have only one Major Histocompatibility Complex, whereas the cancerous cells have both.

At present with the population reduced by 70% since 1996, if a cure is not found then scientists predict they will become extinct by 2035.

A study recommended oocyte banking be used in the conservation effort for Tasmanian devils, as the survival rate of the oocytes in their study was 70%.

In 2010, there was hope that EBC-46, a drug which cures facial tumours in dogs, cats, and horses, may be a cure for DFTD.

Vaccination with irradiated cancer cells has not proven successful.

Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on June 27, 2011, suggests picking a genetically diverse breeding stock, defined by the genome sequence, for conservation efforts.

In 2011, Principal Investigator David Phalen, (Wildlife Health and Conservation Centre, University of Sydney) and Stephen Pyecroft (Department of Primary Industries and Water in Tasmania) along with Antony Moore and Angela Frimberger (Veterinary Oncology Consultants) were awarded a Tasmanian Government Project Management Grant for their project Investigation into Chemotherapy Agents Effective Against the Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour.