April 21st, 2009, Cairns
We are a frog conservation group and our focus, of course, is on the detection of new threats which are leading to frog decline and finding ways of reducing those threats. But sometimes, fighting a disease problem in wildlife spills over into human health and welfare, especially when the threat is fungal or bacterial disease in local soils. Our Curator was recently hospitalised for an agressive infection with two of the nasty bacterial diseases that have been plaguing some local wildlife for some time. We wish to emphasize that she did NOT pick up these problems from the animals we have in care - we use gloves and special chemicals always. She picked up the infections the same way the frogs and toads do: from the soil in the backyard !
The two bacteria that caused such grief for our curator were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes. These are basically "flesh eaters" and can dissolve any kind of tissue including internal organs, bone and cartilage. If the infection lingers long enough, death can occur because the infection can invade the blood. Medical personnel take these little beasties very seriously and heavy doses of multiple antibiotics are needed, sometimes for months. Surgery can be involved and depending on where in the body the infection is based, mobility can be a problem. Damage to the tissues can be long term or permanent. Pain killers are essential and we are concerned by what kind of suffering a child could incur since they could not be dosed on codeine or morphine like an adult can. The good news is that you can prevent these infections if you knew you needed to - and this is WHY we issued the story which most of the media then dumped.
The press release is below. The only media outlet which has run the story so far is Seven Local News. We are still waiting to hear from several smaller local papers including the Cairns Sun. The Cairns Post has flatly refused to run the story as has the Australian Associated Press (AAP) which is a wire service for the whole country. (Without AAP, the story would have to be individually submitted to every paper, tv and radio station in the country!!) We are also very surprised that ABC Far North didn't run the story.
You have our blessings to send a short letter to the Cairns Post, AAP and ABC Far North to demand an explanation. Why have they denied you the opportunity to learn about the threat of these diseases so that you could protect your family? Please send a copy to us of any replies you receive.
PRESS RELEASE:
Frog Decline Reversal Project,
Inc. (Cairns Frog Hospital)
Media Release
Thursday, April 9th, 2009
TOXIC SNAKES, SPIDERS - YES - BUT TOXIC SOIL?
The Curator of the Cairns Frog Hospital recently had a close encounter which brought her new understanding of how some of her froggy patients must feel. This unpleasant meeting wasn't with one of Australia's deadly snakes or highly venomous spiders but with the muddy soil in the facility's backyard!
People don't generally think of their yards as a threatening place but soil diseases are some of the nastiest beasties out there and the possible increase of these pathogens in the soil is of growing concern to the frog conservation group. Its Curator, Deborah Pergolotti, has just been released from hospital after having surgery for an aggressive infection with invasive Streptococcus and Pseudomonas - two soil diseases which dissolve tissues and are notoriously difficult to treat (and painful !)
Ms. Pergolotti is now calling on Queensland Health and the Commonwealth government to add Pseudomonas, Streptococcus Groups A & B, and Staphylococcus aureus and it's MRSA strain to the Notifiable Diseases list for both human and veterinary cases urgently. Still sporting an uncomfortable limp, she stressed that, "Because these diseases are not notifiable, there is insufficient monitoring of their incidence, where these infections are being picked up, how they were acquired, and even how much they are costing the public health system". Monitoring could highlight where better public education needs to be directed and where containment procedures need to be strengthened, but it also would provide confirmation if zoonotic transmission should ever occur [this is where animal disease is transmitted to a human]
Ms. Pergolotti is equally emphatic about the risks posed to children especially by these soil diseases. "My infection was difficult enough for an adult to manage and meant I couldn't walk for a month, was in hospital for a week, had two surgeries plus more than two months of multiple antibiotics at maximum doses and may still suffer long term damage to the foot. I doubt a child could be dosed up on the level of pain killers I was on so what kind of suffering would they have to go through?"
These diseases also pose a threat to wildlife and that is where any possibility of zoonotic transmission needs to be watched. "We have lab results going back years to show that Pseudomonas has been found on frogs regularly and, since cyclone Larry, Streptococcus has also been present along with a mildly formidable list of other unpleasant human diseases." Steptococcus Group B in particular has recently received media attention because of its involvement in fish deaths which suggests to us that there could be a lot more of it in the wet season runoff than expected.
The group stresses that everyone - especially children - NEVER handle any frog or toad without gloves or a plastic bag over their hand. Deborah warns, "I want to make it VERY CLEAR THAT FROGS ARE NOT A THREAT AND ONLY SOME OF THEM could have something nasty on their skin, but only someone experienced with these conditions could tell which ones. We are saying to be safe and always use gloves."
Information about controlling soil diseases is sparse and the Soils CRC was discontinued in 1998. The Cairns Frog Hospital wants to hear from soil specialists anywhere in Australia to discuss recommendations that residents can use to improve soil health and outcompete both bacterial and fungal soil diseases.
[END]
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OUR RECOMMENDED 10 POINT PLAN FOR THE RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF SOIL PATHOGENS WITH FOCUS ON PSEUDOMONAS, STAPH AND STREP GROUPS A & B:
1) add all three to the list of Notifiable list of diseases for Queensland Health (please note that Strep Group A is already listed; Strep Group B needs to be added) - these additions should be made retroactive to 2006 so that any sharp increases in the past couple years can be documented and acted upon
2) add all three to the list of National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance Scheme - these additions should be made retroactive to 2006 so that any sharp increases in the past couple years can be documented and acted upon
3) add all three to the list of National List of Notifiable Animal Diseases maintained by DAFF - these additions should be made retroactive to 2006 so that any sharp increases in the past couple years can be documented and acted upon
4) add all three to Schedule 6 of the Queensland Stock Regulation Act 1988 the - these additions should be made retroactive to 2006 so that any sharp increases in the past couple years can be documented and acted upon
5) Costly and debilitating infections from these diseases can be reduced through better public awareness - this should be in the form of web based information on the sites of relevant agencies (Queensland Health, DAFF, wildlife health organisations, etc.) as well as an accessable brochure for households.
6) Current soil surveys generally concentrate on the physical characteristics of soil, salinity and chemical pollutants but seldom include screening for disease pathogens; standard practice should include provisions for pathogen screening as a key component for assessing soil health and changes to soil ecology that could impact on human, animal and agricultural health.
7) Particular attention has been paid to analysing land based runoff onto the Great Barrier Reef but this exercise has not included these disease pathogens; a separate exercise should be funded urgently to survey for selected pathogens including Strep Groups A & B, Pseudomonas and Staph aureus.
8) Recommendations are needed from soil science experts regarding soil health and factors which contribute to increased disease incidence in soils, and steps that can be taken by the community to rebalance soils in their yards to minimise disease risk.
9) Community interaction with wildlife is extensive - especially by those engaged in the direct handling of potentially diseased animals for rehabilitation - and special attention is needed to ensuring that participants have opportunities for hands-on training and guidance in the handling of animals and recognition of health problems.
10) Climate change modelling and guidelines for adaptation include considerations for vector bourne diseases but do not sufficiently address the increased threat of disease from changes to soil health, especially when affected by severe drought. Modelling should be updated to analyse and assess soil pathogens so that remediation and proper preparedness can be incorporated by agencies and the community when acting on climate change scenarios.
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