Martin Gilbert

Cornell University | CU · Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences

The Endangered dhole Cuon alpinus is a medium-sized canid that was historically distributed widely across East, Central, South and Southeast Asia. In Nepal, following heavy persecution during the 1970s and 1980s, the species was locally extirpated across large parts of the country. After decades of near absence, the dhole is reportedly showing sign...

Background Since 2005, highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 viruses have spread from Asia worldwide, infecting poultry, humans and wild birds. Subsequently, global interest in avian influenza (AI) surveillance increased. Objectives Mongolia presents an opportunity to study viruses in wild birds because the country has very low densities of dom...

Background Since 2005, highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 viruses have spread from Asia worldwide, infecting poultry, humans and wild birds. Subsequently, global interest in avian influenza (AI) surveillance increased. Objectives Mongolia presents an opportunity to study viruses in wild birds because the country has very low densities of dom...

The contraction of the global tiger population over the last 100 years into small, often isolated subpopulations has made them increasingly vulnerable to the impact of disease. Despite this, the health of wild tigers continues to be insufficiently funded and explored. For example, canine distemper virus (CDV), has been associated with localized dec...

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a global multi-host pathogen that is capable of causing considerable mortality in a range of species and is important in the field of conservation medicine. Nepal’s Chitwan National Park is a protected area providing habitat for 32% of the country’s mammal species including endangered carnivores such as the Bengal ti...

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a global multi-host pathogen that is capable of causing considerable mortality in a range of species and is important in the field of conservation medicine. Nepal’s Chitwan National Park is a protected area providing habitat for 32% of the country’s mammal species including endangered carnivores such as the Bengal ti...

From wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in the Serengeti to tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in the Russian Far East, canine distemper virus (CDV) has been repeatedly identified as a threat to wild carnivores. Between 2020 and 2022, six Indian leopards (P. pardus fusca) presented to Nepali authorities with fatal neurological disease, consistent with CDV. He...

Understanding the genetic diversity of a species is vital to improve the effectiveness of conservation management interventions. The greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is one of the most iconic megaherbivores in South Asia but is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. The species is now broadly confined to two isolated populations...

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response,...

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is recognized as a conservation threat to Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in Russia, but the risk to other subspecies remains unknown. We detected CDV neutralizing antibodies in nine of 21 wild- caught Sumatran tigers (42.9%), including one sampled on the day of capture, confirming exposure in the wild.

Species conservation can be improved by knowledge of evolutionary and genetic history. Tigers are among the most charismatic of endangered species and garner significant conservation attention. However, their evolutionary history and genomic variation remains poorly known, especially for Indian tigers. With 70% of the worlds wild tigers living in I...

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is recognized as a conservation threat to Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in Russia, but the risk to other subspecies remains unknown. We detected CDV neutralizing antibodies in nine of 21 wild-caught Sumatran tigers (42.9%), including one sampled on the day of capture, confirming exposure in the wild.

The endangered Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a keystone species playing an essential role in ecology as well as in the social and spiritual lives of the Himalayan people. The latest estimate of the Bengal tiger population in Bhutan accounts for 103 individuals. Infectious organisms, including zoonotic parasites causing high burden in hum...

Significance The decline and progressive fragmentation of many threatened populations increase extinction vulnerability due to outbreaks of infectious disease. Vaccination is one of the few tools available to mitigate these threats, but its use is often hampered by insufficient epidemiological understanding and historic controversies over endangere...

Outbreaks of emerging coronaviruses in the past two decades and the current pandemic of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in China highlight the importance of this viral family as a zoonotic public health threat. To gain a better understanding of coronavirus presence and diversity in wildlife at wildlife-human interfaces in three southe...

Outbreaks of emerging coronaviruses in the past two decades and the current pandemic of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in China highlight the importance of this viral family as a zoonotic public health threat. To gain a better understanding of coronavirus presence and diversity in wildlife at wildlife-human interfaces in three southe...

Coronaviruses can become zoonotic, as in the case of COVID-19, and hunting, sale, and consumption of wild animals in Southeast Asia increases the risk for such incidents. We sampled and tested rodents (851) and other mammals and found betacoronavirus RNA in 12 rodents. The sequences belong to two separate genetic clusters and are closely related to...

Translocation of wildlife as a means of reintroducing or reinforcing threatened populations is an important conservation tool but carries health risks for the translocated animals and their progeny, as well as wildlife, domestic animals and humans in the release area. Disease risk analyses (DRA) are used to identify, prioritise and design mitigatio...

Coronaviruses can become zoonotic as in the case of COVID-19, and hunting, sale, and consumption of wild animals in Southeast Asia facilitates an increased risk for such incidents. We sampled and tested rodents (851) and other mammals, and found Betacoronavirus RNA in 12 rodents. The sequences belong to two separate genetic clusters, and relate clo...

Growing evidence suggests that multiple wildlife species can be infected with peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), with important consequences for the potential maintenance of PPRV in communities of susceptible hosts, and the threat that PPRV may pose to the conservation of wildlife populations and resilience of ecosystems. Significant knowledg...

Growing evidence suggests that multiple wildlife species can be infected with peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), with important consequences for the potential maintenance of PPRV in communities of susceptible hosts, and the threat that PPRV may pose to the conservation of wildlife populations and resilience of ecosystems. Significant knowledg...

Tigers are among the most charismatic of endangered species, yet little is known about their evolutionary history. We sequenced 65 individual genomes representing extant tiger geographic range. We found strong genetic differentiation between putative tiger subspecies, divergence within the last 10,000 years, and demographic histories dominated by p...

Virus ecology and evolution play a central role in disease emergence. However, their relative roles will vary depending on the viruses and ecosystems involved. We combined field studies, phylogenetics and experimental infections to document with unprecedented detail the stages that precede initial outbreaks during viral emergence in nature. Using s...

A. Phylogenetic relationship of the PB1 genes derived from AIVs isolated from wild birds in Mongolia between 2009 and 2011. Maximum likelihood tree using a sequence dataset comprising 860 IAV sequences representing 21,277 IAV genomes. EIV/Jilin/89 is marked in the phylogeny with a red circle, AIVs isolated in Mongolia (AIVs/2009-11) are indicated w...

A. Phylogenetic relationship of the NP genes derived from AIVs isolated from wild birds in Mongolia between 2009 and 2011. Maximum likelihood tree using a sequence dataset comprising 860 IAV sequences representing 21,277 IAV genomes. EIV/Jilin/89 is marked in the phylogeny with a red circle, AIVs isolated in Mongolia (AIVs/2009-11) are indicated wi...

Comparison between hemagglutination inhibition and microneutralization assays. (PDF)

Individual hemagglutination inhibition results for viruses used in this study. (XLSX)

A. Phylogenetic relationship of the PA genes derived from AIVs isolated from wild birds in Mongolia between 2009 and 2011. Maximum likelihood tree using a sequence dataset comprising 860 IAV sequences representing 21,277 IAV genomes. EIV/Jilin/89 is marked in the phylogeny with a red circle, AIVs isolated in Mongolia (AIVs/2009-11) are indicated wi...

A. Phylogenetic relationship of the NS genes derived from AIVs isolated from wild birds in Mongolia between 2009 and 2011. Maximum likelihood tree using a sequence dataset comprising 860 IAV sequences representing 21,277 IAV genomes. EIV/Jilin/89 is marked in the phylogeny with a red circle, AIVs isolated in Mongolia (AIVs/2009-11) are indicated wi...

Phylogenetic relationship of the MP genes derived from AIVs isolated from wild birds in Mongolia between 2009 and 2011. Maximum likelihood tree using a sequence dataset comprising 860 IAV sequences representing 21,277 IAV genomes. EIV/Jilin/89 is marked in the phylogeny with a red circle, AIVs isolated in Mongolia (AIVs/2009-11) are indicated with...

A. Phylogenetic relationship of the PB2 genes derived from AIVs isolated from wild birds in Mongolia between 2009 and 2011. Maximum likelihood tree using a sequence dataset comprising 860 IAV sequences representing 21,277 IAV genomes. EIV/Jilin/89 is marked in the phylogeny with a red circle, AIVs isolated in Mongolia (AIVs/2009-11) are indicated w...

Avian influenza viruses isolated and sequenced for this study. (DOCX)

Equine influenza viruses isolated and sequenced in this study. (XLS)

The critically endangered population of Far Eastern leopards (Panthera pardus orientalis) may number as few as 60 individuals and is at risk from stochastic processes such as infectious disease. During May 2015, a case of canine distemper virus (CDV) was diagnosed in a wild leopard exhibiting severe neurologic disease in the Russian territory of Pr...

Amur, or Far Eastern leopards Panthera pardus orientalis, rarely come into captivity, but in 2015, two animals were brought to the TRNGO Rehabilitation Centre in the Rus- sian Far East. One animal was confirmed to have canine distemper, the first such doc- umentation for this subspecies in the wild, and was eventually euthanised. Analyses of archiv...

In the late 1990s, populations of three species of Gyps vultures, once considered the most abundant large raptors on earth, underwent a precipitous decline on the Asian subcontinent. After less than a decade, they had virtually been extinguished. Here, we detail the numerous lines of investigation that were urgently but scrupulously undertaken to e...

Caves provide critical roosting habitats for bats globally, but are increasingly disturbed or destroyed by human activities such as tourism and extractive industries. In addition to degrading the habitats of cave-roosting bats, such activities often promote contact between humans and bats, which may have potential impacts on human health. Cave-roos...

We provide practical information on health care to recently rescued free-ranging snow leopards Panthera uncia taken into captivity. We aim to address the most frequently asked questions on snow leopard health by people involved in captive rehabilitation initiatives across range countries, who may have limited access to wildlife health expertise. Mo...

Although a wide range of diseases have been reported in captive snow leopards, little is known about those affecting the species in the wild. However, the potential threat from diseases to wild snow leopards must not be underestimated as a consequence of lack of health surveillance throughout the inaccessible terrains they occupy. As a felid, the s...

Avian hemosporidian parasites have been detected in Asia, but little information is known about the hemosporidian parasite lineages that circulate in waterbirds that migrate along the East Asian and Central Asian migratory flyways to breed in Mongolia. To gather baseline data on hemosporidian parasite presence in Mongolian waterbirds, 151 blood-spo...

Eastern Mongolia supports one of the most important breeding populations of the White-naped Crane Antigone vipio (WNC), which is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN. Large numbers of WNCs were found to be breeding at high densities within the Ulz River basin during surveys conducted in 2000 and 2001, along a 270 km section of the river. Followin...

Interspecific interference competition including lethal interactions are notoriously difficult to document. While lethal interactions between Amur tigers, Amur leopards, and wolves have all been recorded, no records of such incidents between tigers and the Eurasian lynx exist. Following tiger tracks in Bastak Nature Reserve (Russia), we recorded th...

Although the majority of emerging infectious diseases can be linked to wildlife sources, most pathogen spillover events to people could likely be avoided if transmission was better understood and practices adjusted to mitigate risk. Wildlife trade can facilitate zoonotic disease transmission and represents a threat to human health and economies in...

Sampling timeline of basic market surveys at the seven high volume markets, used for zoonotic risk analysis. (DOCX)

Summary of observational surveys conducted and analysis conducted on each dataset. (DOCX)

Species observed being traded that are listed in the Lao PDR Wildlife and Aquatic Law. Species included are those classified as Category I, species that are rare or near extinct or Category II, species where if management is neglected, they will become extinct. (DOCX)

Overview of basic survey visits to the seven high volume markets (A:G; n = 125) and all other markets (M01:M86; n = 250). (DOCX)

Significant zoonoses by taxonomic family. Diseases considered as significant zoonoses are based on Pavlin et al. [24], (marked P in table below), and Levison et al. [23] (marked L in the table). Significant zoonoses jointly reported by Pavlin et al. [24] and Levison et al. [23] are marked with a P. Due to the non-host specificity of many infectious...

Raw data from basic and detailed market surveys. (XLSX)

Species observed being traded that are listed on the IUCN Redlist. Species included as those classified as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (V) or Near Threatened (NT). (DOCX)

Morbillivirus neutralising antibodies are traditionally measured using either plaque reduction neutralisation tests (PRNTs) or live virus microneutralisation tests (micro-NTs). While both test formats provide a reliable assessment of the strength and specificity of the humoral response, they are restricted by the limited number of viral strains tha...

Background Astroviruses are comprised of two genera with Avastrovirus infecting birds and Mamastrovirus infecting mammals. Avastroviruses have primarily been associated with infections of poultry, especially chicken, turkey, duck, and guineafowl production systems, but also infect wading birds and doves. Outcomes result in a spectrum of disease, ra...

Canine distemper virus (CDV) has recently been identified in populations of wild tigers in Russia and India. Tiger populations are generally too small to maintain CDV for long periods, but are at risk of infections arising from more abundant susceptible hosts that constitute a reservoir of infection. Because CDV is an additive mortality factor, it...

Surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) in wild birds is logistically demanding due to the very low rates of virus detection. Serological approaches may be more cost effective as they require smaller sample sizes to identify exposed populations. We hypothesized that antigenic differences between classical Eurasian H5 subt...

Weak environmental assessments undermine regulations. An estimated 6051 tons of active substances went into the production of veterinary pharmaceuticals (VPs) for the treatment of food animals in the European Union (EU) in 2004, including 5393 tons of antibiotics and 194 tons of an- tiparasitics (1). With global meat production projected to increas...

Lethal infections with canine distemper virus (CDV) have recently been diagnosed in Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica), but long-term implications for the population are unknown. This study evaluates the potential impact of CDV on a key tiger population in Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Zapovednik (SABZ), and assesses how CDV might influence the extinct...

Pallas's Fish Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus (PFE) is sparsely distributed across a vast swathe of central, eastern and southern Asia, and is classified as 'Vulnerable' by IUCN on the basis of popu-lation size and reports of declines in many areas. Mongolia has long been considered a breeding stronghold for the species, but evidence to support this i...

I AM writing to draw attention to an urgent conservation issue that directly concerns the veterinary profession. Members might be aware that the use of the NSAID diclofenac for the treatment of livestock in the Indian subcontinent was responsible for the loss of more than 99 per cent of India's vulture population, which once numbered in the tens of...

Wild aquatic birds are recognized as the natural reservoir of avian influenza A viruses (AIV), but across high and low pathogenic AIV strains, scientists have yet to rigorously identify most competent hosts for the various subtypes. We examined 11,870 GenBank records to provide a baseline inventory and insight into patterns of global AIV subtype di...

We examined 48 published studies for which sample sizes could be ascertained to determine the historic prevalence of influenza A(H7N9) virus in wild bird populations and reviewed GenBank data to further establish its distribution. Low prevalence (0.0093%) in Asia suggests > 30,000 samples would be required to detect the H7N9 subtype in wild birds.

Historic global distribution and prevalence of influenza A (H7N9) in wild birds and prevalence of subtypes H7, N9, H7N9, and H9N2 in Asia, supported by a review of 48 studies.

Amphibian trade is known to facilitate the geographic spread of pathogens. Here we assess the health of amphibians traded in Southeast Asia for food or as pets, focusing on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), ranavirus and general clinical condition. Samples were collected from 2,389 individual animals at 51 sites in Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam and...

Mongolia combines a near absence of domestic poultry, with an abundance of migratory waterbirds, to create an ideal location to study the epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) in a purely wild bird system. Here we present the findings of active and passive surveillance for HPAIV subtype H5N1 in Mongolia from 2005–2011, tog...

Summary of samples collected during outbreak investigations. Includes number of individuals sampled through capture of live birds, collection of fecal samples and sampling of clinically sick and dead birds. Total numbers of birds from which samples were submitted for virus isolation by inoculation into embryonated chicken eggs (n) are given by spec...

Summary of samples collected during active surveillance and analysed by RT-PCR. Includes number of individuals sampled each year through capture of live birds, collection of fecal samples and sampling of clinically sick and dead birds. Total numbers of birds from which samples were submitted for RT-PCR (n) are given by species, along with numbers o...