Munday B L, Whittington R J, Stewart N J
Department of Aquaculture, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1998 Jul 29;353(1372):1093-9. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1998.0268.
Before the arrival of European settlers in Australia, the platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, probably suffered from little disease. Among other things, European settlement has involved substantial environmental perturbation, introduction of large predators, introduction of motor vehicles and translocation of potential pathogens. As a result, platypuses are now killed by motor vehicles, dogs, foxes and discarded plastic litter. Information programmes targeting appropriate segments of the public would help reduce these unnecessary deaths. The enigmatic disease, ulcerative mycosis, caused by Mucor amphibiorum, has been the subject of scientific investigation in Tasmania for the past 15 years. The apparent recent acceleration in its spread has sounded a warning and more intensive investigation is warranted. The possibility that this pathogen has been translocated from subtropical to temperate Tasmania, Australia, with green free frogs in banana shipments further emphasizes the role of humans in threatening the welfare of the platypus. Recommendations are made in relation to appropriate measures that could be taken to ameliorate disease and trauma in this species.
在欧洲殖民者抵达澳大利亚之前，鸭嘴兽（Ornithorhynchus anatinus）可能很少患病。除其他因素外，欧洲人的定居带来了大规模的环境扰动、引入大型食肉动物、引入机动车辆以及潜在病原体的迁移。结果，鸭嘴兽如今被机动车辆、狗、狐狸和丢弃的塑料垃圾致死。针对特定公众群体的宣传项目将有助于减少这些不必要的死亡。由两栖毛霉（Mucor amphibiorum）引起的神秘疾病——溃疡性真菌病，在过去15年一直是塔斯马尼亚科学研究的对象。其近期明显加速的传播敲响了警钟，有必要进行更深入的调查。这种病原体可能随香蕉运输中的绿雨滨蛙从亚热带转移到澳大利亚温带塔斯马尼亚，这进一步凸显了人类在威胁鸭嘴兽福祉方面所起的作用。文中针对可采取的改善该物种疾病和创伤状况的适当措施提出了建议。
