2019 CVM News: Cornell researchers create framework predicting the risks pathogens pose to endangered species

Abstract

This news item is about: Four years ago, 200,000 endangered saiga antelope dropped dead on the remote steppe grassland of Central Asia in the species’ worst recorded mass mortality event. Dr. Wendy Beauvais, postdoctoral researcher in the College of Veterinary Medicine, was a part of the team that pinpointed the cause of death — a deadly bacterium in the herd’s bloodstream triggered by environmental factors — and has used the saiga as a case study to develop a framework to rapidly assess and prioritize future risks of pathogens to wildlife.