In The News

Keith Poulsen at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab says chronic wasting disease research in Wisconsin is almost non-existent. "We should be paying some more attention to this disease because we don't know enough about it," he said. "Actually, asking more questions than what we have answers to."

A new study from a team led by UW-Madison researchers has discovered new biomarkers that could help distinguish fatal Ebola infections from non-fatal ones. The study’s senior author, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, is a virology professor at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. He led a team studying Ebola cases in Sierra Leone, which saw a “major outbreak” of the disease in 2014.

While trying to avoid alarmism, global health agencies are steadily ratcheting up concern about bird flu in Asia. Bird viruses that can infect humans — particularly those of the H7N9 strain — continue to spread to new cities there. Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a well-known virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, showed that a Chinese H7N9 strain could both kill ferrets and be transmitted between them.  

Wildlife researchers in Wisconsin need hunters to test their deer to fill gaps in knowledge about Chronic Wasting Disease. Keith Poulsen, director of outreach at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, says that hunter help is essential to studying CWD.

The study, led by Ian Duncan at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, found renewed but thin myelin sheaths are able to restore the defective nervous system for years.

The generation of a thin myelin sheath during remyelination — one that continues to protect nerve cells over time — is indicative of the long-term health and activity of the central nervous system in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows.

Researchers have identified a new species of orangutan in an isolated forest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Fewer than 800 individuals remain. "As a scientist, I'm thrilled by this discovery," says Graham Banes, a primatologist at UW-Madison who was not involved in the rare find. "As a human, I'm horrified that we might not have enough time to save the species."

Under the direction of Pam McCloud Smith, the Dane County Humane Society not only serves more than 8,000 animals per year, it has developed humane-education programs, collaborated with community partners such as the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, and established events such as Community Dog Days. Combined, they have led to a steady decrease in shelter intake of surrendered and stray dogs and cats.

The complex issue of vaccinating newborn calves is explored in a peer-reviewed article,  Does Your Vaccination Protocol Compromise Newborn Health?, by Sheila McGuirk, veterinary clinician at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, and Mark Cook, late professor in Animal Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.