February 1, 2006

Switching Drugs for Livestock May Help Save Critically Endangered Asian Vultures [Journal Article]

Public Library of Science Biology. 2006 Mar; 4(3):e66. Epub 2006 Jan
G Swan, V Naidoo, R Cuthbert, et al.


Abstract excerpt: Veterinary use of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drug diclofenac in South Asia has resulted in the collapse of populations of three vulture species of the genus Gyps to the most severe category of global extinction risk. Vultures are exposed to diclofenac when scavenging on livestock treated with the drug shortly before death. Diclofenac causes kidney damage, increased serum uric acid concentrations, visceral gout, and death. Concern about this issue led the Indian Government to announce its intention to ban the veterinary use of diclofenac by September 2005. Implementation of a ban is still in progress late in 2005, and to facilitate this we sought potential alternative NSAIDs by obtaining information from captive bird collections worldwide. We found that the NSAID meloxicam had been administered to 35 captive Gyps vultures with no apparent ill effects. (photo courtesy of PLoS)

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