Development of a Non-Invasive Surveillance Tool for Wildlife Health: A New Generation of Sensing Technologies for Planetary Solutions

Emerging infectious diseases are not unique to humans; in fact, many pathogens infect a broad range of vertebrates, including wildlife species and domesticated animals; nearly 50% of emerging and re-emerging diseases of humans are classified as zoonotic. In other cases, humans serve as sources of pathogens to wildlife. This project seeks to develop an innovative and unique method to safely acquire biological samples from wildlife, to track the emergence of infectious diseases without risk to animals or people. The autonomous nature of the device means that data can be acquired and transmitted in near real time, and the data then integrated with geospatial information on the movement patterns of humans, livestock, and wildlife. This non-invasive surveillance tool represents the next big step in combating emerging infectious disease threats at the ever-expanding animal-human interface.