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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Parrot Prosthetics

3-D Printers Help Rehabilitate Animals

Pete, a 34-year-old Amazon parrot, received a boot-like prosthesis made by a 3-D printer from a customized mold after his leg was ripped off by a fox. A day later, he was not only already starting to accept it, but also realized he could place his weight on it. “That in itself is revolutionary for a bird,” says Veterinarian LaToya Latney, service head and attending clinician of the Exotic Companion Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s Ryan Hospital, known as Penn Vet. “He gets it.”

In another case of an interspecies application of new medical technology, Lola, a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, the most endangered species of marine turtle, suffered injuries so extensive that a flipper was amputated. Losing a limb can make it difficult for a turtle to avoid predators or chase after prey. At the Key West Aquarium, in Florida, Iok Wong, Samantha Varela and Vivian Liang, three recent engineering graduates from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts, used their specialized skills and 3-D printing to create an effective, low-cost prosthetic turtle flipper.

 

Image: Andrew Burgess/Shutterstock.com

Global Briefs
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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