Research on a disease outbreak in a private collection of pythons in Australia has led to the discovery of a deadly new snake virus. Assistant Professor in Zoological Medicine at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, Jim Wellehan has been working with colleagues in Australia and Germany on the discovery. Wellehan's research will be published in the October journal, "Infection, Genetics and Evolution." Wellehan says understanding the ecology and diversity of infectious diseases of wildlife is critical. He talked with Florida's 89.1, WUFT-FM's Donna Green-Townsend about his latest research on the snake virus and why it has an important tie to human health.
Pt. 1
http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/FPJimWellehanPT1.mp3