research studies

research studies » current studies

In 2008, Morris Animal Foundation will fund nearly 200 new and continuing studies for dogs, cats, horses, llamas/alpacas, and wildlife as well as more than 40 veterinary student projects.

We also have numerous studies nearing completion. You can search our current study database by species and/or disease to learn more about the studies we are funding in the areas you care most about. The results will also show you whether a study is available for sponsorship.

Study

D07ZO-632: Immune Response to Viral Interleukin 10 in Gammaherpesvirus Infected Black Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou)

principal investigator: Martha Cline, Veterinary Student Scholar, University of Tennessee

needs sponsorship

Year: 1 of 1. $5,000

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is an often fatal disease of cattle and other hoofstock. One form of this herpesvirus occurs mainly in Africa where wildebeest serve as the primary carrier and can infect cattle when co-mingled while grazing or when they are housed in close proximity such as at zoos or wild animal parks. Not only is MCF a risk to cattle, but also to wildebeest because ranching communities often kill the animals in their efforts to protect the cattle. The researchers hypothesize that a protein produced by the virus tricks the host immune system into allowing the virus to grow. This study will examine the production of this protein and how the wildebeest responds to it. The goal is to develop a vaccine that will protect susceptible animals from disease and reduce or eliminate the need for wildebeest eradication efforts.

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