The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus
harrisii), similar to its infamous animated cartoon character, Taz, is a
ferocious carnivore with a notoriously short temper and little patience.
However, future survival of Tasmanian devils in the wild is endangered by a
fatal cancer disease that has wiped out ~60% of Tasmanian devils within just
two decades.
The fact that Tasmanian
devils are prone to a bizarre type of contagious facial cancer disease was
first noted in 1996 in the far north east of Tasmania, and since then, the
disease has spread south and west and now affects devils in over 85% of their
distribution territory.
The disease, termed devil facial
tumor disease (DFTD), is spread by biting, causing the appearance of tumors on
the face, jaws and in the oral cavity. The tumors often become very large and
in ~60% of the cases, metastasize to internal organs, including regional lymph
nodes, lungs, spleen, heart and kidneys. The tumors kill the host within 6
months of the emergence of first lesions, due to starvation, secondary
infection and metastases formation.
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