Dr. Geoffrey R.
Gardner, a Lakeland Veterinarian and researcher for The
Regal Swan™ vaccinates an English Mute Swan in Lakeland,
Florida.
©
Photo by Shirley Bolin, The Regal Swan™. All rights reserved.
Florida Researchers
Confirm Vaccine Used Against Botulism In Swans Highly Successful.
Titer tests
conducted over three-year period confirm results and establish
vaccination protocols.
ORLANDO, Florida
-- Six Florida researchers confirmed
today that a vaccine used against botulism in swans has been
highly successful in showing a sustained level of antibody response.
The group's research offers the first real hope that a vaccine
against the deadly Clostridia bacterial toxin can protect the
world's largest waterfowl.
The three-year scientific study and more
than 20-years clinical trial of vaccine usage in swans produced
no detrimental side effects or deaths in inoculated swans. The
Regal Swan™, a Florida based group, conducted the study
while Pfizer Animal Health sponsored the research by providing
laboratory and testing assistance. The titer tests were conducted
by Rod Little, Pfizer Global Manufacturing.
Current vaccination protocols were established
based on the scientific research gathered during the course of
the study. The data collected indicated that an additional inoculation
would be beneficial to vaccinated cygnets between five and six
months of age to enhance and maintain antibody levels. The use
of the Pfizer Ultrabac® CD vaccine for use in swans remains
an off-label application.
Prior to the research, no proven vaccine
existed for the deadly botulism toxin. In the early 80's, a Lakeland,
Florida veterinarian, Wade G. Gardner, D.V.M., pioneered the
use of the Pfizer Ultrabac® CD vaccine in swans to mitigate
swan deaths due to botulism at Lake Morton. Some of Lakeland's
English Mute Swans are direct descendants of a mating pair of
English Mute Swans donated to the city by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
II in 1957.
Dr. Gardner, now retired, knew that an
established vaccine was available for Clostridial diseases in
cows. Dr. Gardner theorized that the symptoms of Clostridial
diseases could mimic botulism. He began experimental inoculation
in the Lakeland swans using the Ultrabac® CD vaccine. Until
the Florida group's research, no titer testing existed in swans
and the scientific investigation into the swans' antibody response
to the vaccine had not been documented. Initial vaccination protocols
were set by Dr. Wade Gardner through his clinical applications.
As a result, Lakeland swan deaths due to botulism were mitigated
for more than 20 years.
Left to right: Dr. Wade G. Gardner,
retired Lakeland veterinarian who pioneered the use of the vaccine
against botulism. Sheila Bolin, swan keeper Orange Lake Resort & Country Club in
Orlando, Florida and researcher for The Regal Swan™ and
Dr. Geoffrey Gardner, Lakeland veterinarian, Lakeland Veterinarian
Hospital, Lakeland, Florida and researcher for The Regal Swan™,
son of Dr. Wade G. Gardner.
©
Photo by Shirley Bolin, The Regal Swan™. All rights reserved.
Three swan sites were used in the testing
protocols: Lake Morton, a 40-acre lake in Lakeland, Florida,
served as the natural lake test site while the eight-acre Fountain
Lake at Orange
Lake Resort & Country Club in Orlando, Florida, served
as the man-made test site. Orange Lake is an 1,100 acre resort
developed by Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inns®.
The control test site for the research was located at Memphis
Zoo in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Regal Swan™ researchers were:
Geoffrey R. Gardner, D.V.M., Lakeland Veterinary Hospital, Lakeland,
Florida; Christopher W. Brown, D.V.M., Central Florida relief
veterinarian, Orlando, Florida; Fanchon F. Funk, Ed.D., associate
professor, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida; Sheila
A. Bolin, M.S., swan keeper, Orange Lake Resort & Country
Club, Orlando, Florida; Rebecca Webb Wilson, J.D., professional
photographer and lifetime trustee of the Memphis Zoological Society,
Memphis, Tennessee; and Shirley A. Bolin, A.G.S., head photographer
and staff writer, Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, Orlando,
Florida.
Photo of left to right: Rebecca Webb Wilson, photographer and researcher
for The Regal Swan™, her husband Spence Wilson, chairman
of the board, Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, Orlando,
Florida. Spence's father, Kemmons Wilson, is the founder of Orange
Lake and Holiday Inn®. Dr. Christopher W. Brown, veterinarian
and researcher for The Regal Swan™ holding an English Mute
Swan cygnet from Orange Lake.
©
Photo by Shirley Bolin, The Regal Swan™. All rights reserved.
Additionally, the six-team members compiled
crucial information on worldwide swan mortality through the efforts
of Roger Cullingham, (theroyalwindsorwebsite.com by Thamesweb),
Windsor, England; Her Majesty's Swan Warden, Dr. Christopher
Perrins, director of The Earl Grey Institute of Ornithology,
Oxford University, London, England; Her Majesty's Swan Marker,
David Barber; Dorothy Beeson, founder, The Swan Sanctuary, Egham,
England; Steve Knight, trustee, The Swan Sanctuary, Egham, England;
Martin Brown, animal health officer, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
Fund, Slimbridge, England; Dr. Vladimir Spitsin, director of
the Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia; Sergei Popov, head of research
at the Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia; and Dr. Nikolai Puchkov, The
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
Fanchon F. Funk, Ed.D. associate
professor, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida and
a researcher for The Regal Swan™.
©
Photo by Shirley Bolin, The Regal Swan™. All rights reserved.
Shirley Bolin, photographer and
researcher for The Regal Swan™ holding a Lakeland English
Mute Swan.
©
Photo by Shirley Bolin, The Regal Swan™. All rights reserved.
Dr. Christopher W. Brown takes
a blood sample from an Orange Lake
English Mute cygnet as associate swan keeper Kathleen Sterling
holds
the young swan.
©
Photo by Shirley Bolin, The Regal Swan™. All rights reserved.
Rebecca Webb Wilson, photographer
and researcher for The Regal Swan™
with an Orange Lake English Mute Swan.
©
Photo by Shirley Bolin, The Regal Swan™. All rights reserved.
Sponsors include:
Pfizer Animal Health, Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, City
of Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland Veterinary Hospital, Antech Diagnostic
Labs, Inc., American Camper, Blitz® USA, Bushnell Sports
Optics Worldwide, Cobra Electronics, Hunt Manufacturing Company,
IQ Scientific Instruments, Kaz Incorporated, Lab Essentials,
Inc., The National High Magnetic Laboratory, Florida State University;
The Memphis Zoo, Orlando Science Center, theroyalwindsorwebsite.com
by Thamesweb, Windsor, England; Sharn Veterinary, Inc., The Sports
Authority, Timex®, VetCare, Vicks Company and Western Pest
Services.
For further information on the 'Regal Swan Project', contact Sheila Bolin,
Orange
Lake Resort & Country Club (Email: Bolin.S@att.net)
Telephone: (407) 931-6838 or Dr. Geoffrey Gardner at (941) 665-1811.
|
A note from The Regal
Swan™
Team
The Regal Swan™ would
like to express its sincere appreciation and thanks to the following:
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her
kind donation of swans to the city of Lakeland in 1957, which
made this research possible.
Her Majesty's Swan Warden, Dr. Christopher
Perrins and Her Majesty's Swan Marker, Mr. David Barber, for
helping to compile critical information necessary to conduct
the research.
Mr. Roger Cullingham, Thamesweb and The
Royal Windsor Website for helping
to gather contacts and information to compile the data. We are
forever grateful.
With sincere thanks and appreciation, Dr.
Wade G. Gardner for having the courage to use this innovative
idea to quell swan deaths, and most importantly, our deepest
thanks to the Kemmons Wilson family. Without their unwavering
support and help this project would not have been possible.
The Regal Swan™
December 2002
|
|
A note from the Editor,
Thamesweb, Windsor.
Many people, not just here in Windsor or
along the River Thames, but around the world, will be particularly
pleased and relieved to hear of this success by the team in Florida,
USA.
The grace and beauty of a swan enhances
any stretch of water and the successful outcome of this research
will dramatically reduce the sad losses that occur from time
to time due to botulism in the swan population.
Swans on the Thames are synonymous with
Windsor and so we are particularly delighted with this news.
We extend our sincerest congratulations to the team in Florida,
its supporters and sponsors for a job very well done. I know
a lot of swans down by the river who will be very pleased to
hear the news too!
|
To contact us, email
Thamesweb.
|
