A Florida State University professor is part of a research team that has successfully tested a vaccine to prevent botulism in swan populations and is helping to rewrite the book on the care of swans living in captivity.
As part of a three-year study carried out by the Florida-based The Regal Swan(tm), FSU educational leadership Associate Professor Fanchon Funk, along with five other researchers, helped establish protocols for inoculating swans with a vaccine for the deadly Clostridia bacterial toxin, which causes botulism. The vaccine, which produced no detrimental side effects or deaths in inoculated swans, resulted in a sustained level of antibody response and the first real hope that a vaccine for botulism can protect the world's largest waterfowl.
The inoculations were part of a clinical trial of vaccine usage in swans covering more than 20 years. Pfizer Animal Health sponsored the research by providing laboratory and testing assistance.
"My involvement in this project has allowed me to draw from my training as a science educator with an emphasis in ornithology," Funk said. "Our entire research team has been driven by an overwhelming desire to add to the knowledge base and literature reflecting the proper care of captive swans."
During the study, Funk and the other researchers would capture swans at the break of dawn not only to administer the vaccine, but also to record a swan's weight, sex, wing span and beak length, the pH levels of its body fluids and measure its blood pressure and blood chemistry. Such early morning captures, according to Funk, will be long remembered by all of the researchers.
"The realization that our groundbreaking research has set the stage for future ornithological investigations into the care of captive swans is extremely exciting and satisfying," Funk said.
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 old to enhance and maintain antibody levels.
Prior to the research, no proven vaccine existed for the deadly botulism toxin in swans. In the early 80s, veterinarian Wade G. Gardner of Lakeland, Fla., pioneered the use of the Pfizer Ultrabac(r) CD vaccine in swans to mitigate swan deaths due to botulism at Lake Morton near Lakeland, Fla., which was one of three sites used in the study. The other sites were Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, Orlando, Fla., and the Memphis Zoo in Memphis, Tenn.
Dr. Gardner, now retired, knew that an established vaccine was available for Clostridial diseases in cows. He theorized that the symptoms of Clostridial diseases could mimic botulism and began experimental inoculation in the Lakeland swans using the Ultrabac(r) CD vaccine. However, until The Regal Swan's(tm) research, no testing existed for swans and the scientific investigation into swans' antibody response to the vaccine had not been documented.
Along with their vaccination results, the researchers are using their experiences to compile a comprehensive book about swan keeping. "Swankeepers Handbook: A Guide to the Care of Captive Swans," will be published in 2003.
"Dr. Funk was a tremendous help with the testing of the vaccine and helping to record the swans' physiological measurements - providing the most comprehensive data to date. She was very knowledgeable about the sciences," said Sheila Bolin, a swan keeper for the Orange Lake Resort & Country Club in Orlando, Fla., and one of the six-member research team.
"This is a great example of collaboration between the United Kingdom and the United States," said Christopher Pook, first secretary (Science and Technology) of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C. The study has been featured on the Royal Windsor Web site and the British Government's Web site.
Along with Funk and Bolin, the other members of the The Regal Swan(tm) team were: Geoffrey R. Gardner, D.V.M., Lakeland Veterinary Hospital, Lakeland, Fla.; Christopher W. Brown, D.V.M., Central Florida relief veterinarian, Orlando, Fla.; Rebecca Webb Wilson, J.D., professional photographer and lifetime trustee of the Memphis Zoological Society, Memphis, Tenn.; and Shirley A. Bolin, A.G.S., head photographer and staff writer, Orange Lake Resort & Country Club, Orlando, Fla.
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