Solving Health Mysteries

Step 1: Our Patients are Wild

During in-forest health checks, Gorilla Doctors’ veterinarians visually assess each gorilla in the family group, documenting the gorillas’ breathing, feeding, movement, fecal characteristics, and body condition. Can you spot the superficial wound on one of the gorillas in the video?

Step 2: Clinical Signs as Clues

An individual gorilla’s clinical signs of illness or injury help our field veterinarians determine what may be causing the gorilla’s abnormal condition.

Solving Health Mysteries

Step 3: Gathering Evidence

Gorilla Doctors’ veterinarians know that clinical signs alone cannot reveal all underlying causes. Laboratory analysis of collected field samples is crucial for solving health mysteries.

Indirect Samples (collected non-invasively):

  • Feces, hair, and saliva from chewed plants

Direct Samples (collected under anesthesia):

  • Blood, tissue, and swabs

Step 4: Unraveling the Mystery

Gorilla Doctors Michael Cranfield Regional One Health Laboratory expert technicians process the field samples to help determine what is causing a gorilla’s illness.

Step 5: Connecting the Dots

Results from all the laboratory tests can reveal cause of illness, like a virus, bacteria or parasite, for example. When results raise additional questions, further tests are required. Equally important is the ability to rule out certain diagnoses.

Step 6: Our Hospital is the Forest

Ultimately, the goal of laboratory testing is for our field veterinarians to return to the forest and provide targeted treatment for the ill or injured gorilla to improve its health and ensure its survival.

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