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Update on toxicological investigations
Independent assessments of toxicological data from healthy devils and devils suffering from Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease found that a chemical cause of the disease is unlikely.
The two reports (see links below) also indicated that although levels of dioxin and other chemicals were detected in devil tissues they were at levels to be expected for a top of the food chain species such as the Tasmanian devil.
None of the chemicals measured were at significantly different levels in diseased and healthy animals and there was no evidence that any of the chemicals are linked to DFTD.
The assessments were undertaken as one part of the research into possible causes of the disease and simply help guide ongoing investigations in this field.
The two assessments were undertaken by Dr Tony Ross, a specialist veterinary pathologist with a strong background in toxicology and Professor Michael Moore, the Director of the National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology.
In his report, Dr Tony Ross says a small number of chemicals may warrant further investigation including arsenic and some of the brominated diphenyl ethers.
He states that although the results will be of interest to some scientists, they do not show a link between chemicals and DFTD.
The next stage of this area will involve further discussions with scientific staff involved in the project, and the independent toxicologists to identify any other areas that may need further examination in relation to the disease.
