Tiger Talk podcast: Dr. Mark Mitchell on why wildlife health matters to human health

On this month’s podcast, Tiger Talk: LSU Vet Med edition, Dr. Mark Mitchell shares how his work in wildlife medicine and epidemiology helps protect both animals and people. As director of the Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana, he and his clinical team treat sick and injured wildlife while tracking diseases like West Nile virus and avian influenza that can impact public health. He explains how Louisiana’s climate, flooding, and changing environments influence the spread of disease—and what residents can do to stay safe. His message is clear: protecting wildlife and their habitats is essential to protecting our own future.

Q: What is your role at LSU?

A: I am a professor of wildlife medicine and epidemiology. And so, I have dual roles. One is to be a clinician in which I direct the Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana. And the other is as an epidemiologist and a scholar, I do a lot of research on conservation medicine, trying to protect the animals of the world.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you?

A: I usually roll in around 6 a.m. and spend a couple of hours trying to get ahead of advising my graduate students who are working on different projects. Depending on what the day is, I get to teach one of my favorite things — biostatistics. I'm sure that's right up there for most people. Then we go into rounds when I'm on clinics. So, I'll meet with all the veterinary students, and we'll discuss all the cases in our hospital and make a plan for the day. And then we spend the rest of the day trying to fix things that have been broken and presented to us.

Q: Why did you choose this field?

A: Since I was seven years old, I wanted to be a veterinarian, and I was always fascinated with all creatures in the animal kingdom. And so, I was always the one who wanted to do these things. I was the kid who was out catching everything he could. And I've just basically gone from doing it in the backyard to places like Belize and Costa Rica and the Galapagos.

Q: What is wildlife epidemiology — and why does it matter?

A: That is looking at population health. And it's really, for those who are interested in the concept of One Health, which is looking at how the environment and human health and animal health intersect wildlife, epidemiology is very important because what it allows us to do is to basically help protect and conserve animal populations while also looking for specific diseases in them. In the past year, for example, we've identified some diseases that potentially are zoonotic, meaning they can go from animals to humans, or even animals to animals. And so, the idea that by sharing that information, we can help protect the public.

Q: How do diseases in wildlife affect people in Louisiana?

A: For Louisiana, we are sitting in the subtropics. And so, we have a number of diseases that can stay here year-round as a result. Certain diseases are going to be spread much more with flooding, for example. With climate change, that's another big issue we're facing. Climate change is affecting the way that animals move, and it's also affecting the way that diseases move.

Q: What are the biggest wildlife-related health concerns right now?

A: The biggest ones down here are the viral diseases. And West Nile virus is a big one. Eastern equine encephalitis. And then, of course, the real big one right now is highly pathogenic avian influenza. Over the last couple of years when you said, “Why are my eggs so expensive?” That's why. They have euthanized hundreds of millions of birds, which affects eggs, chicken prices, etc.

Q: What can residents do to protect themselves?

A: The big thing to do is to minimize your contact. So always look at wildlife from afar. That's the most important thing. The other thing is to make sure that your surrounding area is clean and free of standing water. So, I tell folks, keep your cats indoors. They're not really built for Louisiana to be out there, and they can negatively impact our wildlife.

Q: How do wildlife diseases spread to humans?

A: The diseases in wildlife can impact humans in a couple different ways. One is they can impact humans directly. Others can be indirect because some birds, for example, can harbor the West Nile virus. And again, the human is not really going to know those things are happening other than, “Oh, I got bitten by another mosquito.”

Q: What policy changes would most help wildlife?

A: As we start to look at how we could potentially protect wildlife, it is making sure we're saving habitat. The most important thing for wildlife across the globe is saving habitat. If the wildlife and the animals go, so go the humans. And so, it's essential that we protect those things.

Q: How can the public get involved or help?

A: If you have any questions or you have encountered injured wildlife, the Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana can receive those cases between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., seven days a week. And if anyone ever has a question or concern, feel free to call us at the LSU Vet Med Small Animal Hospital at (225) 578-9600.

About LSU Vet Med: Bettering lives through education, public service, and discovery

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 33 veterinary schools in the U.S. and the only one in Louisiana. LSU Vet Med is dedicated to improving and protecting the lives of animals and people through superior education, transformational research, and compassionate care. We teach. We heal. We discover. We protect.