What diseases do Tasmanian Devils get?

Answer 1

The main disease which Tasmanian devils get is the Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), a fatal condition which causes cancers around the face and head of Tasmanian Devils. It first appears as small lesions and lumps around the animal's mouth which grow quite quickly, inhibiting the Devil's ability to feed. They slowly starve to death, whilst their their bodily functions gradually break down. It spreads from animal to animal through them biting each other, and given that this is natural behaviour for Devils, it means that the disease can quickly spread through a population.

Whilst there is no actual cure for the disease yet, scientists have identified the genetic marker that causes Tasmanian devils to be predisposed to the disease, and this will go a long way towards finding a cure. Also, scientists have recently reported promising results in cancer cures from a drug manufactured frfom a certain type of brushwood in the North Queensland tropical rainforests. This has worked successfully in trials on cancerous tumours in cats, dogs and horses, and as well as being hoped to be a potential cure in human cancers, it is also hoped to be able to be used against DFTD.