Zoologists use revolutionary blood-sucking techniques
Kissing bugs have taken blood samples from animals including giraffes
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Thursday, 29, May 2008 08:26
Bloodthirsty kissing bugs are being used at London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo to carry out routine health checks on animals.
The bugs allow stress-free blood samples to be taken without the need to anaesthetise the animal beforehand.
The revolutionary technique is further beneficial as the kissing bugs release pain-reducing substances so the animal is unaware of the procedure.
So far, kissing bugs have successfully taken blood samples from a hippo, cheetah, giraffe, elephant and white rhino at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
The bugs are bred and screened in Germany before use to ensure they do not carry diseases that are transferable to the animals.
"The process is non-invasive and painless for the animal," said ZSL veterinary officer Tim Bouts.
"It might take somewhere between ten and 30 minutes to get a decent sample dependent on how hungry the bug is, how quickly it finds a blood capillary and how thick the skin of its host is."
The use of kissing bugs may also provide a means to collect blood samples from species that have proven difficult to sample by conventional approaches, including smaller animals where veins are inaccessible.