Australian scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the fight to save the Tasmanian devil from the cancerous facial tumour disease that is threatening to wipe out the endangered marsupial.

Scientists at the University of Tasmania have developed the first preliminary diagnostic test that could determine whether a devil is suffering from the devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), which is rapidly causing the extinction of the Australian mammal.

Dr Robert Shellie, a separation scientist with the University of Tasmania, said that the preliminary results of the simple blood test, which can be performed in just a few hours, are a “definite breakthrough” in the study of the disease.

Previously it has not been possible to determine whether a Tasmanian devil had DFTD until symptoms, such as facial lesions, appeared. However by early detection the diseased animals could be separated (and possibly culled) from healthy animals in the wild.

It could also help Australia’s various Tasmanian devil breeding programs by reducing the time their animals spend in quarantine (which can take up to three months), as well as aid further research into the deadly cancer.

“One of the consequences of studying the blood of devils using separation science methodology is that we now have the scope to regularly test animals in captivity to ensure they are free of the contagious cancer.'' Dr Shellie said.

DFTD has so far wiped out an estimated 70 per cent of the population of the devil, which is found only in Tasmania and is one of Australia’s celebrated animals. It is feared that the mammals could be extinct within 25 years.

Dr Shellie said that while the results were encouraging, further funding is needed and an analysis of another 1,000 blood samples will be undertaken in the next six months to validate the research.

Various Australian zoos and wildlife parks are working with the Tasmanian Government to place disease-free devils into “insurance breeding programs” in an attempt to increase the healthy population of the animals.

Nick de Vos, a Tasmanian devil expert who runs a breeding program at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, said that the new test is vital to the success of increasing the population.

He said that it could also help in further research for the disease and cut down the screening process and quarantine time for animals used in the breeding programs.

“This is without a doubt a positive step for the Tasmanian devil,” Mr de Vos told The Times.

“At the moment we only know when a devil has the disease by the obvious physical symptoms, and then they usually die within six months.”

“However this blood test could enable us to see how long it would take for the symptoms to become visible and therefore help us further understand the disease.”

Despite being cute and cuddly, the carnivorous Tasmanian devils are cantankerous creatures, with sharp teeth and a healthy appetite for meat and blood.

They are mainly nocturnal, small and stocky. They weigh about 10kg and usually reach the size of a small dog. When stressed they let out a pungent odour and piercing screech.

www.tassiedevil.com.au

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