At many zoos and parks, cheetahs are bred in captivity due to their dwindling population numbers in the wild. At one such park, the Winston Safari Park in Oregon, two cheetahs were acquired from California. The two cheetahs that were transferred from California were found to have a mutated form of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a viral disease that affects one or many systems in the cat’s body and leads to the death of the cat. The disease may remain undetectable at first, causing the cat to show no symptoms over a longer period of time. Over the next two years, approximately 90% of the cheetahs at the park became infected with FIP.

Question

At many zoos and parks, cheetahs are bred in captivity due to their dwindling population numbers in the wild. At one such park, the Winston Safari Park in Oregon, two cheetahs were acquired from California. The two cheetahs that were transferred from California were found to have a mutated form of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a viral disease that affects one or many systems in the cat’s body and leads to the death of the cat. The disease may remain undetectable at first, causing the cat to show no symptoms over a longer period of time. Over the next two years, approximately 90% of the cheetahs at the park became infected with FIP.
Which three of the following hypotheses should be studied to protect the uninfected population?
a. Cheetahs from California are the only ones infected with FIP.
b. Cheetahs who have the unmutated form of FIP have immunity to the new form.
c. Cheetahs inherit FIP so any new cheetahs born automatically have the disease.
d. Cheetahs spread FIP through saliva while eating shared food.
e. Cheetahs in close proximity to infected individuals receive viruses through water droplets
f. Cheetahs with the mutated FIP live longer than those with the original variant.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

To protect the uninfected population of cheetahs at the Winston Safari Park, the following three hypotheses should be studied:

d. Cheetahs spread FIP through saliva while eating shared food.
Understanding the transmission route of FIP is crucial for preventing further spread among the uninfected population.
e. Cheetahs in close proximity to infected individuals receive viruses through water droplets.
This hypothesis examines another potential route of transmission, which is vital for implementing effective measures to prevent infection.
b. Cheetahs who have the unmutated form of FIP have immunity to the new form.
Investigating whether there is any form of immunity conferred by the unmutated strain can provide insights into breeding and managing the population effectively.

The other hypotheses (a, c, f) are less useful in this context for protecting the uninfected population.