Tasmanian devil's bite may be worse than its bark

A deadly facial cancer is threatening the population of Tasmanian devils in Australia.

Tasmanian devils are dog-sized, carnivorous marsupials named for their screeching bark.

The disfiguring cancer affects more than half the devil population on the island of Tasmania.

Tumours appear on the face and neck of the animals, preventing them from feeding. The devils eventually starve.

Scientists believe the devils may transmit the infectious cancer cells when biting each other around the mouth during fights or courtship.

Anne-Maree Pearse and Kate Swift of the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment in Tasmania performed a genetic analysis of the tumours, which appears in the Feb. 2 issue of the journal Nature.

They say the close kinship and low genetic diversity of Tasmanian devils may reduce their immune response, allowing cancer cells implanted from bites to take hold.

A pilot project to separate infected animals from healthy ones seems to be preventing the spread of the disease, according to a related report in Nature.