BRISTOL Zoo has won a top award in recognition of its veterinary work.

The zoo's in-house veterinary team won the award for Significant Advances in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine at the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) awards ceremony.

The award was in recognition of the zoo's pioneering use of a test to detect avian malaria in penguins and Inca Terns.

Bristol Zoo Gardens' head of veterinary services, Sharon Redrobe, said: "The susceptibility of outdoor captive penguins and certain other bird species to malaria is well documented.

"It is restricted to birds and cannot spread to humans; penguins catch it from birds such as swallows which migrate to Africa and then bring it back when they return. Insects then transfer it to the penguins.

"I was researching malaria and wondered if the human test for malaria would work on birds. I spoke to the researcher who developed the test and he agreed that there was no reason why it shouldn't work in the same way on birds.

"The test can be performed in-house, requires just one drop of blood and takes 20 minutes to run. Avian malaria can be cured if it is treated early enough so we now routinely test our penguins and Inca Terns for this disease. This test is a real breakthrough for the treatment and management of malaria in captive birds. It has proven very effective and we have not had any major outbreaks since we started using it.

"It is great to receive these awards; they show that the industry recognises the work that goes on at Bristol Zoo every day."

The judges said: "This avian malaria test allows for diagnosis of the disease at a sufficiently early stage to enable successful treatment. This represents a major advance in keeping control of an avian disease which is becoming more prevalent due to global warming."

Bristol Zoo was one of 16 winners chosen from 77 entries at the annual BIAZA awards.