Sea turtles and drug therapy

“Sea turtles suffering from toxic red tide exposure could benefit from a therapy used to treat human drug overdoses,” was the lead in a September 16, 2019, Morris Animal Foundation press release. The release detailed a Loggerhead Marinelife Center study, which the Foundation is funding, that is testing a treatment that could greatly increase the rates at which turtles are released back into the wild after red tide poisoning.

The primary goal for this release was to succinctly explain how the process works and its superiority to current methods of rehabilitating afflicted sea turtles. Secondarily, we wanted to touch on the treatment’s origins in human medicine, to clear the human body of harmful drugs, like cocaine.

The release performed well, with 65 total stories and a potential circulation of more than 66 million readers. It received a second life after a pitched story in the Miami Herald ran in a dozen other outlets.