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Veterinary Infectious Diseases Commons

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Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Veterinary Infectious Diseases

Deriving Spatially Explicit Direct And Indirect Interaction Networks From Animal Movement Data, Anni Yang, Mark Q. Wilber, Kezia R. Manlove, Ryan S. Miller, Raoul Boughton, James Beasley, Joseph Northrup, Kurt C. Vercauteren, George Wittemyer, Kim Pepin Jan 2023

Deriving Spatially Explicit Direct And Indirect Interaction Networks From Animal Movement Data, Anni Yang, Mark Q. Wilber, Kezia R. Manlove, Ryan S. Miller, Raoul Boughton, James Beasley, Joseph Northrup, Kurt C. Vercauteren, George Wittemyer, Kim Pepin

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Quantifying spatiotemporally explicit interactions within animal populations facilitates the understanding of social structure and its relationship with ecological processes. Data from animal tracking technologies (Global Positioning Systems [“GPS”]) can circumvent longstanding challenges in the estimation of spatiotemporally explicit interactions, but the discrete nature and coarse temporal resolution of data mean that ephemeral interactions that occur between consecutive GPS locations go undetected. Here, we developed a method to quantify individual and spatial patterns of interaction using continuous-time movement models (CTMMs) fit to GPS tracking data. We first applied CTMMs to infer the full movement trajectories at an arbitrarily fine temporal scale …


Social Network Analysis Of White-Tailed Deer Scraping Behavior: Implications For Disease Transmission, Michael E. Egan, Kim M. Pepin, Justin Fischer, Scott R. Hygnstrom, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau Jan 2023

Social Network Analysis Of White-Tailed Deer Scraping Behavior: Implications For Disease Transmission, Michael E. Egan, Kim M. Pepin, Justin Fischer, Scott R. Hygnstrom, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Host contact structure affects pathogen transmission in host populations, but many measures of host contact do not distinguish contacts that are relevant to pathogen transmission from those that are not. Scrapes are sites for chemical communication by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during the breeding season and potential sites of transmission of prions, the causative agent of chronic wasting disease (CWD). Scrape-related behaviors vary in their probability of transmitting prions to or from the environment, suggesting that behavior be combined with contact structure to better reflect potential heterogeneity in prion transmission at scrapes. We recorded visits and behaviors by …


Distribution Of The Misfolded Isoform Of The Prion Protein In Peripheral Tissues And Spinal Cord Of Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) With Naturally Occurring Chronic Wasting Disease, Terry R. Spraker, Thomas Gidlewski, J. G. Powers, T. A. Nichols, M. A. Wild Jan 2023

Distribution Of The Misfolded Isoform Of The Prion Protein In Peripheral Tissues And Spinal Cord Of Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) With Naturally Occurring Chronic Wasting Disease, Terry R. Spraker, Thomas Gidlewski, J. G. Powers, T. A. Nichols, M. A. Wild

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an infectious transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids associated with the presence of a misfolded prion protein (PrPCWD). Progression of PrPCWD distribution has been described using immunohistochemistry and histologic changes in a single section of brain stem at the level of the obex resulting in scores from 0 (early) to 10 (terminal) in elk with naturally occurring CWD. Here we describe the spread and distribution of PrPCWD in peripheral tissues and spinal cord in 16 wild and 17 farmed Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with naturally occurring CWD and correlate these findings with obex scores. …


Detection Of Two Dissimilar Chronic Wasting Disease Isolates In Two Captive Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Canadensis) Herds: Two Distinctive Chronic Wasting Disease Isolates Identified In Captive Elk, Tracy A. Nichols, Eric M. Nicholson, Yihui Liu, Wanyin Tao, Terry R. Spraker, Michael Lavelle, Justin W. Fischer, Qingzhong Kong, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2021

Detection Of Two Dissimilar Chronic Wasting Disease Isolates In Two Captive Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Canadensis) Herds: Two Distinctive Chronic Wasting Disease Isolates Identified In Captive Elk, Tracy A. Nichols, Eric M. Nicholson, Yihui Liu, Wanyin Tao, Terry R. Spraker, Michael Lavelle, Justin W. Fischer, Qingzhong Kong, Kurt C. Vercauteren

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) continues to spread in both wild and captive cervid herds in North America and has now been identified in wild reindeer and moose in Norway, Finland and Sweden. There is limited knowledge about the variety and characteristics of isolates or strains of CWD that exist in the landscape and their implications on wild and captive cervid herds. In this study, we evaluated brain samples from two captive elk herds that had differing prevalence, history and timelines of CWD incidence. Site 1 had a 16-year history of CWD with a consistently low prevalence between 5% and 10%. …


Plants, Prions And Possibilities: Current Understanding And Significance Of Prion Uptake Into Plants, Tracy A. Nichols May 2016

Plants, Prions And Possibilities: Current Understanding And Significance Of Prion Uptake Into Plants, Tracy A. Nichols

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an infectious, neurodegenerative disease of deer (white-tailed and mule), elk, moose, sika deer and muntjac caused by a misfolded version of a normally occurring protein. The notion that CWD could be spread indirectly via the environment has been documented and accepted in the scientific community for quite some time. Deer and elk consume soil, inhale dust and lick objects that have infectious material on them, resulting in chronic, low dose exposure. Surface contamination of plants with urine or feces is likely an additional source of exposure via ingestion and has been modeled in the laboratory …


Surveillance Of Selected Diseases In Free-Ranging Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) In Nebraska, 1995-2009, Michael A. Cover, Scott E. Hygnstrom, David W. Oates, Kit M. Hams, Kurt C. Vercauteren Oct 2011

Surveillance Of Selected Diseases In Free-Ranging Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) In Nebraska, 1995-2009, Michael A. Cover, Scott E. Hygnstrom, David W. Oates, Kit M. Hams, Kurt C. Vercauteren

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Sera samples were collected from 21 free-ranging, captured female elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) in 1995- 96, and tissue and sera samples were collected from 415 hunter-harvested elk from 1995 to 2006 and tested for selected diseases. Titers for Anaplasma marginale were detected in 81 of 436 (19%) elk. Occurrence of antibodies to anaplasmosis increased from 4 to 40 elk from 2002 to 2006. Titers for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) were detected in 18 of 346 (5%) samples. Titers for Leptospira interrogans serovars were detected in 21 of 289 (7%) of samples from 1995 to 2004. Titers for …


Detection Of The Abnormal Isoform Of The Prion Protein Associated With Chronic Wasting Disease In The Optic Pathways Of The Brain And Retina Of Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni), T. R. Spraker, Katherine I. O'Rourke, T. Gidlewski, J. G. Powers, J. J. Greenlee, M. A. Wild Jan 2010

Detection Of The Abnormal Isoform Of The Prion Protein Associated With Chronic Wasting Disease In The Optic Pathways Of The Brain And Retina Of Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni), T. R. Spraker, Katherine I. O'Rourke, T. Gidlewski, J. G. Powers, J. J. Greenlee, M. A. Wild

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Eyes and nuclei of the visual pathways in the brain were examined in 30 Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) representing 3 genotypes of the prion protein gene PRNP (codon 132: MM, ML, or LL). Tissues were examined for the presence of the abnormal isoform of the prion protein associated with chronic wasting disease (PrPCWD). Nuclei and axonal tracts from a single section of brain stem at the level of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve were scored for intensity and distribution of PrPCWD immunoreactivity and degree of spongiform degeneration. This obex scoring …


Antemortem Detection Of PrpCwd In Preclinical, Ranch-Raised Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) By Biopsy Of The Rectal Mucosa, Terry R. Spraker, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Thomas Gidlewski, David A. Schneider, Randy Munger, Aru Balachandran, Katherine I. O'Rourke Jan 2009

Antemortem Detection Of PrpCwd In Preclinical, Ranch-Raised Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) By Biopsy Of The Rectal Mucosa, Terry R. Spraker, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Thomas Gidlewski, David A. Schneider, Randy Munger, Aru Balachandran, Katherine I. O'Rourke

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Antemortem biopsy of the rectal mucosa was evaluated as a method for the preclinical diagnosis of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a herd of ranch-raised Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) quarantined because of exposure to CWD. Biopsy samples were obtained from 41 elk during the winter of 2005–2006 and from 26 elk from that herd still alive and available for testing during the winter of 2006–2007. Samples were examined for PrPCWD, the protein marker for CWD infection, by immunohistochemistry. PrPCWD was detected in follicles of the rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue in biopsy samples from …


Experimental Transmission Of Chronic Wasting Disease (Cwd) Of Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni), White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), And Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus Hemionus) To White-Tailed Deer By Intracerebral Route, A. N. Hamir, J. A. Richt, J. M. Miller, R. A. Kunkle, S. M. Hall, E. M. Nicholson, Katherine I. O'Rourke, J. J. Greenlee, E. S. Williams Jan 2008

Experimental Transmission Of Chronic Wasting Disease (Cwd) Of Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni), White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), And Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus Hemionus) To White-Tailed Deer By Intracerebral Route, A. N. Hamir, J. A. Richt, J. M. Miller, R. A. Kunkle, S. M. Hall, E. M. Nicholson, Katherine I. O'Rourke, J. J. Greenlee, E. S. Williams

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

To compare clinical and pathologic findings of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a natural host, 3 groups (n = 5) of white-tailed deer (WTD) fawns were intracerebrally inoculated with a CWD prion of WTD, mule deer, or elk origin. Three other uninoculated fawns served as controls. Approximately 10 months postinoculation (MPI), 1 deer from each of the 3 inoculated groups was necropsied and their tissues were examined for lesions of spongiform encephalopathy (SE) and for the presence of abnormal prion protein (PrPd) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot (WB). The remaining deer were allowed to live until …


Comparison Of Two Automated Immunohistochemical Procedures For The Diagnosis Of Scrapie In Domestic Sheep And Chronic Wasting Disease In North American White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) And Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus), T. V. Baszler, M. Kiupel, E. S. Williams, B. V. Thomsen, T. Gidlewski, D. L. Montgomery, Katherine I. O'Rourke, S. M. Hall Jan 2006

Comparison Of Two Automated Immunohistochemical Procedures For The Diagnosis Of Scrapie In Domestic Sheep And Chronic Wasting Disease In North American White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) And Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus), T. V. Baszler, M. Kiupel, E. S. Williams, B. V. Thomsen, T. Gidlewski, D. L. Montgomery, Katherine I. O'Rourke, S. M. Hall

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Two commercially available automated immunohistochemistry platforms, Ventana NexES and DakoCytomation Autostainer Universal Staining System, were compared for diagnosing sheep scrapie and cervid chronic wasting disease. Both automated platforms used the same antiprion protein monoclonal primary antibodies, but different platform-specific linker and amplification reagents and procedures. Duplicate sections of brainstem (at the level of the obex) and lymphoid tissue (retropharyngeal lymph node or tonsil) from the same tissue block were immunostained for the comparison. Examination of 1,020 tissues from 796 sheep revealed 100% concordance of results between the Ventana NexES and DakoCytomation platforms for diagnosing sheep scrapie from lymphoid tissue (103/103 …


Preliminary Observations Of Genetic Susceptibility Of Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) To Chronic Wasting Disease By Experimental Oral Inoculation, Amir N. Hamir, Thomas Gidlewski, Terry R. Spraker, Janice M. Miller, Lynn Creekmore, Michelle Crocheck, Thomas Cline, Katherine I. O'Rourke Jan 2006

Preliminary Observations Of Genetic Susceptibility Of Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) To Chronic Wasting Disease By Experimental Oral Inoculation, Amir N. Hamir, Thomas Gidlewski, Terry R. Spraker, Janice M. Miller, Lynn Creekmore, Michelle Crocheck, Thomas Cline, Katherine I. O'Rourke

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

To compare the genetic susceptibility of elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with various alleles of the PRNP gene, which encodes the normal cellular prion protein, to chronic wasting disease (CWD), eight 8-monthold elk calves of 3 genotypes (2 132MM, 2 132LM, and 4 132LL) were orally dosed with CWD-infected brain material from elk. During postinoculation (PI) month 23, both 132MM elk had lost appetite, developed clinical signs of weight loss and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction, and were euthanized. Two other elk (both 132LM) developed similar clinical signs of disease and were euthanized during PI month 40. All 4 …


Chronic Wasting Disease Of Elk: Transmissibility To Humans Examined By Transgenic Mouse Models, Qingzhong Kong, Shenghai Huang, Wenquan Zou, Difernando Vanegas, Meiling Wang, Di Wu, Jue Yuan, Mengjie Zheng, Hua Bai, Huayun Deng, Ken Chen, Allen L. Jenny, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Ermais D. Belay, Lawrence B. Schonberger, Robert B. Pertersen, Man-Sun Sy, Shu G. Chen, Pierluigi Gambetti Jan 2005

Chronic Wasting Disease Of Elk: Transmissibility To Humans Examined By Transgenic Mouse Models, Qingzhong Kong, Shenghai Huang, Wenquan Zou, Difernando Vanegas, Meiling Wang, Di Wu, Jue Yuan, Mengjie Zheng, Hua Bai, Huayun Deng, Ken Chen, Allen L. Jenny, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Ermais D. Belay, Lawrence B. Schonberger, Robert B. Pertersen, Man-Sun Sy, Shu G. Chen, Pierluigi Gambetti

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease affecting free-ranging and captive cervids (deer and elk), is widespread in the United States and parts of Canada. The large cervid population, the popularity of venison consumption, and the apparent spread of the CWD epidemic are likely resulting in increased human exposure to CWD in the United States. Whether CWDis transmissible to humans, as has been shown for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (the prion disease of cattle), is unknown. We generated transgenic mice expressing the elk or human prion protein (PrP) in a PrP-null background. After intracerebral inoculation with elk CWD prion, two lines …


A Processed Pseudogene Contributes To Apparent Mule Deer Prion Gene Heterogeneity, Kelly A. Brayton, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Amy K. Lyda, Michael W. Miller, Donald P. Knowles Jr. Jan 2004

A Processed Pseudogene Contributes To Apparent Mule Deer Prion Gene Heterogeneity, Kelly A. Brayton, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Amy K. Lyda, Michael W. Miller, Donald P. Knowles Jr.

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Pathogenesis and transmission of the prion disorders (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, TSEs) are mediated by a modified isoform of the prion protein (PrP). Prion protein gene (PRNP) alleles associated with relative susceptibility to TSE have been identified in sheep, humans and possibly elk. Comparable data have not been derived for mule deer, a species susceptible to the TSE chronic wasting disease (CWD). Initial analysis of the open reading frame (ORF) in exon 3 of the mule deer PRNP gene revealed polymorphisms in all 145 samples analyzed, with 10 potential polymorphic sites. Because 144/145 (99.3%) of the samples were heterozygous …


Comparison Of Histological Lesions And Immunohistochemical Staining Of Proteinase-Resistant Prion Protein In A Naturally Occurring Spongiform Encephalopathy Of Free-Ranging Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) With Those Of Chronic Wasting Disease Of Captive Mule Deer, T. R. Spraker, R. R. Zink, B. A. Cummings, M. A. Wild, M. W. Miller, Katherine I. O'Rourke Jan 2002

Comparison Of Histological Lesions And Immunohistochemical Staining Of Proteinase-Resistant Prion Protein In A Naturally Occurring Spongiform Encephalopathy Of Free-Ranging Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) With Those Of Chronic Wasting Disease Of Captive Mule Deer, T. R. Spraker, R. R. Zink, B. A. Cummings, M. A. Wild, M. W. Miller, Katherine I. O'Rourke

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

In this investigation, the nature and distribution of histologic lesions and immunohistochemical staining (IHC) of a proteinase-resistant prion protein were compared in free-ranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) dying of a naturally occurring spongiform encephalopathy (SE) and captive mule deer dying of chronic wasting disease (CWD). Sixteen free-ranging deer with SE, 12 free-ranging deer without SE, and 10 captive deer with CWD were examined at necropsy. Tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and duplicate sections were stained with a monoclonal antibody (F89/160.1.5). Histological lesions in the freeranging deer with SE and captive deer with CWD were found …


Spongiform Encephalopathy In Free-Ranging Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus), White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) And Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) In Northcentral Colorado, T. R. Spraker, M. W. Miller, E. S. Williams, D. M. Getzy, W. J. Adrian, G. G. Schoonveid, R. A. Spowart, Katherine I. O'Rourke, J. M. Miller, P. A. Merz Jan 1997

Spongiform Encephalopathy In Free-Ranging Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus), White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) And Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) In Northcentral Colorado, T. R. Spraker, M. W. Miller, E. S. Williams, D. M. Getzy, W. J. Adrian, G. G. Schoonveid, R. A. Spowart, Katherine I. O'Rourke, J. M. Miller, P. A. Merz

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Between March 1981 and June 1995, a neurological disease characterized histologically by spongiform encephalopathy was diagnosed in 49 free-ranging cervids from northcentral Colorado (USA). Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) were the primary species affected and accounted for 41(84%) of the 49 cases, but six Rocky Mountain elk (Cereus elaphus nelsoni) and two white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were also affected. Clinical signs included emaciation, excessive salivation, behavioral changes, ataxia, and weakness. Emaciation with total loss of subcutaneous and abdominal adipose tissue and serous atrophy of remaining fat depots were the only consistent gross findings. Spongiform encephalopathy …