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Rural And Urban Comparisons Of Polysubstance Use Profiles And Associated Injection Behaviors Among People Who Inject Drugs In Puerto Rico, Dane Hautala, Roberto Abadie, Bilal Khan, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Introduction—In contrast to urban populations, little is known about polysubstance use among rural people who inject drugs (PWID), particularly in Puerto Rico where injection drug use and related health consequences are prevalent. The aim of the study is to compare injection and non-injection substance use profiles among separate urban and rural samples of Puerto Rican PWID.

Material and Methods—Data for the urban sample come from 455 PWID who participated in the CDC's National HIV Behavioral Surveillance survey of injection drug use in San Juan. The data for the rural sample come from 315 PWID residing in four rural cities approximately …

Detection And Persistence Of Environmental Dna From An Invasive, Terrestrial Mammal, Kelly E. Williams, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Amy J. Davis, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive Sus scrofa, a species commonly referred to as wild pig or feral swine, is a destructive invasive species with a rapidly expanding distribution across the United States. We used artificial wallows and small waterers to determine the minimum amount of time needed for pig eDNA to accumulate in the water source to a detectable level. We removed water from the artificial wallows and tested eDNA detection over the course of 2 weeks to understand eDNA persistence. We show that our method is sensitive enough to detect very low quantities of eDNA shed by a terrestrial mammal that has …

Pseudopecoelus Mccauleyi N. Sp. And Podocotyle Sp. (Digenea: Opecoelidae) From The Deep Waters Off Oregon And British Columbia With An Updated Key To The Species Of Pseudopecoelus Von Wicklen, 1946 And Checklist Of Parasites From Lycodes Cortezianus (Perciformes: Zoarcidae), Charles K. Blend, Norman O. Dronen, Gábor R. Rácz, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Pseudopecoelus mccauleyi n. sp. (Opecoelidae: Opecoelinae) is described from the intestine of the bigfin eelpout, Lycodes cortezianus (Gilbert, 1890) (Perciformes: Zoarcidae), collected at 200–800 m depths in the northeastern Pacific Ocean off Oregon and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The new species is distinguished by possessing a unique combination of the following diagnostic characters: vitelline fields that extend to the posterior margin of the ventral sucker; a slender, tubular and sinuous seminal vesicle that extends some distance into the hindbody; an unspecialized, protuberant ventral sucker; a genital pore at pharynx level; lobed to deeply multilobed testes; a lobed ovary; and an …

A New Species Of Catenotaenia (Cestoda: Catenotaeniidae) From Pygeretmus Pumilio Kerr, 1792 From The Gobi Of Mongolia, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan, Batsaikhan Nyamsuren, Danielle Marie Tufts, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

From 1999 through 2012, a total of 541 individual rodents (jerboas of the family Dipodidae) were collected from several habitat types, primarily from the Gobi region of Mongolia, and were examined for helminth and protistan parasites. Of those rodents, 25 were identified as Pygeretmus pumilio Kerr, 1792 (Rodentia: Dipodidae), whereas 516 were other species of jerboa from the provinces of Dornogobi, Dundgobi, Omnogobi, Ovorhangai, Bayanhongor, Gobi Altai, and Hovd. During our field work, we collected several cestodes; some of which represented undescribed species, and these new species occurred in 40% of P. pumilio from four separate collecting localities. We designate …

Assessment Of Metabolic Changes In Mycobacterium Smegmatis Wild Type And Alr Mutant Strains: Evidence For A New Pathway Of D-Alanine Biosynthesis., Darrell D. Marshall, Steven Halouska, Denise K. Zinniel, Robert J. Fenton, Katie Kenealy, Harpreet K. Chahal, Govardhan Rathnaiah, Raul G. Barletta, Robert Powers

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

In mycobacteria, D-alanine is an essential precursor for peptidoglycan biosynthesis. The only confirmed enzymatic pathway to form D-alanine is through the racemization of L-alanine by alanine racemase (Alr, EC 5.1.1.1). Nevertheless, the essentiality of Alr in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis for cell survivability in the absence of D-alanine has been a point of controversy with contradictory results reported in the literature. To address this issue, we examined the effects of alr inactivation on the cellular metabolism of M. smegmatis. The M. smegmatis alr insertion mutant TAM23 exhibited essentially identical growth to wild type mc²155 in the …

The Aerosphere As A Network Connector Of Organisms And Their Diseases, Jeremy D. Ross, Eli S. Bridge, Diann J. Prosser, John Y. Takekawa

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Aeroecological processes, especially powered flight of animals, can rapidly connect biological communities across the globe. This can have profound consequences for evolutionary diversification, energy and nutrient transfers, and the spread of infectious diseases. The latter is of particular consequence for human populations, since migratory birds are known to host diseases which have a history of transmission into domestic poultry or even jumping to human hosts. In this chapter, we present a scenario under which a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strain enters North America from East Asia via postmolting waterfowl migration. We use an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate the …

Rapid Typing Of Mannheimia Haemolytica Major Genotypes 1 And 2 Using Maldi-Tof Mass Spectrometry, John Dustin Loy, Michael L. Clawson

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Genotype 2 M. haemolytica predominantly associate over genotype 1 with the lungs of cattle with respiratory disease and ICEs containing antimicrobial resistance genes. Distinct protein masses were detected by MALDI-TOF MS between genotype 1 and 2 strains. MALDI-TOF MS could rapidly differentiate genotype 2 strains in veterinary diagnostic laboratories.

Cytolytic Toxin Production By Staphylococcus Aureus Is Dependent Upon The Activity Of The Protoheme Ix Farnesyltransferase, Emily Stevens, Maisem Laabei, Stewart Gardner, Greg A. Somerville, Ruth C. Massey

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Staphylococcus aureus is a medically important pathogen with an abundance of virulence factors that are necessary for survival within a host, including the production of cytolytic toxins. The regulation of toxin production is mediated by the Agr quorum sensing system, and a poorly defined post-exponential growth phase signal independent of Agr. As part of a recent genome wide association study (GWAS) to identify novel loci that alter the expression of cytolytic toxins, a polymorphism in the cyoE gene, which encodes a protoheme IX farnesyltransferase, was identified. This enzyme is essential for processing heme into the electron transport chain for use …

Branched Chain Α-Ketoacid Dehydrogenase Kinase 111–130, A T Cell Epitope That Induces Both Autoimmune Myocarditis And Hepatitis In A/J Mice, Bharathi Krishnan, Chandirasegara Massilamany, Rakesh H. Basavalingappa, Arunakumar Gangaplara, Guobin Kang, Qingsheng Li, Francisco A. Uzal, Jennifer L. Strande, Gustavo A. Delhon, Jean-Jack Riethoven, David J. Steffen, Jay Reddy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Organ-specific autoimmune diseases are believed to result from immune responses generated against self-antigens specific to each organ. However, when such responses target antigens expressed promiscuously in multiple tissues, then the immune-mediated damage may be wide spread.

Methods: In this report, we describe a mitochondrial protein, branched chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase kinase (BCKD_k) that can act as a target autoantigen in the development of autoimmune inflammatory reactions in both heart and liver.

Results: We demonstrate that BCKD_k protein contains at least nine immunodominant epitopes, three of which, BCKD_k 71–90, BCKD_k 111–130 and BCKD_k 141–160, …

Mechanistic Understanding Of N-Glycosylation In Ebola Virus Glycoprotein Maturation And Function, Bin Wang, Yujie Wang, Dylan A. Frabutt, Xihe Zhang, Xiaoyu Yao, Dan Hu, Zhuo Zhang, Chaonan Liu, Shimin Zheng, Shi-Hua Xiang, Yong-Hui Zheng

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The Ebola virus (EBOV) trimeric envelope glycoprotein (GP) precursors are cleaved into the receptor-binding GP₁ and the fusion-mediating GP₂ subunits and incorporated into virions to initiate infection. GP₁ and GP₂ form heterodimers that have 15 or two N-glycosylation sites (NGSs), respectively. Here we investigated the mechanism of how N-glycosylation contributes to GP expression, maturation, and function. As reported before, we found that, although GP₁ NGSs are not critical, the two GP₂ NGSs, Asn⁵⁶³ and Asn⁶¹⁸, are essential for GP function. Further analysis uncovered that Asn⁵⁶³ and Asn^{618 …}

A Novel Role Of Silibinin As A Putative Epigenetic Modulator In Human Prostate Carcinoma, Ioannis Anestopoulos, Aristeidis P. Sfakianos, Rodrigo Franco, Katerina Chlichlia, Mihalis I. Panayiotidis, David J. Kroll, Aglaia Pappa

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Silibinin, extracted from milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.), has exhibited considerable preclinical activity against prostate carcinoma. Its antitumor and chemopreventive activities have been associated with diverse effects on cell cycle, apoptosis, and receptor-dependent mitogenic signaling pathways. Here we hypothesized that silibinin’s pleiotropic effects may reflect its interference with epigenetic mechanisms in human prostate cancer cells. More specifically, we have demonstrated that silibinin reduces gene expression levels of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) members Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2), Suppressor of Zeste Homolog 12 (SUZ12), and Embryonic Ectoderm Development (EED) in DU145 and PC3 human prostate cancer cells, …

Ccpa Affects Infectivity Of Staphylococcus Aureus In A Hyperglycemic Environment, Markus Bischoff, Bodo Wonnenberg, Nadine Nippe, Naja J. Nyffenegger-Jann, Meike Voss, Christoph Beisswenger, Cord Sunderkotter, Virginie Molle, Quoc Thai Dinh, Frank Lammert, Robert Bals, Mathias Herrmann, Greg A. Somerville, Thomas Tschernig, Rosmarie Gaupp

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Many bacteria regulate the expression of virulence factors via carbon catabolite responsive elements. In Gram-positive bacteria, the predominant mediator of carbon catabolite repression is the catabolite control protein A (CcpA). Hyperglycemia is a widespread disorder that predisposes individuals to an array of symptoms and an increased risk of infections. In hyperglycemic individuals, the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus causes serious, life-threatening infections. The importance of CcpA in regulating carbon catabolite repression in S. aureus suggests it may be important for infections in hyperglycemic individuals. To test this suggestion, hyperglycemic non-obese diabetic (NOD; blood glucose level ≥20 mM) mice were challenged with the …

Reactivation Of Hiv-1 Proviruses In Immune-Compromised Mice Engrafted With Human Voa-Negative Cd4+ T Cells, Zhe Yuan, Guobin Kang, Wuxun Lu, Qingsheng Li

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Background: HIV-1 infection remains incurable on antiretroviral therapy (ART) due to virus latency. To date, enhanced co-culture assays, including viral outgrowth assays (VOA), are commonly used to measure HIV-1 latent reservoirs and evaluate latency-reversing agents (LRAs). However, VOA can only reactivate a small fraction of intact proviruses.

Methods: To explore the utility of NOD scid gamma (NSG) mice as an in vivo model to reactivate HIV-1 proviruses from VOA-negative CD4+ T cells, resting CD4+ T cells from an HIV-1 latently infected individual were isolated and the human CD4+ T cells corresponding to VOA-positive and VOA-negative CD4+ T cells were engrafted …

Characterization Of A New Chlorovirus Type With Permissive And Non-Permissive Features On Phylogenetically Related Algal Strains, Cristian F. Quispe, Ahmed Esmael, Olivia Sonderman, Michelle Mcquinn, Irina Agarkova, Mohammed Battah, Garry A. Duncan, David D. Dunigan, Timothy P. L. Smith, Cristina Decastro, Immacolata Speciale, Fangrui Ma, James L. Van Etten

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

A previous report indicated that prototype chlorovirus PBCV-1 replicated in two Chlorella variabilis algal strains, NC64A and Syngen 2-3, that are ex-endosymbionts isolated from the protozoan Paramecium bursaria. Surprisingly, plaque-forming viruses on Syngen 2-3 lawns were often higher than on NC64A lawns from indigenous water samples. These differences led to the discovery of viruses that exclusively replicate in Syngen 2-3 cells, named Only Syngen (OSy) viruses. OSy-NE5, the prototype virus for the proposed new species, had a linear dsDNA genome of 327 kb with 44-nucleotide-long, incompletely base-paired, covalently closed hairpin ends. Each hairpin structure was followed by an identical …

A Serosurvey Of Diseases Of Free-Ranging Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) In Minnesota, Usa, Michelle Carstensen, John H. Giudice, Erik C. Hildebrand, J. P. Dubey, John Erb, Dan Stark, John Hart, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Steve K. Windels, Andrew J. Edwards

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We tested serum samples from 387 free-ranging wolves (Canis lupus) from 2007 to 2013 for exposure to eight canid pathogens to establish baseline data on disease prevalence and spatial distribution in Minnesota’s wolf population. We found high exposure to canine adenoviruses 1 and 2 (88% adults, 45% pups), canine parvovirus (82% adults, 24% pups), and Lyme disease (76% adults, 39% pups). Sixty-six percent of adults and 36% of pups exhibited exposure to the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum. Exposure to arboviruses was confirmed, including West Nile virus (37% adults, 18% pups) and eastern equine encephalitis (3% adults). Exposure rates …

Pseudoscorpions Of The Family Cheiridiidae (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) Recovered From Burial Sediments At Pachacamac (500–1,500ce), Peru, Johnica J. Morrow, Livia Taylor, Lauren Peck, Christian Elowsky, Lawrence Stewart Owens, Peter Eeckout, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Fragmented remains of pseudoscorpions belonging to the family Cheiridiidae (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones) were recovered from Ychsma polity (c. AD 1000–1475) burial sediments from Pachacamac, Peru. Sediments from 21 burials were examined following rehydration in 0.5% trisodium phosphate for 48 h and subsequent screening through a 250 lm mesh. Materials larger than 250 lm were surveyed for the presence of arthropods. A total of two samples contained pseudoscorpion fragments, which were collected and quantified to determine the minimal number of pseudoscorpions present per gram of each sample. Following quantification, pseudoscorpion specimens were imaged utilizing confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to assist with …

Amitraz And Its Metabolite Modulate Honey Bee Cardiac Function And Tolerance To Viral Infection, Scott T. O'Neal, Carlyle C. Brewster, Jeffrey R. Bloomquist, Troy D. Anderson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The health and survival of managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are affected by multiple factors, one of the most important being the interaction between viral pathogens and infestations of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. Currently, the only effective strategy available for mitigating the impact of viral infections is the chemical control of mite populations. Unfortunately, the use of in-hive acaricides comes at a price, as they can produce sublethal effects that are difficult to quantify, but may ultimately be as damaging as the mites they are used to treat. The goal of this study was to …

Is It Time For Synthetic Biodiversity Conservation?, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Gernot Segelbacher, Philip J. Seddon, Luke Alphey, Elizabeth L. Bennett, Robert H. Carlson, Robert M. Friedman, Dona Kanavy, Ryan Phelan, Kent H. Redford, Marina Rosales, Lydia Slobodian, Keith Wheeler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Evidence indicates that, despite some critical successes, current conservation approaches are not slowing the overall rate of biodiversity loss. The field of synthetic biology, which is capable of altering natural genomes with extremely precise editing, might offer the potential to resolve some intractable conservation problems (e.g., invasive species or pathogens). However, it is our opinion that there has been insufficient engagement by the conservation community with practitioners of synthetic biology. We contend that rapid, large-scale engagement of these two communities is urgently needed to avoid unintended and deleterious ecological consequences. To this point we describe case studies where synthetic biology …

Management And Modeling Approaches For Controlling Raccoon Rabies: The Road To Elimination, Stacey A. Elmore, Richard B. Chipman, Dennis Slate, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is an ancient viral disease that significantly impacts human and animal health throughout the world. In the developing parts of the world, dog bites represent the highest risk of rabies infection to people, livestock, and other animals. However, in North America, where several rabies virus variants currently circulate in wildlife, human contact with the raccoon rabies variant leads to the highest per capita population administration of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) annually. Previous rabies variant elimination in raccoons (Canada), foxes (Europe), and dogs and coyotes (United States) demonstrates that elimination of the raccoon variant from the eastern US is feasible, given …

Picky Eaters Are Rare: Dna-Based Blood Meal Analysis Of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Species From The United States, Matthew W. Hopken, Bonnie M. Ryan, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Biting midges in the genus Culicoides (Diptera; Ceratopogonidae) have been implicated in the transmission of a number of parasites and highly pathogenic viruses. In North America, the complete transmission cycles of many of these pathogens need further elucidation. One way to increase our knowledge about the evolution and ecology of Culicoides species and the pathogens they transmit is to document the diversity of vertebrate hosts that Culicoides feed upon. Our objective was to identify the diversity of Culicoides hosts in the United States.

Results: We sequenced two vertebrate mitochondrial genes (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and cytochrome b) from …

Temporal Development Of Gut Microbiota In Triclocarban Exposed Pregnant And Neonatal Rats, Rebekah C. Kennedy, Russell R. Fling, Michael S. Robeson, Arnold M. Saxton, Robert L. Donnell, John L. Darcy, David A. Bemis, Jiang Liu, Ling Zhao, Jiangang Chen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Alteration of gut microbial colonization process may influence susceptibility of the newborn/infant to infectious and chronic disease. Infectious disease risk leads to widespread use of non-prescription antimicrobials in household products such as Triclocarban (TCC), an antimicrobial compound in personal care products. TCC concentrates in and is transferred through the milk to suckling offspring. TCC exposure during gestation and lactation significantly reduced phylogenetic diversity (PD) among exposed dams and neonates. Among dams using weighted UniFrac distances, TCC induced significant dysbiosis of gut microbiota by gestational day (GD) 18, a trend that continued after delivery. Similarly, an overall restructuring of gut microbiota …

Predicting Spatial Spread Of Rabies In Skunk Populations Using Surveillance Data Reported By The Public, Kim M. Pepin, Amy J. Davis, Daniel G. Streicker, Justin W. Fischer, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background - Prevention and control of wildlife disease invasions relies on the ability to predict spatio-temporal dynamics and understand the role of factors driving spread rates, such as seasonality and transmission distance. Passive disease surveillance (i.e., case reports by public) is a common method of monitoring emergence of wildlife diseases, but can be challenging to interpret due to spatial biases and limitations in data quantity and quality.

Methodology/Principal findings- We obtained passive rabies surveillance data from dead striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) in an epizootic in northern Colorado, USA. We developed a dynamic patch-occupancy model which predicts spatio-temporal spreading …

Rabies Virus Antibodies From Oral Vaccination As A Correlate Of Protection Against Lethal Infection In Wildlife, Susan M. Moore, Amy Gilbert, Ad Vos, Conrad M. Freuling, Christine K. Ellis, Jeannette Kliemt, Thomas Müller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Both cell-mediated and humoral immune effectors are important in combating rabies infection, although the humoral response receives greater attention regarding rabies prevention. The principle of preventive vaccination has been adopted for strategies of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of wildlife reservoir populations for decades to control circulation of rabies virus in free-ranging hosts. There remains much debate about the levels of rabies antibodies (and the assays to measure them) that confer resistance to rabies virus. In this paper, data from published literature and our own unpublished animal studies on the induction of rabies binding and neutralizing antibodies following oral immunization of …

Development Of Known-Fate Survival Monitoring Techniques For Juvenile Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa), David A. Keiter, John C. Kilgo, Mark A. Vukovich, Fred L. Cunningham, James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Wild pigs are an invasive species linked to numerous negative impacts on natural and anthropogenic ecosystems in many regions of the world. Robust estimates of juvenile wild pig survival are needed to improve population dynamics models to facilitate management of this economically and ecologically important invasive species. Despite this critical knowledge gap, to date no successful known-fate study of wild piglet survival (age) has been conducted, due to a lack of appropriate method for this species.

Aims. To aid in locating and tagging neonates, we piloted the use of vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) in adult wild pigs and …

Use Of Fecal Volatile Organic Compound Analysis To Discriminate Between Nonvaccinated And Bcg-Vaccinated Cattle Prior To And After Mycobacterium Bovis Challenge, Christine K. Ellis, Somchai Rice, Devin Maurer, Randal S. Stahl, W. Ray Waters, Mitchell V. Palmer, Pauline Nol, Jack C. Rhyan, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Jacek A. Koziel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bovine tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease of global public health concern. Development of diagnostic tools to improve test accuracy and efficiency in domestic livestock and enable surveillance of wildlife reservoirs would improve disease management and eradication efforts. Use of volatile organic compound analysis in breath and fecal samples is being developed and optimized as a means to detect disease in humans and animals. In this study we demonstrate that VOCs present in fecal samples can be used to discriminate between non-vaccinated and BCG-vaccinated cattle prior to and after Mycobacterium bovis challenge.

Evidence Of Leptospirosis In The Kidneys And Serum Of Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) In The United States, K. K. Pedersen, T. D. Anderson, S. N. Bevins, K. L. Pabilonia, P. N. Whitley, D. R. Virchow, T. Gidlewski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis in humans worldwide. In the United States, widespread detection of antibodies to leptospirosis have been identified in feral swine (Sus scrofa) with the highest detection of serovars, Bratislava, Icterohaemorrhagiae, and Pomona. Over the past few years, feral swine populations have expanded their geographical range and distribution in the United States with reports in at least 39 of 50 states. Since feral swine serve as reservoirs for serovars that can infect humans, it is important to understand the risk of transmission. In order to learn more about the probability that feral swine shed infectious …

Genetic Demography At The Leading Edge Of The Distribution Of A Rabies Virus Vector, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Amy L. Russell, Ignacio A. Osorio, Alejandro Jiménez Ramírez, Justin W. Fischer, Jennifer L. Neuwald, Annie E. Tibbels, Luis Lecuona, Gary F. Mccracken

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, ranges from South America into northern Mexico in North America. This sanguivorous species of bat feeds primarily on medium to large-sized mammals and is known to rely on livestock as primary prey. Each year, there are hotspot areas of D. rotundus-specific rabies virus outbreaks that lead to the deaths of livestock and economic losses. Based on incidental captures in our study area, which is an area of high cattle mortality from D. rotundus transmitted rabies, it appears that D. rotundus are being caught regularly in areas and elevations where they previously were …

Cross-Species Transmission Potential Between Wild Pigs, Livestock, Poultry, Wildlife, And Humans: Implications For Disease Risk Management In North America, Ryan S. Miller, Steven J. Sweeney, Chris Slootmaker, Daniel A. Grear, Paul A. Di Salvo, Deborah Kiser, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Cross-species disease transmission between wildlife, domestic animals and humans is an increasing threat to public and veterinary health. Wild pigs are increasingly a potential veterinary and public health threat. Here we investigate 84 pathogens and the host species most at risk for transmission with wild pigs using a network approach. We assess the risk to agricultural and human health by evaluating the status of these pathogens and the co-occurrence of wild pigs, agriculture and humans. We identified 34 (87%) OIE listed swine pathogens that cause clinical disease in livestock, poultry, wildlife, and humans. On average 73% of bacterial, 39% of …

Optimization Of Human, Animal, And Environmental Health By Using The One Health Approach, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Thomas J. Deliberto, Natalie Nguyen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Emerging diseases are increasing burdens on public health, negatively affecting the world economy, causing extinction of species, and disrupting ecological integrity. One Health recognizes that human, domestic animal, and wildlife health are interconnected within ecosystem health and provides a framework for the development of multidisciplinary solutions to global health challenges. To date, most health-promoting interventions have focused largely on single-sector outcomes. For example, risk for transmission of zoonotic pathogens from bush-meat hunting is primarily focused on human hygiene and personal protection. However, bush-meat hunting is a complex issue promoting the need for holistic strategies to reduce transmission of zoonotic disease …

Anthropogenic Factors Predict Movement Of An Invasive Species, Michael A. Tabak, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Ryan S. Miller, Rick A. Sweitzer, Holly B. Ernest

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Humans are playing an increasingly large role in the expansion of invasive species’ distributions, but few (if any) studies have evaluated anthropogenic factors associated with intentional translocation of invasives. The wild pig (Sus scrofa) is an extremely destructive and rapidly expanding invasive species whose movement is thought to be facilitated by humans.We sought to (1) identify a suite of genetic markers that can be applied to population genetic analyses of wild pigs, (2) find quantitative evidence of human-mediated dispersal of wild pigs, and (3) determine which anthropogenic factors were associated with their translocation. We identified 43 polymorphic microsatellite …