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United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

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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 Jan 2017

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.

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Estimating Population Density For Disease Risk Assessment: The Importance Of Understanding The Area Of Influence Of Traps Using Wild Pigs As An Example, Amy J. Davis, Bruce Leland, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Kim M. Pepin Jan 2017

Estimating Population Density For Disease Risk Assessment: The Importance Of Understanding The Area Of Influence Of Traps Using Wild Pigs As An Example, Amy J. Davis, Bruce Leland, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Population density is a key driver of disease dynamics in wildlife populations. Accurate disease risk assessment and determination of management impacts on wildlife populations requires an ability to estimate population density alongside management actions. A common management technique for controlling wildlife populations to monitor and mitigate disease transmission risk is trapping (e.g., box traps, corral traps, drop nets). Although abundance can be estimated from trapping actions using a variety of analytical approaches, inference is limited by the spatial extent to which a trap attracts animals on the landscape. If the “area of influence” were known, abundance estimates could be converted …

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Anthropogenic Factors Predict Movement Of An Invasive Species, Michael A. Tabak, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Ryan S. Miller, Rick A. Sweitzer, Holly B. Ernest Jan 2017

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 …

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Den Use And Heterothermy During Winter In Free-Living, Suburban Striped Skunks, Tad C. Theimer, Cory T. Williams, Shylo R. Johnson, Amy T. Gilbert, David L. Bergman, C. Loren Buck Jan 2017

Den Use And Heterothermy During Winter In Free-Living, Suburban Striped Skunks, Tad C. Theimer, Cory T. Williams, Shylo R. Johnson, Amy T. Gilbert, David L. Bergman, C. Loren Buck

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Many mammals use heterothermy to meet challenges of reduced food availability and low temperatures, but little is known about the prevalence of heterothermy in wild mesocarnivores. We monitored body temperature (Tb) in free-living striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) through winter 2015–2016 in suburban Flagstaff, Arizona, a high-elevation site that experiences temperate winters. Subcutaneous Tb and heterothermy index (HI) were significantly affected by ambient temperature, and varied significantly across 7 skunks in midwinter. Twenty-one of 36 (58%) unique diurnal dens used by skunks were associated with human structures, and although females were found in dens under houses …

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Adaptation Of The Aesop’S Fable Paradigm For Use With Raccoons (Procyon Lotor): Considerations For Future Application In Non‑Avian And Non‑Primate Species, Lauren Stanton, Emily Davis, Shylo Johnson, Amy T. Gilbert, Sarah Benson-Amram Jan 2017

Adaptation Of The Aesop’S Fable Paradigm For Use With Raccoons (Procyon Lotor): Considerations For Future Application In Non‑Avian And Non‑Primate Species, Lauren Stanton, Emily Davis, Shylo Johnson, Amy T. Gilbert, Sarah Benson-Amram

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

To gain a better understanding of the evolution of animal cognition, it is necessary to test and compare the cognitive abilities of a broad array of taxa. Meaningful interspecies comparisons are best achieved by employing universal paradigms that standardize testing among species. Many cognitive paradigms, however, have been tested in only a few taxa, mostly birds and primates. One such example, known as the Aesop’s Fable paradigm, is designed to assess causal understanding in animals using water displacement. To evaluate the universal effectiveness of the Aesop’s Fable paradigm, we applied this paradigm to a previously untested taxon, the raccoon ( …

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The Persistence Of Multiple Strains Of Avian Influenza In Live Bird Markets, Amy Pinsent, Kim M. Pepin, Huachen Zhu, Yi Guan, Michael T. White, Steven Riley Jan 2017

The Persistence Of Multiple Strains Of Avian Influenza In Live Bird Markets, Amy Pinsent, Kim M. Pepin, Huachen Zhu, Yi Guan, Michael T. White, Steven Riley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Multiple subtypes of avian influenza (AI) and novel reassortants are frequently isolated from live bird markets (LBMs). However, our understanding of the drivers of persistence of multiple AI subtypes is limited. We propose a stochastic model of AI transmission within an LBM that incorporates market size, turnover rate and the balance of direct versus environmental transmissibility. We investigate the relationship between these factors and the critical community size (CCS) for the persistence of single and multiple AI strains within an LBM. We fit different models of seeding from farms to two-strain surveillance data collected from Shantou, China. For a single …

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Evaluation Of Antibody Response To An Adjuvanted Hapten-Protein Vaccine As A Potential Inhibitor Of Sexual Maturation For Farmed Atlantic Salmon, Darcy S.O. Mora, Mo D. Salman, Christopher A. Myrick, Jack C. Rhyan, Lowell A. Miller, Ellen Marie Sætre, Douglas C. Eckery Jan 2017

Evaluation Of Antibody Response To An Adjuvanted Hapten-Protein Vaccine As A Potential Inhibitor Of Sexual Maturation For Farmed Atlantic Salmon, Darcy S.O. Mora, Mo D. Salman, Christopher A. Myrick, Jack C. Rhyan, Lowell A. Miller, Ellen Marie Sætre, Douglas C. Eckery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An experimental contraceptive vaccine was evaluated in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). A peptide derived from the beta subunit of luteinizing hormone (LH) was conjugated to two different carrier proteins, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), and formulated with one of four immunostimulants in a water-in-oil emulsion. Specific antibody responses to the peptide and each carrier protein were evaluated. While the antibody response to KLH was stronger than the response to BSA, both carrier proteins stimulated comparable antibody responses to the LH peptide. The immunostimulant proved to be more important for enhancing the LH peptide antibody response …

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A Review Of Virulent Newcastle Disease Viruses In The United States And The Role Of Wild Birds In Viral Persistence And Spread, Vienna R. Brown, Sarah N. Bevins Jan 2017

A Review Of Virulent Newcastle Disease Viruses In The United States And The Role Of Wild Birds In Viral Persistence And Spread, Vienna R. Brown, Sarah N. Bevins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Newcastle disease is caused by virulent strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV), which causes substantial morbidity and mortality events worldwide in poultry. The virus strains can be differentiated as lentogenic, mesogenic, or velogenic based on a mean death time in chicken embryos. Currently, velogenic strains of NDV are not endemic in United States domestic poultry; however, these strains are present in other countries and are occasionally detected in wild birds in the U.S. A viral introduction into domestic poultry could have severe economic consequences due to the loss of production from sick and dying birds, the cost of control measures …

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The 17th Rocky Mountain Virology Association Meeting, Joel Rovnak, Rushika Perera, Matthew W. Hopken, Jenna Read, Derrick M. Waller, Randall J. Cohrs Jan 2017

The 17th Rocky Mountain Virology Association Meeting, Joel Rovnak, Rushika Perera, Matthew W. Hopken, Jenna Read, Derrick M. Waller, Randall J. Cohrs

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Since 2000, scientists and students from the greater Rocky Mountain region, along with invited speakers, both national and international, have gathered at the Mountain Campus of Colorado State University to discuss their area of study, present recent findings, establish or strengthen collaborations, and mentor the next generation of virologists and prionologists through formal presentations and informal discussions concerning science, grantsmanship and network development. This year, approximately 100 people attended the 17th annual Rocky Mountain Virology Association meeting, that began with a keynote presentation, and featured 29 oral and 35 poster presentations covering RNA and DNA viruses, prions, virus-host interactions and …

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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 Jan 2017

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 evaluated …

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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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …

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Bait Flavor Preference And Immunogenicity Of Onrab Baits In Domestic Dogs On The Navajo Nation, Arizona, Are R. Berentsen, Scott Bender, Peggy Bender, David Bergman, Amy T. Gilbert, Hannah M. Rowland, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2016

Bait Flavor Preference And Immunogenicity Of Onrab Baits In Domestic Dogs On The Navajo Nation, Arizona, Are R. Berentsen, Scott Bender, Peggy Bender, David Bergman, Amy T. Gilbert, Hannah M. Rowland, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is responsible for an estimated 59,000 human deaths worldwide, and domestic dogs are the primary reservoir and vector of the disease. Among some nations, widespread vaccination has led to elimination of rabies in domestic dogs, yet dogs are still susceptible to rabies infection from interactions with wildlife reservoirs. On Tribal lands in the United States, less than 20% of domestic dogs are vaccinated for rabies, and parenteral vaccination is often unfeasible. Oral rabies vaccination may provide a solution, but a suitable bait flavor and vaccine must be identified. We evaluated 5 bait flavors (bacon, cheese, egg, fish, and sweet) …

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A Benefit-Cost Analysis Decision Framework For Mitigation Of Disease Transmission At The Wildlife–Livestock Interface, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Steven J. Sweeney, Julie L. Elser, Ryan S. Miller, Matthew Farnsworth, Pauline Nol, Steven S. Shwiff, Aaron M. Anderson Jan 2016

A Benefit-Cost Analysis Decision Framework For Mitigation Of Disease Transmission At The Wildlife–Livestock Interface, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Steven J. Sweeney, Julie L. Elser, Ryan S. Miller, Matthew Farnsworth, Pauline Nol, Steven S. Shwiff, Aaron M. Anderson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The economics of managing disease transmission at the wildlife–livestock interface have received heightened attention as agricultural and natural resource agencies struggle to tackle growing risks to animal health. In the fiscal landscape of increased scrutiny and shrinking budgets, resource managers seek to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of disease mitigation efforts. To address this issue, a benefit-cost analysis decision framework was developed to help users make informed choices about whether and how to target disease management efforts in wildlife and livestock populations. Within the context of this framework, we examined the conclusions of a benefit-cost analysis conducted for …

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Chapter 3: One Health, One Medicine, Laura H. Kahn, Thomas P. Monath, Bob H. Bokma, E. Paul Gibbs, A. Alonso Aguirre Jan 2016

Chapter 3: One Health, One Medicine, Laura H. Kahn, Thomas P. Monath, Bob H. Bokma, E. Paul Gibbs, A. Alonso Aguirre

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In recognition that the health of humans, animals, and the environment is linked, One Health seeks to increase communication and collaboration across the disciplines in order to promote, improve, and defend the health of all species on the planet. This strategy may seem simple, but unfortunately it will not be easy to implement. The explosion of medical knowledge in the 20th century led to academic, governmental, and industrial silos of specialization; these silos fostered a compartmentalized approach to health and disease. Building bridges across these silos will require leadership, joint educational programs, financial support, and other strategies that promote transdisciplinary …

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Evaluating Wildlife-Cattle Contact Rates To Improve The Understanding Of Dynamics Of Bovine Tuberculosis Transmission In Michigan, Usa, Michael J. Lavelle, Shannon L. Kay, Kim M. Pepin Jan 2016

Evaluating Wildlife-Cattle Contact Rates To Improve The Understanding Of Dynamics Of Bovine Tuberculosis Transmission In Michigan, Usa, Michael J. Lavelle, Shannon L. Kay, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Direct and indirect contacts among individuals drive transmission of infectious disease. When multiple interacting species are susceptible to the same pathogen, risk assessment must include all potential host species. Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an example of a disease that can be transmitted among several wildlife species and to cattle, although the potential role of several wildlife species in spillback to cattle remains unclear. To better understand the complex network of contacts and factors driving disease transmission, we fitted proximity logger collars to beef and dairy cattle (n = 37), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; n=29), raccoon (Procyon lotor; n=53), and Virginia …

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Evaluating A Strategy To Deliver Vaccine To White-Tailed Deer At A Landscape Level, Justin W. Fischer, Chad R. Blass, W. David Walter, Charles W. Anderson, Michael J. Lavelle, Wayne H. Hall, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2016

Evaluating A Strategy To Deliver Vaccine To White-Tailed Deer At A Landscape Level, Justin W. Fischer, Chad R. Blass, W. David Walter, Charles W. Anderson, Michael J. Lavelle, Wayne H. Hall, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Effective delivery of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals to wildlife populations is needed when zoonotic diseases pose a risk to public health and natural resources or have considerable economic consequences. The objective of our study was to develop a bait-distribution strategy for potential delivery of oral bovine tuberculosis (bTB) vaccine to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) where deer are reservoirs for the disease. During 17 February and 2 March 2011, we created a grid of experimental bait stations (n=64) on Sandhill Wildlife Management Area, Wisconsin, USA, to assess station densities needed to attract and deliver placebo baits to free-ranging white-tailed …

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Effects Of Simulated Removal Activities On Movements And Space Use Of Feral Swine, Justin W. Fischer, Dan Mcmurty, Chad R. Blass, W. David Walter, Jeff Beringer, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2016

Effects Of Simulated Removal Activities On Movements And Space Use Of Feral Swine, Justin W. Fischer, Dan Mcmurty, Chad R. Blass, W. David Walter, Jeff Beringer, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Abundance and distribution of feral swine (Sus scrofa) in the USA have increased dramatically during the last 30 years. Effective measures are needed to control and eradicate feral swine populations without displacing animals over wider areas. Our objective was to investigate effects of repeated simulated removal activities on feral swine movements and space use.We analyzed location data from 21 feral swine that we fitted with Global Positioning System harnesses in southern MO, USA. Various removal activities were applied over time to eight feral swine before lethal removal, including trapped-and-released, chased with dogs, chased with hunter, and chased with …

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Widespread Detection Of Highly Pathogenic H5 Influenza Viruses In Wild Birds From The Pacific Flyway Of The United States, S. N. Bevins, R. J. Dusek, C. L. White, T. Gidlewski, B. Bodenstein, K. G, Mansfield, P. Debruyn, D. Kraege, E. Rowan, C. Gillin, B. Thomas, S. Chandler, J. A. Baroch, B. S. Schmit, M. J. Grady, R. S. Miller, M. L. Drew, S. Stopak, B. Zscheile, J. Bennett, J. Sengl, Caroline Brady, H. S. Ip, E. Spackman, M. L. Killian, M. K. Torchetti, J. M. Sleeman, T. J. Deliberto Jan 2016

Widespread Detection Of Highly Pathogenic H5 Influenza Viruses In Wild Birds From The Pacific Flyway Of The United States, S. N. Bevins, R. J. Dusek, C. L. White, T. Gidlewski, B. Bodenstein, K. G, Mansfield, P. Debruyn, D. Kraege, E. Rowan, C. Gillin, B. Thomas, S. Chandler, J. A. Baroch, B. S. Schmit, M. J. Grady, R. S. Miller, M. L. Drew, S. Stopak, B. Zscheile, J. Bennett, J. Sengl, Caroline Brady, H. S. Ip, E. Spackman, M. L. Killian, M. K. Torchetti, J. M. Sleeman, T. J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A novel highly pathogenic avian influenza virus belonging to the H5 clade 2.3.4.4 variant viruses was detected in North America in late 2014. Motivated by the identification of these viruses in domestic poultry in Canada, an intensive study was initiated to conduct highly pathogenic avian influenza surveillance in wild birds in the Pacific Flyway of the United States. A total of 4,729 hunter-harvested wild birds were sampled and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was detected in 1.3% (n = 63). Three H5 clade 2.3.4.4 subtypes were isolated from wild birds, H5N2, H5N8, and H5N1, representing the wholly Eurasian lineage H5N8 …

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Vertebrate Host Susceptibility To Heartland Virus, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth, Amanda E. Calvert, J. Jeffrey Root, Tom Gidlewski, Brian H. Bird, Richard A. Bowen, Atis Muehlenbachs, Sherif R. Zaki, Aaron C. Brault Jan 2016

Vertebrate Host Susceptibility To Heartland Virus, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth, Amanda E. Calvert, J. Jeffrey Root, Tom Gidlewski, Brian H. Bird, Richard A. Bowen, Atis Muehlenbachs, Sherif R. Zaki, Aaron C. Brault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Heartland virus (HRTV) is a recently described phlebovirus initially isolated in 2009 from 2 humans who had leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Serologic assessment of domestic and wild animal populations near the residence of 1 of these persons showed high exposure rates to raccoons, white-tailed deer, and horses. To our knowledge, no laboratory-based assessments of viremic potential of animals infected with HRTV have been performed. We experimentally inoculated several vertebrates (raccoons, goats, chickens, rabbits, hamsters, C57BL/6 mice, and interferon-α/β/γ receptor–deficient [Ag129]) mice with this virus. All animals showed immune responses against HRTV after primary or secondary exposure. However, neutralizing antibody responses were …

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Pathogen Emergence In The Age Of Pandemics, Sarah N. Bevins Jan 2016

Pathogen Emergence In The Age Of Pandemics, Sarah N. Bevins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The emergence of novel or previously rare pathogens is not new. Throughout recorded history, catastrophic mortality has followed the arrival of new infectious diseases to areas that had no previous experience with the offending agent. The second plague pandemic, more commonly known as the Black Death, was caused by a bacterium that originated in China but then spread throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa via the Silk Road and other routes of commerce. The emergence of rinderpest in Africa, associated with Asian cattle imported by European colonists, killed millions of domestic livestock and wild animal species in the 1890s. The result …

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Inferring Invasive Species Abundance Using Removal Data From Management Actions, Amy J. Davis, Mevin B. Hooten, Ryan S. Miller, Matthew L. Farnsworth, Jesse Lewis, Michael Moxcey, Kim M. Pepin Jan 2016

Inferring Invasive Species Abundance Using Removal Data From Management Actions, Amy J. Davis, Mevin B. Hooten, Ryan S. Miller, Matthew L. Farnsworth, Jesse Lewis, Michael Moxcey, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Evaluation of the progress of management programs for invasive species is crucial for demonstrating impacts to stakeholders and strategic planning of resource allocation. Estimates of abundance before and after management activities can serve as a useful metric of population management programs. However, many methods of estimating population size are too labor intensive and costly to implement, posing restrictive levels of burden on operational programs. Removal models are a reliable method for estimating abundance before and after management using data from the removal activities exclusively, thus requiring no work in addition to management. We developed a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate …

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Chapter 8 Keeping Wildlife Out Of Your Food: Mitigation And Control Strategies To Reduce The Transmission Risk Of Food-Borne Pathogens, Alan B. Franklin, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2016

Chapter 8 Keeping Wildlife Out Of Your Food: Mitigation And Control Strategies To Reduce The Transmission Risk Of Food-Borne Pathogens, Alan B. Franklin, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In this chapter, we provide a general framework for developing strategies to mitigate the contamination of agricultural operations with pathogens carried by wildlife. As part of this framework, we present adaptive management as a viable approach to developing these strategies to reduce the uncertainty over time as to whether management methods are being effective. We provide the general steps to developing an adaptive management strategies as well as generic mitigation methods that can be applied to agricultural operations as part of an adaptive management strategy.

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Disease-Emergence Dynamics And Control In A Socially-Structured Wildlife Species, Kim M. Pepin, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2016

Disease-Emergence Dynamics And Control In A Socially-Structured Wildlife Species, Kim M. Pepin, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Once a pathogen is introduced in a population, key factors governing rate of spread include contact structure, supply of susceptible individuals and pathogen life-history. We examined the interplay of these factors on emergence dynamics and efficacy of disease prevention and response. We contrasted transmission dynamics of livestock viruses with different life-histories in hypothetical populations of feral swine with different contact structures (homogenous, metapopulation, spatial and network). Persistence probability was near 0 for the FMDV-like case under a wide range of parameter values and contact structures, while persistence was probable for the CSFV-like case. There were no sets of conditions where …

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High Rates Of Detection Of Clade 2.3.4.4 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses In Wild Birds In The Pacific Northwest During The Winter Of 2014–15, Hon S. Ip, Robert J. Dusek, Barbara Bodenstein, Mia Kim Torchetti, Paul Debruyn, Kristin Mansfield, Thomas J. Deliberto, Jonathan M. Sleeman Jan 2016

High Rates Of Detection Of Clade 2.3.4.4 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Viruses In Wild Birds In The Pacific Northwest During The Winter Of 2014–15, Hon S. Ip, Robert J. Dusek, Barbara Bodenstein, Mia Kim Torchetti, Paul Debruyn, Kristin Mansfield, Thomas J. Deliberto, Jonathan M. Sleeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

SUMMARY. In 2014, clade 2.3.4.4 H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses spread across the Republic of Korea and ultimately were reported in China, Japan, Russia, and Europe. Mortality associated with a reassortant HPAI H5N2 virus was detected in poultry farms in western Canada at the end of November. The same strain (with identical genetic structure) was then detected in free-living wild birds that had died prior to December 8, 2014, of unrelated causes in Whatcom County, Washington, U. S. A., in an area contiguous with the index Canadian location. A gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) that had hunted and …

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Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses And Generation Of Novel Reassortants, United States, 2014–2015, Dong-Hun Lee, Justin Bahl, Mia Kim Torchetti, Mary Lea Killian, Hon S. Ip, Thomas J. Deliberto, David E. Swayne Jan 2016

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses And Generation Of Novel Reassortants, United States, 2014–2015, Dong-Hun Lee, Justin Bahl, Mia Kim Torchetti, Mary Lea Killian, Hon S. Ip, Thomas J. Deliberto, David E. Swayne

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Asian highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) viruses spread into North America in 2014 during autumn bird migration. Complete genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 32 H5 viruses identified novel H5N1, H5N2, and H5N8 viruses that emerged in late 2014 through reassortment with North American low-pathogenicity avian influenza viruses.

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Ecosystem Services Provided By Avian Scavengers, Travis L. Devault, James C. Beasley, Zachary H. Olson, Marcos Moleón, Martina Carrete, Antoni Margalida, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata Jan 2016

Ecosystem Services Provided By Avian Scavengers, Travis L. Devault, James C. Beasley, Zachary H. Olson, Marcos Moleón, Martina Carrete, Antoni Margalida, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Food webs developed under classical theoretical models often depict simplistic interactions among trophic levels linked by predation (Hairston et al. 1960). As a result, extensive research efforts have been devoted to studying predator-prey interactions, often ignoring the contribution of scavenging in food-web dynamics. However, recent advancements in food-web theory have recognized the widespread and critical role that scavenging plays in stabilizing food webs in ecosystems throughout the world, thus suggesting that previous models may have greatly underestimated the importance of scavenging in food web research ( Wilson and Wolkovich 2011; Barton et al. 2013). Such disregard for the importance of …

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Role For Migratory Wild Birds In The Global Spread Of Avian Influenza H5n8 Jan 2016

Role For Migratory Wild Birds In The Global Spread Of Avian Influenza H5n8

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian influenza viruses affect both poultry production and public health. A subtype H5N8 (clade 2.3.4.4) virus, following an outbreak in poultry in South Korea in January 2014, rapidly spread worldwide in 2014–2015. Our analysis of H5N8 viral sequences, epidemiological investigations, waterfowl migration, and poultry trade showed that long-distance migratory birds can play a major role in the global spread of avian influenza viruses. Further, we found that the hemagglutinin of clade 2.3.4.4 virus was remarkably promiscuous, creating reassortants with multiple neuraminidase subtypes. Improving our understanding of the circumpolar circulation of avian influenza viruses in migratory waterfowl will help to provide …

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Antigenic Characterization Of H3 Subtypes Of Avian Influenza A Viruses From North America, Elizabeth Bailey, Li-Ping Long, Nan Zhao, Jeffrey S. Hall, John A. Baroch, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Lucy Senter, Frederick L. Cunningham, G. Todd Pharr, Larry Hanson, Richard Slemons, Thomas J. Deliberto, Xiu-Feng Wan Jan 2016

Antigenic Characterization Of H3 Subtypes Of Avian Influenza A Viruses From North America, Elizabeth Bailey, Li-Ping Long, Nan Zhao, Jeffrey S. Hall, John A. Baroch, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Lucy Senter, Frederick L. Cunningham, G. Todd Pharr, Larry Hanson, Richard Slemons, Thomas J. Deliberto, Xiu-Feng Wan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Besides humans, H3 subtypes of influenza A viruses (IAVs) can infect various animal hosts, including avian, swine, equine, canine, and sea mammal species. These H3 viruses are both antigenically and genetically diverse. Here, we characterized the antigenic diversity of contemporary H3 avian IAVs recovered from migratory birds in North America. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays were performed on 37 H3 isolates of avian IAVs recovered from 2007 to 2011 using generated reference chicken sera. These isolates were recovered from samples taken in the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific waterfowl migration flyways. Antisera to all the tested H3 isolates cross-reacted with each …

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Widespread Detection Of Antibodies To Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile, St. Louis Encephalitis, And Turlock Viruses In Various Species Of Wild Birds From Across The United States, Kerri Pedersen, David R. Marks, Eryu Wang, Gillian Eastwood, Scott C. Weaver, Samuel M. Goldstein, David R. Sinnett, Thomas J. Deliberto Jan 2016

Widespread Detection Of Antibodies To Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile, St. Louis Encephalitis, And Turlock Viruses In Various Species Of Wild Birds From Across The United States, Kerri Pedersen, David R. Marks, Eryu Wang, Gillian Eastwood, Scott C. Weaver, Samuel M. Goldstein, David R. Sinnett, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild birds serve as amplifying hosts for many arboviruses, and are thought to be responsible for introducing these viruses into new areas during migration as well as reintroducing them to places where winter temperatures disrupt mosquito-borne transmission. To learn more about four mosquito-borne arboviruses of concern to human or animal health, we tested sera from 997 wild birds of 54 species and 17 families across 44 states of the United States collected from January 1, 2013, through September 30, 2013. Samples were tested for antibody against eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile, and Turlock viruses using plaque reduction …

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Fecal Volatile Organic Ccompound Profiles From White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) As Indicators Of Mycobacterium Bovis Exposure Or Mycobacterium Bovis Bacille Calmette-Guerin (Bcg) Vaccination, Randal S. Stahl, Christine K. Ellis, Pauline Nol, W. Ray Waters, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jun 2015

Fecal Volatile Organic Ccompound Profiles From White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) As Indicators Of Mycobacterium Bovis Exposure Or Mycobacterium Bovis Bacille Calmette-Guerin (Bcg) Vaccination, Randal S. Stahl, Christine K. Ellis, Pauline Nol, W. Ray Waters, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) serve as a reservoir for bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, and can be a source of infection in cattle. Vaccination with M. bovis Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) is being considered for management of bovine tuberculosis in deer. Presently, no method exists to non-invasively monitor the presence of bovine tuberculosis in deer. In this study, volatile organic compound profiles of BCG-vaccinated and non-vaccinated deer, before and after experimental challenge with M. bovis strain 95–1315, were generated using solid phase microextraction fiber head-space sampling over suspended fecal pellets with analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. …

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