Life Sciences Commons^™

Advances And Environmental Conditions Of Spring Migration Phenology Of American White Pelicans, D. Tommy King, Guiming Wang, Zhiqiang Yang, Justin W. Fischer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Spring migration phenology of birds has advanced under warming climate. Migration timing of shortdistance migrants is believed to be responsive to environmental changes primarily under exogenous control. However, understanding the ecological causes of the advancement in avian spring migration phenology is still a challenge due to the lack of long-term precise location data. We used 11 years of Global Positioning System relocation data to determine four different migration dates of the annual migration cycle of the American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), a short-distance migrant. We also tested the hypothesis that increases in winter temperature and precipitation on the …

Field-Based Evaluation Of A Male-Specific (F+) Rna Coliphage Concentration Method, J. C. Chandler, A. Pérez-Méndez, J. Paar Iii, M. M. Doolittle, B. Bisha, L. D. Goodridge

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Fecal contamination of water poses a significant risk to public health due to the potential presence of pathogens, including enteric viruses. Therefore, sensitive, reliable and easy to use methods for the concentration, detection and quantification of microorganisms associated with the safety and quality of water are needed. In this study, we performed a field evaluation of an anion exchange resin-based method to concentrate male-specific (F + ) RNA coliphages (FRNA), fecal indicator organisms, from diverse environmental waters that were suspected to be contaminated with feces. In this system, FRNA coliphages are adsorbed to anion exchange resin and direct nucleic acid …

Comment On: ‘Blood Does Not Buy Goodwill: Allowing Culling Increases Poaching Of A Large Carnivore’, Kim M. Pepin, Shannon L. Kay, Amy J. Davis

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Chapron & Treves [1] present a framework for examining effects of wolf culling policies on wolf population growth rate. They develop a population growth model that estimates an effect of the amount of time per year legal culling is allowed (‘policy effect’) on wolf population growth rates, separate from an effect of culling. They infer that there is substantial evidence for a negative relationship between the proportion of the year that the culling policy is in effect and the population growth rate because 83% of the posterior distribution for the policy effect parameter was negative. They conclude that when it …

Functional Visual Sensitivity To Ultraviolet Wavelengths In The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus Pileatus), And Its Influence On Foraging Substrate Selection, Sean T. O'Daniels, Dylan C. Kesler, Jeanne D. Mihail, Elisabeth B. Webb, Scott J. Werner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Most diurnal birds are presumed visually sensitive to near ultraviolet (UV)wavelengths, however, controlled behavioral studies investigating UV sensitivity remain few. Although woodpeckers are important as primary cavity excavators and nuisance animals, published work on their visual systems is limited. We developed a novel foraging-based behavioral assay designed to test UV sensitivity in the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). We acclimated 21 wild-caught woodpeckers to foraging for frozen mealworms within 1.2 m sections of peeled cedar (Thuja spp.) poles.We then tested the functional significance of UV cues by placing frozen mealworms behind UV-reflective covers, UV-absorptive covers, or decayed red …

Adaptive Use Of Nonlethal Strategies For Minimizing Wolf–Sheep Conflict In Idaho, Suzanne A. Stone, Stewart W. Breck, Jesse Timberlake, Peter M. Haswell, Fernando Najera, Brian S. Bean, Daniel J. Thornhill

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Worldwide, native predators are killed to protect livestock, an action that can undermine wildlife conservation efforts and create conflicts among stakeholders. An ongoing example is occurring in the western United States, where wolves (Canis lupus) were eradicated by the 1930s but are again present in parts of their historic range. While livestock losses to wolves represent a small fraction of overall livestock mortality, the response to these depredations has resulted in widespread conflicts including significant efforts at lethal wolf control to reduce impacts on livestock producers, especially those with large-scale grazing operations on public lands. A variety of …

A Method For The Improved Detection Of Aerosolized Influenza Viruses And The Male-Specific (F+) Rna Coliphage Ms2, J. C. Chandler, J. W. Schaeffer, M. Davidson, S. L. Magzamen, A. Pérez-Méndez, S. J. Reynolds, L. D. Goodridge, J. Volckens, A. B. Franklin, S. A. Shriner, B. Bisha

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The detection of aerosolized viruses can serve as an important surveillance and control tool in agriculture, human health, and environmental settings. Here, we adapted an anion exchange resin-based method, initially developed to concentrate negatively charged viruses from water, to liquid impingement-based bioaerosol sampling. In this method, aerosolized viruses are collected in a 20 ml liquid sample contained within widely used impingers, BioSamplers (SKC Inc., Eighty Four, PA), and further concentrated via adsorption to an anion exchange resin that is suspended within this liquid. Viral nucleic acids are then extracted from the resin to facilitate molecular analyses through a reduction in …

Ecological Potential For Rabies Virus Transmission Via Scavenging Of Dead Bats By Mesocarnivores, Tad C. Theimer, Annie C. Dyer, Brian W. Keeley, Amy T. Gilbert, David L. Bergman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Multiple species of bats are reservoirs of rabies virus in the Americas and are occasionally the source of spillover infections into mesocarnivore species. Although rabies transmission generally is assumed to occur via bite, laboratory studies have demonstrated the potential for rabies transmission via ingestion of rabid animals. We investigated the ecological potential for this mode of transmission by assessing mesocarnivore scavenging behavior of dead bats in suburban habitats of Flagstaff, Arizona, US. In autumn 2013, summer 2014, and autumn 2015, we placed 104 rabies-negative bat carcasses either near buildings, in wildland areas, or in residential yards and then monitored them …

Addressing The Gender Gap In Distinguished Speakers At Professional Ecology Conferences, Cooper M. Farr, Sara P. Bombaci, Travis Gallo, Anna M. Mangan, Hannah L. Riedl, Lani T. Stinson, Kate Wilkins, Drew E. Bennett, Theresa Nogeire-Mcrae, Liba Pejchar

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Keynote and plenary speakers at professional conferences serve as highly visible role models for early-career scientists and provide recognition of scientific excellence. This recognition may be particularly important for women, who are underrepresented in senior positions in the biological sciences. To evaluate whether conferences fulfill this potential, we examined distinguished speakers at North American ecology conferences between 2000 and 2015 and compared these data with the percentage of women ecologists at diverse career stages. We found that 15%–35% (x = 28%, n = 809) of the distinguished speakers were women, which is significantly lower than the percentage of female ecology …

Fine-Scale Assessment Of Home Ranges And Activity Patterns For Resident Black Vultures (Coragyps Atratus) And Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura), Amanda E. Holland, Michael E. Byrne, A. Lawrence Bryan, Travis L. Devault, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Knowledge of black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) spatial ecology is surprisingly limited despite their vital ecological roles. Fine-scale assessments of space use patterns and resource selection are particularly lacking, although development of tracking technologies has allowed data collection at finer temporal and spatial resolution. Objectives of this study were to conduct the first assessment of monthly home range and core area sizes of resident black and turkey vultures with consideration to sex, as well as elucidate differences in monthly, seasonal, and annual activity patterns based on fine-scale movement data analyses. We collected …

Diversity And Phylogenetic Relationships Among Bartonella Strains From Thai Bats, Clifton D. Mckee, Michael Y. Kosoy, Ying Bai, Lynn M. Osikowicz, Richard Franka, Amy T. Gilbert, Sumalee Boonmar, Charles E. Rupprecht, Leonard Peruski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bartonellae are phylogenetically diverse, intracellular bacteria commonly found in mammals. Previous studies have demonstrated that bats have a high prevalence and diversity of Bartonella infections globally. Isolates (n = 42) were obtained from five bat species in four provinces of Thailand and analyzed using sequences of the citrate synthase gene (gltA). Sequences clustered into seven distinct genogroups; four of these genogroups displayed similarity with Bartonella spp. sequences from other bats in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Thirty of the isolates representing these seven genogroups were further characterized by sequencing four additional loci (ftsZ, nuoG, rpoB, …

Strength Testing Of Raccoons And Invasive Wild Pigs For A Species-Specific Bait Station, Nathan P. Snow, Michael J. Lavelle, Joseph M. Halseth, Chad R. Blass, Justin A. Foster, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

With the development of a toxic bait (HOGGONE®) for the control of invasive wild pig (IWP; Sus scrofa) populations in the United States, there is a need to develop a bait station to mitigate potential effects on nontarget species. Our objective was to identify characteristics of a bait station that can successfully exclude raccoons (Procyon lotor)—a ubiquitous and dexterous nontarget species—while facilitating bait consumption by IWPs that exhibit group-feeding behaviors. We evaluated abilities of captive raccoons (n = 19) and IWPs (n = 41) to open the lids of prototype resistance assessment bait stations (RABS) …

Comparison Of A Micro-Neutralization Test With The Rapid Fluorescent Focus Inhibition Test For Measuring Rabies Virus Neutralizing Antibodies, Todd G. Smith, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) is routinely used in the United States to measure rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (rVNA). RFFIT has a long history of reproducible and reliable results. The test has been modified over the years to use smaller volumes of reagents and samples, but requires a 50 μL minimum volume of test serum. To conduct pathogenesis studies, small laboratory animals such as mice are regularly tested for rVNA, but the minimum volume for a standard RFFIT may be impossible to obtain, particularly in scenarios of repeated sampling. To address this problem, a micro-neutralization test was developed …

Ontogenetic And Ecological Variation In Invasion Risk Of Brown Treesnakes (Boiga Irregularis) On Guam, Shane R. Siers, Julie A. Savidge, Robert N. Reed

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Size structure within populations of invasive species may have consequences for relative risk at all stages of the invasion process, with implications for management interventions such as interdiction, suppression, and eradication. To assess relative distributions of invasive Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) among demographic categories of management interest, we undertook the most comprehensive and controlled sampling in > 25 years of research into this ecologically and economically destructive introduced predator. We collected a seasonally-balanced sample of 100 snakes from each of 18 sites, stratified by six habitat types, encompassing the species’ entire extralimital range. Samples indicated significant differences in distributions …

The Impact Of Poverty On Dog Ownership And Access To Canine Rabies Vaccination: Results From A Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Survey, Uganda 2013, Ryan M. Wallace, Jason Mehal, Yoshinori Nakazawa, Sergio Recuenco, Barnabas Bakamutumaho, Modupe Osinubi, Victor Tugumizemu, Jesse D. Blanton, Amy T. Gilbert, Joseph Wamala

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Rabies is a neglected disease despite being responsible for more human deaths than any other zoonosis. A lack of adequate human and dog surveillance, resulting in low prioritization, is often blamed for this paradox. Estimation methods are often employed to describe the rabies burden when surveillance data are not available, however these figures are rarely based on country-specific data.

Methods: In 2013 a knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey was conducted in Uganda to understand dog population, rabies vaccination, and human rabies risk factors and improve in-country and regional rabies burden estimates. Poisson and multi-level logistic regression techniques were conducted …

History Of Regulations, Policy, And Research Related To Conflicts Between Blackbirds And People, George M. Linz, Michael L. Avery, Richard A. Dolbeer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The United States and Canada have invested substantial resources over the past 60 years for developing methods to reduce blackbird (Icteridae) damage to agricultural crops, to manage large winter roosts that create nuisance and public health problems, and to mitigate conflicts with endangered species. It is an indication of the challenging nature of the conflicts with these abundant, highly mobile birds that we are still attempting to improve existing methods and develop new approaches to mitigate the problems. Scientists have tested chemical frightening agents and repellents, mechanical scare devices, bird-resistant sunflowers, decoy crops, habitat management, population management, and cultural modifications …

Determination Of 20, 25-Diazacholesterol In Avian Matrices By High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Benjamin G. Abbo, Laura E. Hulslander, David A. Goldade

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife contraceptives are an emerging tool for minimizing human-wildlife conflicts. One promising avian contraceptive compound, 20,25-diazacholesterol (DAC), reduces fertility by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis. A reliable analytical method for DAC was required in support of its registration for use as a reproductive control agent in pest bird species. A liquid chromatographic method employing tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was developed for the analysis of tissue extracts following solid phase extraction clean-up. Tissues analyzed were whole body samples from crows, monk parakeets, and quails and liver samples from crows and quails. Excellent sensitivity and selectivity was afforded by tandem mass spectrometry. The method …

Low Viral Doses Are Sufficient To Infect Cottontail Rabbits With Avian Influenza A Virus, J. Jeffrey Root, Susan A. Shriner, Jeremy W. Ellis, Kaci K. Vandalen, Heather J. Sullivan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) have been reported in wild lagomorphs in environments where they share resources with waterfowl. Recent studies have conclusively shown that a North American lagomorph, cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus sp.), become infected following exposure to IAVs and can shed significant quantities of virus. However, the minimum infectious dose and the efficiency of various routes of infection have not been evaluated. Thirty-six cottontail rabbits were used in a dose response study assessing both the oral and nasal routes of infection. The nasal route of infection proved to be the most efficient, as all cottontail rabbits shed viral RNA …

The Economic Impact Of Blackbird Damage To Crops, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Karina L. Ernest, Samantha L. Degroot, Aaron M. Anderson, Steven S. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

There are nearly 1,000 species of birds in North America, some of which provide obvious economic benefits like egg production, meat production, bird watching, or hunting (American Bird Association 2016). Some bird species, however, can cause a considerable amount of damage to U.S. agriculture, with estimates of annual damage caused by birds in the United States exceeding US$4.7 billion (Pimentel et al. 2005). Blackbirds (lcteridae) are one group of birds in North America that can cause significant economic damage to commercial grain crops, and to a lesser extent vine and tree crops (Wilson et al. 1989; Dolbeer 1990; Linz et …

Demographic And Temporal Variations In Immunity And Condition Of Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) From The Southern Beaufort Sea, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee, Patricia A. Terletzky, Todd C. Atwood, Eric M. Gese, Geoffrey D. Smith, Sydney Greenfield, John Pettit, Susannah S. French

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Assessing the health and condition of animals in their natural environment can be problematic. Many physiological metrics, including immunity, are highly influenced by specific context and recent events to which researchers may be unaware. Thus, using a multifaceted physiological approach and a context-specific analysis encompassing multiple time scales can be highly informative. Ecoimmunological tools in particular can provide important indications to the health of animals in the wild.We collected blood and hair samples from free-ranging polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the southern Beaufort Sea and examined the influence of sex, age, and reproductive status on metrics of immunity, …

Ante-Mortem Detection Of Chronic Wasting Disease In Recto-Anal Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissues From Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) Using Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (Rt-Quic) Assay: A Blinded Collaborative Study, Sireesha Manne, Naveen Kondru, Tracy Nichols, Aaron Lehmkuhl, Bruce Thomsen, Rodger Main, Patrick Halbur, Somak Dutta, Anumantha G. Kanthasamy

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Prion diseases are transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) characterized by fatal, progressive neurologic diseases with prolonged incubation periods and an accumulation of infectious misfolded prion proteins. Antemortem diagnosis is often difficult due to a long asymptomatic incubation period, differences in the pathogenesis of different prions, and the presence of very low levels of infectious prion in easily accessible samples. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a TSE affecting both wild and captive populations of cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose, muntjac, and most recently, wild reindeer. This study represents a well-controlled evaluation of a newly developed real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) …

Livestock Guarding Dogs Today: Possible Solutions To Perceived Limitations, Silvia Ribeiro, Jenny Dornig, Ana Guerra, Jasna Jeremic, Jean-Marc Landry, Daniel Mettler, Vicente Palacios, Ueli Pfister, Simone Ricci, Robin Rigg, Valeria Salvatori, Sider Sedefchev, Elena Tsingarska, Linda Van Bommel, Luisa Vielmi, Julie K. Young, Margherita Zingaro

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Exchanging experience and finding solutions to problems facing the use of livestock guarding dogs (LGDs) in modern societies were among the goals of a meeting organized in Portugal from 20th to 21st October 2015 within the scope of the LIFE MedWolf Project (www.medwolf.eu). The meeting was attended by 16 specialists from around Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Slovakia and Bulgaria), as well as from Australia and the USA.

In this article we outline constraints on the use of LGDs identified during the meeting and summarize the main solutions proposed. We have grouped the issues into 10 main topics …

Seasonal Effects Of Wind Conditions On Migration Patterns Of Soaring American White Pelican, Javier Gutierrez Illan, Guiming Wang, Fred L. Cunningham, D. Tommy King

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Energy and time expenditures are determinants of bird migration strategies. Soaring birds have developed migration strategies to minimize these costs, optimizing the use of all the available resources to facilitate their displacement. We analyzed the effects of different wind factors (tailwind, turbulence, vertical updrafts) on the migratory flying strategies adopted by 24 satellite-tracked American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) throughout spring and autumn in North America. We hypothesize that different wind conditions encountered along migration routes between spring and autumn induce pelicans to adopt different flying strategies and use of these wind resources. Using quantile regression and fine-scale atmospheric …

Restricted Cross-Scale Habitat Selection By American Beavers, Robert A. Francis, Jimmy D. Taylor, Eric Dibble, Bronson Strickland, Vanessa M. Petro, Christine Easterwood, Guiming Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Animal habitat selection, among other ecological phenomena, is spatially scale dependent. Habitat selection by American beavers Castor canadensis (hereafter, beaver) has been studied at singular spatial scales, but to date no research addresses multi-scale selection. Our objectives were to determine if beaver habitat selection was specialized to semiaquatic habitats and if variables explaining habitat selection are consistent between landscape and fine spatial scales. We built maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models to relate landscape-scale presence-only data to landscape variables, and used generalized linearmixed models to evaluate fine spatial scale habitat selection using global positioning system (GPS) relocation data. Explanatory variables between the …

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 …

Wide But Variable Distribution Of A Hypervirulent Campylobacter Jejuni Clone In Beef And Dairy Cattle In The United States, Yizhi Tang, Richard J. Meinersmann, Orhan Sahin, Zuowei Wu, Lei Dai, James C. Carlson, Jodie Plumblee Lawrence, Linda Genzlinger, Jeffrey T. Lejeune, Qijing Zhang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Campylobacter jejuni clone SA is the major cause of sheep abortion and contributes significantly to foodborne illnesses in the United States. Clone SA is hypervirulent because of its distinct ability to produce systemic infection and its predominant role in clinical sheep abortion. Despite the importance of clone SA, little is known about its distribution and epidemiological features in cattle. Here we describe a prospective study on C. jejuni clone SA prevalence in 35 feedlots in 5 different states in the United States and a retrospective analysis of clone SA in C. jejuni isolates collected by National Animal Health Monitoring System …

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 …

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 …

Limited Antibody Evidence Of Exposure To Mycobacterium Bovis In Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) In The Usa, Kerri Pedersen, Ryan S. Miller, Theodore D. Anderson, Kristy L. Pabilonia, Jonathan R. Lewis, Rebecca L. Mihalco, Christian Gortazar, Thomas Gidlewski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic disease of cattle (Bos taurus) caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. Efforts have been made in the US to eradicate the disease in cattle, but spillover into wildlife and subsequent spillback have impeded progress in some states. In particular, infection in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has been followed by infection in cattle in some Midwestern states. Infection has also been documented in feral swine (Sus scrofa) on the Hawaiian island of Molokai and in various European countries, but no large-scale survey of antibody exposure to the bacteria has …

Identification Of Brucella Spp. In Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) At Abattoirs In Texas, Usa, Kerri Pedersen, N. E. Bauer, S. Olsen, A. M. Arenas-Gamboa, A. C. Henry, T. D. Sibley, T. Gidlewski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Various tissues, nasal swabs, urine and blood samples were collected from 376 feral swine at two federally inspected abattoirs in Texas during six separate sampling periods in 2015. Samples were tested for Brucella spp. by culture and serology. Brucella spp. were cultured from 13.0% of feral swine, and antibodies were detected in 9.8%. Only 32.7% of culture-positive feral swine were also antibody positive, and 43.2% of antibody-positive feral swine were culture positive. Approximately, the same number of males (14.0%) and females (12.1%) were culture positive, and slightly more males (10.5%) than females (8.7%) were antibody positive. Our results indicate that …

Vaccination Status And Factors For Non- Vaccination In Children At A Tertiary Care Hospital, Shiyam Sunder Tikmani, Tufail Soomro, Sumera Aziz Ali

Community Health Sciences

Immunization is a very effective strategy to prevent against common infectious disease. The objectives of the study were to determine the immunization status and reasons for non-vaccination of children coming to Civil Hospital Sukkur. This cross-sectional study was conducted pediatric OPD at Civil Hospital Sukkur from January 1, 2013, to June 30, 2013. Parents of children under five years of age brought their child to Outpatient Department of Civil Hospital Sukkur for any illness were asked to participate in the study. Parents who gave informed consent were included in the study. Data were collected using a small questionnaire by the …