Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Black Bear Population Health Monitoring In The Southeast, Kathleen Elizabeth Riese

Masters Theses

Recent growth of the American black bear (Ursus americanus) population in the southeast raises concerns about the potential spread of density-dependent diseases among bears, particularly sarcoptic mange. However, research on the health of bears in this area is limited. We analyzed samples from 169 bears in the region. We performed Knotts tests, skin scrapes, fecal floats; Canine adenovirus (CAV), canine parvovirus (CPV), canine distemper virus (CDV), and Toxoplasma gondii serology, Trypanosoma, Rickettsia rickettsii, and apicomplexan PCR, and identified ecto- and endoparasites found grossly or histologically. We found that 69% (63 of 91) had microfilaria; genetic analysis identified …

Evaluation Of Treatment Options And Investigation Of Pathogenesis Of Chytridiomycosis In North American Salamanders, Anastasia Elaine Towe

Doctoral Dissertations

Chytridiomycosis, a cutaneous fungal disease caused by two related fungi, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), is a major cause of amphibian population declines worldwide. Bd has a broad distribution, covering every continent except for Antarctica. Meanwhile, Bsal is currently restricted to Europe and Asia. Treatment options for both Bd and Bsal remain a major area of concern for wild populations. Recently, implants for long-term, parenteral antifungal drug administration have shown some promise in fungal diseases in wildlife. We investigated the safety and efficacy of an intracoelomic implant of the antifungal drug terbinafine in greater …

Effect Of Furosemide Administration On Plasma Analytes And Urine Enzyme Excretion In Two Reptilian Species, Kathryn Metcalf

LSU Master's Theses

Renal disease is a common ailment of captive reptiles that is often closely linked to chronic, subclinical states of dehydration. Currently, the diagnosis of renal disease in reptiles is poorly characterized and often relies on invasive diagnostic techniques (e.g., renal biopsy) for definitive diagnosis. A potential outlet for the further characterization of renal dysfunction in reptiles is the induction of dehydration by furosemide therapy. Furosemide is a loop diuretic that is commonly used in mammalian patients for the treatment of congestive heart failure. The utility of furosemide in reptiles is poorly characterized, however, both experimental and clinical utility of this …

Taxonomic Classification Of Viral And Bacterial Dna Following 2021 Avian Mass Mortality Event, Tessa Baillargeon

Honors Theses and Capstones

From May through July 2021, an unusual mortality event occurred along the eastern coast and Midwest of the United States. Thousands of birds, mostly from the order Passeriformes, were part of the die-off including blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), American robins (Turdus migratorius). Clinical signs included crusted eyes, swollen conjunctiva, otitis, seizures, and ataxia.

The New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (NHVDL) received over 100 affected birds from various collaborators throughout the United States including Washington DC, NJ, CT, MD, and OH. Given the timing and geologic …

Dirofilaria Immitis Prevalence In Canis Latrans In Kentucky, Melanie Ann Brandon

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Dirofilaria immitis (canine heartworm) was found in forty-two (42) of the two hundred seventy-five (275) Canis latrans (coyote) necropsied in the state of Kentucky from November 27, 2019 through March 3, 2021. Thirty-five (35) of the positive cases were from western Kentucky region with the other seven spread across the state. With this group of coyotes, one hundred fifty-eight (158) were male and the other one hundred six-teen (116) were female. The estimated age ranged from a pup to senior dogs. A little over forty percent of the dogs were obtained through coyote/predator tournaments; the remaining were acquired from pest …

Occurrence Of Pulmonary Arteritis With Lungworm Infections In Gray Seals From New England, 2013-2020, Jillian R. Broadhurst, Inga Sidor Dvm, Ms, Dacvp

Honors Theses and Capstones

Gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) are a common pinniped species in New England coastal waters. Parasitic infection is an important cause of mortality for this species, and lungworm species are frequently implicated in cases of respiratory infection, especially in pups and weanling seals. The most common of these is Otostrongylus circumlitus, a large nematode found in the bronchi and bronchioles of affected seals. The full life cycle is unknown but its presence in lungs and sometimes pulmonary arteries suggests that migration via arterial circulation occurs. Signs and microscopic findings are widely variable; our cases included dyspnea, bloody mucoid …

Effects Of Orally Administered Colloidal Silver On The Macroscopic And Microscopic Features Of Kidneys In Apparently Healthy Adult Female Mice, Lia Isabella T. Soliman

Undergraduate Theses

This study described the macroscopic and microscopic lesions, and frequency of silver ion deposition in the kidneys of female ICR mice upon oral administration of colloidal silver. Fifty samples were divided into a total of six treatment groups: two control groups (n=5) given 3DH2O (0.07mL), two low dose treatment groups (n=10) given 0.07mL colloidal silver solution, and two high dose treatment groups (n=10) given 0.12mL colloidal silver solution, each with durations of seven or 14 days. No macroscopic lesions were observed. Histopathology revealed glomerulonephritis as the most common microscopic lesion, followed by congestion and fibrosis. Tubular hypertrophy due to compensatory …

Impact Of Endangered Animal Protection Rights, Policies, And Practices On Zoonotic Disease Spread, Daniella Fedak-Lengel

Honors Projects

Building on field research in Costa Rica and Belize, this honors project analyzes environmental and endangered animal protection policies, rights, and practices in Central America and the Caribbean, and assesses the impact of veterinary science and biological research and practice, particularly conservation biology, on animal welfare concerns. Informed by the recent surge in awareness regarding zoonoses and zoonotic disease transmission, prevention and control, resulting from the current global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, the project assesses the need for new and innovative types of collaboration, particularly involving conservation biologists, environmental scientists, public health experts, law and policy makers, and global trade and …

Determinación De La Susceptibilidad Antimicrobiana Contra Cepas Bacterianas Causantes De Endometritis Clínica Bovina, Juan Fernando Castillo Avila, Nicolás Andrés Amaya Bolivar

Medicina Veterinaria

El ganado lechero puede cursar con distintas patologías que afectan la eficiencia reproductiva, dentro de estas patologías la endometritis clínica es de especial importancia ya que tiene gran prevalencia y genera grandes impactos económicos en los sistemas de producción. Diversos tratamientos se han implementado en la resolución de la endometritis, en algunos casos reportándose resistencia antimicrobiana probablemente por el uso irracional de medicamentos en los distintos rebaños. En Colombia no existen reportes exactos de sensibilidad antimicrobiana de los microorganismos causantes de esta enfermedad. En el presente estudio se determinó la sensibilidad antimicrobiana de aislamientos de 20 vacas de sistemas de …

Edwardsiella Ictaluri Is Capable Of Persisting In Channel Catfish By Evading Host T Cell And Cell Death Responses, Elizabeth Watts Griggs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Edwardsiella ictaluri is a gram-negative bacterium of the family Enterobacteriaceae that infects and causes enteric septicemia (ESC) of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), a fatal disease costing the catfish industry millions of dollars in losses each year. Edwardsiella. ictaluri is capable of replicating in catfish head-kidney-derived-macrophages (HKDM), and like many other gram-negative bacteria, E. ictaluri encodes a Type III Secretion System (T3SS) that is required for virulence and intracellular replication. In the case of E. ictaluri, the T3SS translocates effectors from the Edwardsiella containing vacuole (ECV) through the bacterial cell wall and the vacuolar membrane directly to the …

Host-Parasite Interaction In Horses: Mucosal Responses To Naturally Acquired Cyathostomin Infections And Anthelmintic Treatment, Ashley Elaine Steuer

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Cyathostomins are ubiquitous parasites in equids. In rare cases, cyathostomins lead to a generalized typhlocolitis and death. In healthy horses, local reactions are noted to the mucosal larvae; however, the mechanisms and importance of these reactions have not been elucidated. It has been hypothesized that anthelmintics can alter these reactions. Currently, three drug classes are approved for use in horses against cyathostomins; while all products target the adults, only two products are labeled as larvicidal. Adulticidal therapy is implicated in triggering the typhlocolitis, however, current evidence is contradictory. There is also conjecture that the larvicidal drugs can increase the risk …

Environmental Contaminants, Parasitism, And Neoplasia In White Perch Morone Americana From Chesapeake Bay, Usa, Mark Arnold Matsche

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

White perch are an abundant demersal fish species in freshwater and oligohaline habitats of the Chesapeake Bay. An avoidance of salinity > 12-15 ppt generally restricts the distribution and movements of fish to within tributaries in the mid to lower Bay, which over time has resulted in the formation of at least three separate stocks in Chesapeake Bay. Sub-populations of white perch that are partially isolated may serve as sentinels of the conditions or stressors in the tributaries in which they reside. Fish are exposed to a variety of environmental contaminants and other anthropogenic stressors that can vary in magnitude based …

Release Kinetics Of Methylene Blue In Pluronic F-127 Hydrogel, Meredith Hayden

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

“Between January 1998 and March 2000, veterinarians at the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center (NAPCC) consulted on more than 1,050 cases of accidental exposures to acetaminophen and 1,100 cases of ibuprofen ingestion in dogs and cats” (Richardson, 2000).

NSAID toxicity has become an increasingly common occurrence in small companion animals within the last decade due to widespread usage (Zhou, Boudreau, & Freedman, 2014). Depending on the specific drug, treatment is centered around early decontamination and prevention of kidney and hepatic damage, and methemoglobanemia. Currently, methemoglobanemia is treated with intravenous delivery of methylene blue and less commonly through oral administration. …

Infection Potential Of Rickettsia Felis Via Ingestion, Matthew M. Schexnayder

LSU Master's Theses

Rickettsia felis is the etiologic agent of flea-borne spotted fever (FBSF) in humans and a poorly described cause of fever in animals. It is transmitted by its primary arthropod vector and reservoir host, the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis. Known routes of Rickettsia felis transmission between Rickettsia felis-infected cat fleas and vertebrate hosts include cutaneous bites and contamination of cutaneous wounds with infective flea feces. The bulk of FBSF infections occur in young children in Africa, though infections of people at all ages all over the world have been confirmed. As mammals and young children frequently come into contact …

Estudio Retrospectivo Del Diagnóstico Histopatológico De Enfermedades Enterocolíticas En Caninos En El Período 2013 – 2017 De La Empresa Corpavet, Daniela González Pardo, Andrea Carolina Guzmán Botia

Medicina Veterinaria

Las enfermedades entéricas agudas y crónicas en caninos son comunes en nuestro medio y causan signos clínicos tales como el vómito, diarrea y otros como la anorexia y pérdida de peso los cuales serán evidentes para el propietario y serán el motivo de consulta de nuestros pacientes. (Allenspach et, al 2008, Washabau. et, al, 2010). Sin embargo para la clínica estos signos son poco específicos puesto que hay un gran número de posibilidades a nivel diagnóstico, por lo cual el clínico deberá comenzar a clasificar las características dichos signos. Cuando se trata de encontrar el origen de la diarrea se …

Alternative Treatment Options For Controlling Anthelmintic-Resistant Haemonchus Contortus Populations In South Dakota Sheep Herds, Adam Sarah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Haemonchus contortus is a common economically important gastrointestinal nematode that obliges the survival and productivity of small ruminants, especially sheep and goats. Anthelmintic resistance is a primary challenge in ruminant health management programs in preventing and controlling the H. contortus populations; therefore, there is a great necessity in finding and developing natural plant products for use as alternatives to commercial anthelmintics for controlling H. contortus in pastured sheep and goats. This dissertation has three major aims conducted in three separate studies: the first in vivo one was to evaluate the extended effect of a springtime, combined-treatment with 3 anthelmintics having …

Diversidad Y Distribución De Mamíferos Voladores En El Corregimiento De Punto Nuevo Municipio De Yopal, Casanare Y Su Impacto En La Comunidad, Karen Lorena Navarro Leal

Biología

Los llanos Orientales se distinguen por su variedad de ecosistemas, los cuales albergan una gran diversidad de especies de mamíferos arborícolas, terrestres, voladores, acuáticos y semiacuáticos, encontrándose allí ´´especies clave´´ con mayor importancia ecológica, ya que su deterioro o desaparición podría ocasionar daños irreversibles en el ecosistema. Por su parte, los murciélagos actúan como agentes de control biológico, hacen posible la polinización y están implicados en procesos de dispersión de semillas, siendo estos, ´´especies clave´´ en el equilibrio ecosistémico preservando la biodiversidad de un bosque. Sin embargo, a pesar de su gran valor ecológico se encuentran sujetos a innumerables conflictos …

Development And Evaluation Of Vaccine Candidates For Senecavirus A, Bishwas Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Senecavirus A (SVA) has been associated with several outbreaks of vesicular disease (VD) since 2014 in major swine-producing countries around the world. The virus causes VD that is clinically indistinguishable from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in pigs. Currently there are no commercial vaccines available for SVA. Here, we developed a live attenuated SVA strain by mutating a wild type SVA strain SD15-26 (wt SVA). The live attenuated virus, rSVA mSacII, replicated less efficiently in cell cultures in vitro and expressed lower amounts of VP1 and VP2 capsid proteins than wt SVA. Most importantly, the rSVA mSacII virus failed to induce clinical …

Estatus Sanitario De Neospora Caninum En Ganaderías Bovinas De Centros De Investigación De Agrosavia, Diana Maria Macias Ramirez

Medicina Veterinaria

Uno de los problemas más importantes que afecta la producción de ganado bovino es la presentación de bajos indicadores productivos debido a la presencia de fallas reproductivas que se manifiestan con infertilidad, abortos, nacimiento de crías débiles o muertas, reabsorciones embrionarias a causa de enfermedades infecciosas entre ellas, la neosporosis bovina. Agrosavia (Antes Corpoica) estableció el estatus sanitario de esta enfermedad en la población bovina de sus hatos para determinar indicadores epidemiológicos, hallando los posibles factores de riesgo que contribuyan a la presentación del agente etiológico, determinando su asociación y realizando algunas recomendaciones para reducirlos. Con el fin que los …

Evaluation Of Oncolytic And Immunomodulatory Potential Of The Hsv-1 Live-Attenuated Vaccine Strain Vc2 In An Immunocompetent Murine Melanoma Model, Natalie Wall Fowlkes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Melanoma accounts for 90% of skin cancer-related deaths in humans. Treatment options for metastatic melanoma in people is very limited. Melanoma is considered to be an immunogenic tumor, spurring interest in development of immunotherapies for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Oncolytic virotherapy has been widely investigated. The first ever oncolytic virotherapy to receive FDA-approval is an HSV-1-based virus (Talimogene Laherperavec (T-Vec) or Imlygic) containing a transgene for human GM-CSF to enhance anti-tumor immune responses after injection. Durable response rate in human patients was only 16% despite impressive efficacy in anti-tumor effects in vitro and in murine tumor models. Novel viruses …

Transmission Potential Of Rickettsia Felis Through Cutaneous Inoculation Of Infectious Flea Feces, Kelsey Porter Legendre

LSU Master's Theses

Rickettsia felis, the causative agent of flea-borne spotted fever, is an emerging pathogen of the transitional group Rickettsiae and an important cause of febrile illness in Africa. Since the organism’s original discovery in the early 1990s, much research has been directed towards elucidating transmission mechanisms within the believed primary host and reservoir, the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis). However, while a growing number of human cases are being reported throughout the world, a definitive transmission mechanism from arthropod host to vertebrate host resulting in clinical disease has not been found. Several possible mechanisms, including bite of infected arthropods …

Effects Of Benzyl Isothiocyanate And Papain On The Hatching And Migration Of Equine Cyathostomes, Jessie Kmietsch

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Cyathostomes are widespread and can affect horses of any life stage. Many common anthelmintics are no longer effective at treating cyathostomes due to parasitic resistance. The objective of this in vitrostudy was to use egg hatch and larval migration tests to determine if compounds found in papaya seeds (papain or benzyl isothiocyanate) reduce cyathostome egg hatching and migration. The experiments were conducted between August 2016 and March 2018. Cyathostome eggs were obtained from horse fecal samples. Egg hatch tests were performed by adding papain and benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) to wells separately at different concentrations in triplicate. After incubation, the …

Cellular And Molecular Basis Of Equine Arteritis Virus Persistent Infection In The Stallion Reproductive Tract: Characterization Of Local Host-Pathogen Interactions Mediating Long-Term Viral Persistence, Mariano Carossino

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) has a global impact on the equine industry being the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a reproductive, respiratory, and systemic disease of equids. A distinctive feature of EAV infection is that it establishes long-term persistent infection in the reproductive tract of stallions and is continuously shed in the semen (carrier state). Recent studies showed that long-term persistence is associated with a specific allele of the CXCL16 gene (CXCL16S). However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of persistent infection are yet to be determined. The studies were undertaken herein …

Estudio Retrospectivo De Neoplasias Melanocíticas En Caninos En El Laboratorio De Histopatología De La Universidad De La Salle, Sazi Alberto Camacho Vargas

Medicina Veterinaria

Las neoplasias melanocíticas derivan de los melanocitos de la piel y son relativamente frecuentes en caninos adultos y gerontes; pueden aparecer en la piel y en el globo ocular como neoplasias benignas y en membranas mucosas y uniones mucocutáneas donde generalmente son malignas. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar los aspectos clínico-patológicos de las neoplasias melanocíticas en caninos, para lo cual se seleccionaron los casos de caninos diagnosticados como neoplasia melanocítica o sospechosos de melanoma y que fueron remitidos al Laboratorio de Histopatología de la Universidad de la Salle en la ciudad de Bogotá en el periodo 1995 a …

Dnmt3a Haploinsufficiency Provokes Hematologic Malignancy Of B-Lymphoid, T-Lymphoid, And Myeloid Lineage In Mice, Garland Michael Upchurch

Theses & Dissertations

DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) is a master epigenetic regulator of benign and malignant hematopoiesis. To dissect the biological consequences of homozygous and heterozygous Dnmt3a inactivation in malignant hematopoiesis, we generated Dnmt3a homozygous null (Dnmt3a^Δ/Δ) and Dnmt3a heterozygous (Dnmt3a^+/–) mice and compared the presentations of hematologic malignancies between cohorts. Bi-allelic inactivation of Dnmt3a results in the presentation of mature lymphoid neoplasms resembling chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; B220⁺CD19⁺CD5⁺; 88% penetrance (37/42)) and CD8+ peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL; TCRβ⁺CD3⁺CD8⁺CD4^—; 40% penetrance (17/42)). …

Immune Response In The Mouse Cornea Elicited By Herpes Simplex Vaccine Vc2, Logan C. Kinamore

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Indirect Effect Of Bvdv On Immune Suppression: The Role Of Infected Macrophages In Lymphocyte Apoptosis, Karim Abdelsalam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

BVDV is an important pathogen of cattle that affects both the dairy and beef industry causing severe economic losses. The main problem of BVDV is the immune suppression that is associated with lymphoid depletion shortly post infection. The mechanism of this immune suppression is not well understood. In this in vitro study, we sought to determine the indirect effect of BVDV infection in macrophages as a key player in the pathogenesis of BVD especially, the apoptotic effect induced on lymphocytes. We infected bovine monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) with either high or low virulent strains of cytopathogenic or non-cytopathogenic strains of BVDV …

Evaluation Of Broad Anti-Herpesviral Activity With Α-Hydroxytropolones, Shannon David Dehghanpir

LSU Master's Theses

Herpesviruses are ubiquitous in animals and cause economic losses concomitant with many diseases, including upper respiratory disease, keratitis, abortion, neonatal death, and neurologic disease. The majority of the domestic animal herpesviruses are within the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae, along with the prototypical human herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). Suppression of HSV-1 replication has been reported with α-hydroxytropolones (αHTs), which are aromatic ring compounds that have broad bioactivity due to potent chelating activity. It is postulated that αHTs inhibit enzymes within the nucleotidyltransferase superfamily (NTS), similarly structured enzymes that require divalent cations for nucleic acid cleavage activity. One potential herpesviral target includes the …

Quantitation Of Anti-Pythium Insidiosum Antibodies Before And After Immunotherapy In Healthy Dogs, Carmen Beatriz Arsuaga

LSU Master's Theses

Pythium insidiosum is an aquatic oomycete that causes invasive, progressive granulomatous lesions of the skin in dogs, horses, and cats, and of the gastrointestinal tract in dogs. Quantitation of anti-P. insidiosum IgG antibodies can be used in dogs to both confirm a suspected diagnosis and to monitor response to therapy. Recently, an immunotherapeutic product (IP) has been marketed for the treatment of pythiosis in dogs, horses, and people. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of administration of this product on anti-P. insidiosum IgG concentrations in dogs. The IP was administered to seven, healthy hound mixes on …

Development Of Mouse Models For The Study Of Zika Virus Pathogenesis And Antibody Response, Anna Beatriz Kawiecki

LSU Master's Theses

After the emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas in 2015, ZIKV infection was associated for the first time since its discovery with severe symptoms in both adults and congenital cases, including neurological, ocular, and developmental manifestations. Previous ZIKV circulation in Africa and Southeast Asia has been characterized by mild symptoms and small-scale case-counts. It is unclear whether the unprecedented size and severity of the ZIKV outbreak in the Americas are the consequence of a change in the virus, different background flaviviral immunity in the population, or a reporting issue. In addition, ZIKV has been shown to be transmitted …