Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Two Diagnostic Assays For The Detection Of Serum Neutralizing Antibody To Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, Justin Brown, Korakrit Poonsuk, Ting-Yu Cheng, Chris Rademacher, Erin Kalkwarf, Liying Tian, Lauren A. Mckeen, Chong Wang, Luis Gimenez-Lirola, David Baum, Locke A. Karriker

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Lactogenic immunity is important for the protection of piglets against many pathogens including porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Circulating neutralizing antibodies levels in sow sera may help determine if a detectable immune response could confer protection to piglets. Neutralizing antibodies can be detected through various diagnostic assays. This study evaluated the diagnostic characteristics of two neutralizing antibody assays for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus neutralizing antibodies in serum of challenged gilts. Four treatment groups, control, non-vaccinated, vaccinated prior to challenge, and vaccinated following challenge, were comprised of 20 gilts. Serum sample were collected from each gilt prior to and following challenge with …

Comparison Of Two Diagnostic Assays For The Detection Of Serum Neutralizing Antibody To Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, Justin Brown, Korakrit Poonsuk, Ting-Yu Cheng, Chris Rademacher, Erin Kalkwarf, Liying Tian, Lauren A. Mckeen, Chong Wang, Luis Gimenez-Lirola, David Baum, Locke A. Karriker

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Lactogenic immunity is important for the protection of piglets against many pathogens including porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Circulating neutralizing antibodies levels in sow sera may help determine if a detectable immune response could confer protection to piglets. Neutralizing antibodies can be detected through various diagnostic assays. This study evaluated the diagnostic characteristics of two neutralizing antibody assays for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus neutralizing antibodies in serum of challenged gilts. Four treatment groups, control, non-vaccinated, vaccinated prior to challenge, and vaccinated following challenge, were comprised of 20 gilts. Serum sample were collected from each gilt prior to and following challenge with …

An Evaluation Of Avian Influenza Virus Whole-Genome Sequencing Approaches Using Nanopore Technology, Hon S. Ip, Sarah Uhm, Mary Lea Killian, Mia K. Torchetti

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As exemplified by the global response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, whole-genome sequencing played an important role in monitoring the evolution of novel viral variants and provided guidance on potential antiviral treatments. The recent rapid and extensive introduction and spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Europe, North America, and elsewhere raises the need for similarly rapid sequencing to aid in appropriate response and mitigation activities. To facilitate this objective, we investigate a next-generation sequencing platform that uses a portable nanopore sequencing device to generate and present data in real time. This platform offers the potential to extend in-house sequencing …

Displaying And Delivering Viral Membrane Antigens Via Ww Domain–Activated Extracellular Vesicles, Sengjin Choi, Zhiping Yang, Qiyu Wang, Zhi Qiao, Maoyun Sun, Joshua Wiggins, Shi-Hua Xiang, Quan Lu

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Membrane proteins expressed on the surface of enveloped viruses are conformational antigens readily recognized by B cells of the immune system. An effective vaccine would require the synthesis and delivery of these native conformational antigens in lipid membranes that preserve specific epitope structures. We have created an extracellular vesicle–based technology that allows viral membrane antigens to be selectively recruited onto the surface of WW domain–activated extracellular vesicles (WAEVs). Budding of WAEVs requires secretory carrier-associated membrane protein 3, which through its proline-proline-alanine-tyrosine motif interacts with WW domains to recruit fused viral membrane antigens onto WAEVs. Immunization with influenza and HIV viral …

Vaccines Against Group B Coxsackieviruses And Their Importance, Kiruthiga Mone, Ninaad Lasrado, Meghna Sur, Jay Reddy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The group B coxsackieviruses (CVBs) exist in six serotypes (CVB1 to CVB6). Disease associations have been reported for most serotypes, and multiple serotypes can cause similar diseases. For example, CVB1, CVB3, and CVB5 are generally implicated in the causation of myocarditis, whereas CVB1 and CVB4 could accelerate the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Yet, no vaccines against these viruses are currently available. In this review, we have analyzed the attributes of experimentally tested vaccines and discussed their merits and demerits or limitations, as well as their impact in preventing infections, most importantly myocarditis and T1D.

Personalized Matched Targeted Therapy In Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Pilot Cohort Analysis, Justin Shaya, Shumei Kato, Jacob J. Adashek, Hitendra Patel, Paul T. Fanta, Gregory P. Botta, Jason K. Sicklick, Razelle Kurzrock

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Despite progress, 2-year pancreatic cancer survival remains dismal. We evaluated a biomarker-driven, combination/N-of-one strategy in 18 patients (advanced/metastatic pancreatic cancer) (from Molecular Tumor Board). Targeted agents administered/ patient = 2.5 (median) (range, 1–4); first-line therapy (N = 5); second line, (N = 13). Comparing patients (high versus low degrees of matching) (matching score ≥50% versus <50%; reflecting number of alterations matched to targeted agents divided by number of pathogenic alterations), survival was significantly longer (hazard ratio [HR] 0.24 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.078–0.76, P = 0.016); clinical benefit rates (CBR) (stable disease ≥6 months/partial/complete response) trended higher (45.5 vs 0.0%, P = 0.10); progression-free survival, HR, 95% CI, 0.36 (0.12–1.10) (p = 0.075). First versus ≥2nd-line therapy had higher CBRs (80.0 vs 7.7%, P = …

Burmese Pythons In Florida: A Synthesis Of Biology, Impacts, And Management Tools, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Bryan G. Falk, Brian J. Smith, Johnd David Willson, Robert N. Reed, Nicholas G. Aumen, Michael L. Avery, Ian A. Bartoszek, Earl Campbell, Michael S. Cherkiss, Natalie M. Claunch, Andrea F. Currylow, Tylan Dean, Jeremy Dixon, Richard Engeman, Sarah Funck, Rebekah Gibble, Kodiak C. Hengstebeck, John S. Humphrey, Margaret E. Hunter, Jillian M. Josimovich, Jennifer Ketterlin, Michael Kirkland, Frank J. Mazzotti, Robert Mccleery, Melissa A. Miller, Matthew Mccollister, M. Rockwell Parker, Shannon E. Pittman, Michael Rochford, Christina Romagosa, Art Roybal, Ray W. Snow, Mckayla M. Spencer, J. Hardin Waddle, Any A. Yackel Adams, Kristen M. Hart

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to southeastern Asia, however, there is an established invasive population inhabiting much of southern Florida throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Pythons have severely impacted native species and ecosystems in Florida and represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe. The difficulty stems from a unique combination of inaccessible habitat and the cryptic and resilient nature of pythons that thrive in the subtropical environment of southern Florida, rendering them extremely challenging to detect. Here we provide a comprehensive review and synthesis of the science relevant to managing invasive …

Presumptive Hepatogenous Photosensitization In Beef Cattle Winter Grazing A Cover Crop Containing Brassica Spp. Turnips, Matthew M. Hille, Scott A. Fritz, Breanna C. Brown

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Over a period of ~2 wk, 5 adult beef cows developed severe necrotizing skin lesions on the face and neck shortly after being moved to a field with a cover crop of Brassica spp. turnips. We describe here the clinical signs, hematology, and serum chemistry results, as well as gross and histopathologic findings, from this outbreak. We made a presumptive diagnosis of Brassica-associated liver disease (BALD) based on the similarities in the history and diagnostic findings observed with previously reported cases of BALD from elsewhere in the world. BALD has not been reported previously in cattle in North America, …

Mites [Of Dogs And Cats], Susan E. Little, Roberto Cortinas

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Veterinary parasitology: 20,000-word article details recognition and treatments for mite infestations of dogs and cats. Mite species reviewed include:

Cheyletiella spp. (“Walking Dandruff”)

Demodex spp. (Hair Follicle Mites, Red Mange, Demodicosis, Demodectic Mange)

Sarcoptes scabiei (Itch Mite, Scabies, Sarcoptic Mange)

Notoedres cati (Feline Head and Neck Mange)

Otodectes cynotis (Ear Mites)

Pneumonyssoides caninum (Nasal Mite)

Lynxacarus radovskyi (Fur Mite, Hair Clasping Mite)

Trombiculid Mites (Chiggers, Red Bugs, Berry Bugs, Harvest Mites, Scrub Itch or Grass Itch Mites)

Discussions include Etiology and epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Clinical features, Diagnosis, Treatment and prognosis, Immunity, Prevention, and Public health aspects.

Complete with 209 references.

More People, More Cats, More Parasites: Human Population Density And Temperature Variation Predict Prevalence Of Toxoplasma Gondii Oocyst Shedding In Free-Ranging Domestic And Wild Felids, Sophie Zhu, Elizabeth Vanwormer, Karen Shapiro

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous zoonotic parasite that can infect warm-blooded vertebrates, including humans. Felids, the definitive hosts, drive T. gondii infections by shedding the environmentally resistant stage of the parasite (oocysts) in their feces. Few studies characterize the role of climate and anthropogenic factors in oocyst shedding among free-ranging felids, which are responsible for the majority of environmental contamination. We determined how climate and anthropogenic factors influence oocyst shedding in free-ranging domestic cats and wild felids using generalized linear mixed models. T. gondii oocyst shedding data from 47 studies were systematically reviewed and compiled for domestic cats and six …

Detection Of Mannheimia Haemolytica-Specific Igg, Igm And Iga In Sera And Their Relationship To Respiratory Disease In Cattle, Korakrit Poonsuk, Carita Kordik, Matthew M. Hille, Ting-Yu Cheng, William B. Crosby, Amelia R. Woolums, Michael L. Clawson, Carol G. Chitko-Mckown, Bruce Brodersen, John Dustin Loy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mannheimia haemolytica is one of the major causes of bovine respiratory disease in cattle. The organism is the primary bacterium isolated from calves and young cattle affected with enzootic pneumonia. Novel indirect ELISAs were developed and evaluated to enable quantification of antibody responses to whole cell antigens using M. haemolytica A1 strain P1148. In this study, the ELISAs were initially developed using sera from both M. haemolytica-culture-free and clinically infected cattle, then the final prototypes were tested in the validation phase using a larger set of known-status M. haemolytica sera (n = 145) collected from feedlot cattle. The test …

Chemical Characterization And Biological Evaluation Of Epilobium Parviflorum Extracts In An In Vitro Model Of Human Malignant Melanoma, Sotiris Kyriakou, Venetia Tragkola, Ioannis Paraskevaidis, Mihalis Plioukas, Dimitrios T. Trafalis, Rodrigo Franco, Aglaia Pappa, Mihalis I. Panayiotidi

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Malignant melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer characterised by high metastatic capacity and mortality rate. On the other hand, Epilobium parviflorum is known for its medicinal properties, including its anticancer potency. In this context, we aimed to (i) isolate various extracts of E. parviflorum, (ii) characterize their phytochemical content, and (iii) determine their cytotoxic potential in an in vitro model of human malignant melanoma. To these ends, we utilized various spectrophotometric and chromatographic (UPLC-MS/MS) approaches to document the higher content of the methanolic extract in polyphenols, soluble sugars, proteins, condensed tannins, and chlorophylls -a and -b as …

Does Swab Type Matter? Comparing Methods For Mannheimia Haemolytica Recovery And Upper Respiratory Microbiome Characterization In Feedlot Cattle, William B. Crosby, Lee Pinnell, John T. Richeson, Cory Wolfe, Jake Castle, John Dustin Loy, Sheryl P. Gow, Keun Seok Seo, Sarah F. Capik, Amelia R. Woolums, Paul S. Morley

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is caused by interactions among host, environment, and pathogens. One standard method for antemortem pathogen identification in cattle with BRD is deep-guarded nasopharyngeal swabbing, which is challenging, costly, and waste generating. The objective was to compare the ability to recover Mannheimia haemolytica and compare microbial community structure using 29.5 inch (74.9 cm) deep-guarded nasopharyngeal swabs, 16 inch (40.6 cm) unguarded proctology swabs, or 6 inch (15.2 cm) unguarded nasal swabs when characterized using culture, real time-qPCR, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Samples for aerobic culture, qPCR, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were collected from the …

First Gene-Edited Calf With Reduced Susceptibility To A Major Viral Pathogen, Aspen M. Workman, Michael P. Heaton, Brian L. Vander Ley, Dennis A. Webster, Luke Sherry, Jonathan R. Bostrom, Sabrina Larson, Theodore S. Kalbfleisch, Gregory P. Harhay, Erin E. Jobman, Daniel F. Carlson, Tad S. Sonstegard

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is one of the most important viruses affecting the health and well-being of bovine species throughout the world. Here, we used CRISPR-mediated homology-directed repair and somatic cell nuclear transfer to produce a live calf with a six amino acid substitution in the BVDV binding domain of bovine CD46. The result was a gene-edited calf with dramatically reduced susceptibility to infection as measured by reduced clinical signs and the lack of viral infection in white blood cells. The edited calf has no off-target edits and appears normal and healthy at 20 months of age without obvious …

Aerobic Exercise And Scaffolds With Hierarchical Porosity Synergistically Promote Functional Recovery Post Volumetric Muscle Loss, Christina Zhu, Karina Skylar, Yori Endo, Mohamadmahdi Samandari,, Mehran Karvar, Azadeh Mostafavi, Jacob Quint, Chiara Rioldi, Wojciech Swieszkowski, Joshua Mauney, Shailesh Agarwal, Ali Tamayol, Indranil Sinha

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is a composite loss of skeletal muscle tissue (greater than 20%) that heals with minimal muscle regeneration, substantial fibrosis, and subsequent functional deficits. Standard treatment, involving free functional muscle transfer and physical therapy, cannot restore full muscle function following VML. Tissue engineered scaffolds, 3D structural templates that mimic native extracellular matrix, are promising to enhance functional muscle formation and recovery. Bioprinted 3D scaffolds are engineered using bioinks, created from scaffolding material, cells, and growth factors, to replicate skeletal muscle architecture with precise control over their spatial deposition. METHODS: The present study evaluates a 3D-printed foam-like scaffold …

Vaccines Against Group B Coxsackieviruses And Their Importance, Kiruthiga Mone, Ninaad Lasrado, Meghna Sur, Jay Reddy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The group B coxsackieviruses (CVBs) exist in six serotypes (CVB1 to CVB6). Disease associations have been reported for most serotypes, and multiple serotypes can cause similar diseases. For example, CVB1, CVB3, and CVB5 are generally implicated in the causation of myocarditis, whereas CVB1 and CVB4 could accelerate the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Yet, no vaccines against these viruses are currently available. In this review, we have analyzed the attributes of experimentally tested vaccines and discussed their merits and demerits or limitations, as well as their impact in preventing infections, most importantly myocarditis and T1D.

Host-Genetic-Based Outcome Of Co-Infection By Pcv2b And Prrsv In Pigs, Christian W. Eaton, Hiep Vu, Arabella L. Hodges, Seth P. Harris, Stephen D. Kachman, Daniel C. Ciobanu

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Replication of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), an important worldwide swine pathogen, has been demonstrated to be influenced by host genotype. Specifically, a missense DNA polymorphism (SYNGR2 p.Arg63Cys) within the SYNGR2 gene was demonstrated to contribute to variation in PCV2b viral load and subsequent immune response following infection. PCV2 is known to induce immunosuppression leading to an increase in susceptibility to subsequent infections with other viral pathogens such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). In order to assess the role of SYNGR2 p.Arg63Cys in co-infections, pigs homozygous for the favorable SYNGR2 p.63Cys (N = 30) …

Evaluation Of Roost Culling As A Management Strategy For Reducing Invasive Rose‑Ringed Parakeet (Psittacula Krameri) Populations, C. Janes Anderson, Leonard A. Brennan, William P. Bukoski, Steven C. Hess, Clayton D. Hilton, Aaron B. Shiels, Shane Siers, Bryan M. Kluever, Page E. Klug

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri) are one of the most widespread invasive avian species worldwide. This species was introduced to the island of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, USA, in the 1960s. The rapidly increasing population has caused substantial economic losses in the agricultural and tourism industries. We evaluated the efficacy of a roost culling program conducted by an independent contractor from March 2020 to March 2021. We estimated island-wide minimum abundance was 10,512 parakeets in January 2020 and 7,372 in April 2021. Over 30 nights of culling at four roost sites, approximately 6,030 parakeets were removed via air rifles with 4,415 …

Predicting Dispersal And Conflict Risk For Wolf Recolonization In Colorado, Mark A. Ditmer, George Wittemyer, Katherine A. Zeller, Stewart W. Breck, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., Kevin R. Crooks

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. The colonization of suitable yet unoccupied habitat due to natural dispersal or human introduction can benefit recovery of threatened species. Predicting habitat suitability and conflict potential of colonization areas can facilitate conservation planning.

2. Planning for reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus) to the United States state of Colorado is underway. Assessing which occupancy sites minimize the likelihood of human-wolf conflict during dispersal events and seasonal movements is critical to the success of this initiative.

3. We used a spatial absorbing Markov chain (SAMC) framework, which extends random walk theory and probabilistically accounts for both movement behavior …

High Winds And Melting Sea Ice Trigger Landward Movement In A Polar Bear Population Of Concern, Annie Kellner, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas, Stewart W. Breck, Colorado State University - Fort Collins

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Some animal species are responding to climate change by altering the timing of events like mating and migration. Such behavioral plasticity can be adaptive, but it is not always. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation have mostly remained on ice year-round, but as the climate warms and summer sea ice declines, a growing proportion of the subpopulation is summering ashore. The triggers of this novel behavior are not well understood. Our study uses a parametric time-to-event model to test whether biological and/or time-varying environmental variables thought to influence polar bear movement and habitat selection …

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

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

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

H7n9 Influenza A Virus Transmission In A Multispecies Barnyard Model, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth, Anna Rodriguez, Rachel M. Maison, Stephanie M. Porter, J. Jeffrey Root

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Influenza A viruses are a diverse group of pathogens that have been responsible for millions of human and avian deaths throughout history. Here, we illustrate the transmission potential of H7N9 influenza A virus between Coturnix quail (Coturnix sp.), domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus), chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), and house sparrows (Passer domesticus) co-housed in an artificial barnyard setting. In each of four replicates, individuals from a single species were infected with the virus. Quail shed virus orally and were a source of infection for both chickens and ducks. Infected chickens transmitted the virus to quail but not to ducks or …

Raccoon Rabies Control And Elimination In The Northeastern Usa And Southern Québec, Canada, Amy J. Davis, Marianne Gagnier, Ariane Massé, Kathleen M. Nelson, Jordona D. Kirby, Ryan Wallace, Xiaoyue Ma, Christine Fehlner-Gardiner, Richard B. Chipman, Amy Gilbert

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies virus (RABV) is a deadly zoonosis that circulates in wild carnivore populations in North America. Intensive management within the USA and Canada has been conducted to control the spread of the raccoon (Procyon lotor) variant of RABV and work towards elimination. We examined RABV occurrence across the northeastern USA and southeastern Québec, Canada during 2008–2018 using a multi-method, dynamic occupancy model. Using a 10 km× 10 km grid overlaid on the landscape, we examined the probability that a grid cell was occupied with RABV and relationships with management activities (oral rabies vaccination (ORV) and trap-vaccinate-release efforts), habitat, neighbour effects …

Transmission Of Sars-Cov-2 In Free-Ranging White-Tailed Deer In The United States, Aijing Feng, Sarah Bevins, Jeff Chandler, Thomas J. Deliberto, Ria Ghai, Kristina Lantz, Julianna Lenoch, Adam Retchless, Susan A. Shriner, Cynthia Y. Tang, Suxiang Sue Tong, Mia Torchetti, Anna Uehara, Xiu-Feng Wan

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic virus with documented bi-directional transmission between people and animals. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) poses a unique public health risk due to the potential for reservoir establishment where variantsmay persist and evolve. We collected 8,830 respiratory samples from free-ranging white-tailed deer across Washington, D.C. and 26 states in the United States between November 2021 and April 2022. We obtained 391 sequences and identified 34 Pango lineages including the Alpha, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants. Evolutionary analyses showed these white-tailed deer viruses originated fromat least 109 independent spillovers fromhumans,which resulted in …

Alternatives To Corn For Baiting Wild Pigs, Justin A. Foster, Lee H. Williamson, John C. Kinsey, Ryan L. Reitz, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We examined dietary preferences of wild pigs to discern possible bait alternatives to corn. Captive trials were conducted during spring and fall 2021 in the Wild Pig Research Facility at Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Hunt, Texas, USA. We conducted 2‐choice tests by allowing wild pigs to feed ad libitum on soybeans, split peas, mealworms, and peanuts (spring 2021), and oats, acorns, earthworms, and peanuts (fall 2021), always with corn available as a second choice for reference. In each trial, we used proportion of test bait eaten versus total bait eaten, and relative access to both food sources as indices of …

Evaluation Of Oral Baits And Distribution Methods For Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus Harrisii), Sean Dempsey, Ruth J. Pyer, Amy Gilbert, Nicholas M. Fountain-Jones, Jennifer M. Moffat, Sarah Benson-Amram, Timothy J. Smyser, Andrew S. Flies

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context

Diseases are increasingly contributing to wildlife population declines. Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) populations have locally declined by 82%, largely owing to the morbidity and mortality associated with two independent transmissible devil facial tumours (DFT1 and DFT2). Toxic baits are often used as a management tool for controlling vertebrate pest populations in Australia, but in other areas of the world, oral baits are also used to deliver vaccines or pharmaceuticals to wildlife.

Aim

Our goal was to evaluate the potential use of edible baits as vehicles for vaccine delivery to Tasmanian devils.

Method

We first tested bait palatability with …

Producers’ Perceptions Of Large Carnivores And Nonlethal Methods To Protect Livestock From Depredation: Findings From A Multistate Federal Initiative, Keith M. Carlisle, Hailey E. Ellis, Colorado State University, Alan D. Bright

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We examined livestock producers’ perceptions of wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, and mountain lions, as well as their experiences with using nonlethal methods to protect livestock from depredation. All producers in the study received nonlethal predator management assistance in 2020 from USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services (“WS”) pursuant to a federally funded initiative focused on the use of nonlethal methods to protect livestock. Such methods included assistance from range riders (i.e., individuals who monitor livestock and carnivores), fladry (i.e., flags hung from rope that serve as a repellent), and other audio/visual deterrents (e.g., Foxlights). The producers did not specifically seek nonlethal assistance from …

Livestock Producers' Perceptions Of The American Black Vulture Conflict In The Midwestern United States, Marian L. Wahl, Brooke Mcwherter, Patrick A. Zollner, Zhao Ma, Grant C. Burcham, Lee A. Humberg, Brian M. Kluever

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Human‐wildlife interactions are present wherever both humans and wildlife are found. Interactions can be positive or negative for humans and can include impacts that range from damage to property, agriculture, health and human safety, to emotional effects. Livestock‐wildlife interactions form a major component of human‐wildlife conflicts with foci often centered on the implications of livestock predation by wildlife. While most vulture species are obligate scavengers, several species, including the American black vulture (Coragyps atratus), may attack weak or newborn livestock. Black vulture populations and distributions are expanding in the Midwestern U.S., and attacks create a novel problem for …

African Swine Fever, Vienna R. Brown, Julianna B. Lenoch, Courtney F. Bowden

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

At the time of writing this chapter, a global pandemic of African swine fever (ASF) is ongoing with the virus having moved from Eastern Europe, Asia, and into the Caribbean—leaving swine production in devastation along the way. Due to the global spread of African swine fever virus (ASFV), the persistence of the virus, and the increasing number of endemic countries, this disease poses an imminent threat of introduction into North America and other countries that are currently ASF free. Throughout the chapter, we reference Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) which are charismatic megafauna that are native to Europe and Asia. …

Investigation Of Risk Factors For Introduction Of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5n1 Infection Among Commercial Turkey Operations In The United States, 2022: A Case-Control Study, Kelly A. Patyk, Victoria L. Fields, Andrea L. Beam, Matthew A. Branan, Rachel E. Mcguigan, Alice Green, Mia K. Torchetti, Kristina Lantz, Alexis Freifeld, Katherine Marshall, Amy H. Delgado

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduction: The 2022–2023 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak in the United States (U.S.) is the largest and most costly animal health event in U.S. history. Approximately 70% of commercial farms affected during this outbreak have been turkey farms. Methods: We conducted a case-control study to identify potential risk factors for introduction of HPAI virus onto commercial meat turkey operations. Data were collected from 66 case farms and 59 control farms in 12 states. Univariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to compare management and biosecurity factors on case and control farms. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of infection …