Animal Diseases Commons^™

Population Genetics Of Two Key Mosquito Vectors Of Rift Valley Fever Virus Reveals New Insights Into The Changing Disease Outbreak Patterns In Kenya, David P. Tchouassi, Armanda D.S. Bastos, Catherine L. Sole, Mawlouth Diallo, Joel Lutomiah, James Mutisya, Francis Mulwa, Christian Borgemeister, Rosemary Sang, Baldwyn Torto

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks in Kenya have increased in frequency and range to include northeastern Kenya where viruses are increasingly being isolated from known (Aedes mcintoshi) and newly-associated (Ae. ochraceus) vectors. The factors contributing to these changing outbreak patterns are unclear and the population genetic structure of key vectors and/or specific virus-vector associations, in particular, are under-studied. By conducting mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses on >220 Kenyan specimens of Ae. mcintoshi and Ae. ochraceus, we uncovered high levels of vector complexity which may partly explain the disease outbreak pattern. Results indicate that Ae. mcintoshi consists of a species complex …

Development Of A Turkey Coccidiosis Vaccine Candidate: An Attenuated Line Of The Protozoan Parasite, Eimeria Meleagrimitis, Thilakar Rathinam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coccidiosis is an economically important enteric disease of poultry caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Eimeria. Drugs are most commonly used to control coccidiosis. Widespread usage of anticoccidial drugs in the field has resulted in development of drug resistant strains and consequently decreased drug efficacy. An alternative control strategy using attenuated vaccines is desired. A series of experiments was designed to identify, isolate and attenuate a strain of a common and pathogenic species of Eimeria of turkeys, E. meleagrimitis.

Sensitivity of field isolates of turkey coccidia to the anticoccidials drugs amprolium, clopidol, diclazuril, and monensin was investigated. A …

Identification And The Significance Of Selective Proteins In Bile And Plasma Of Normal And Health-Compromised Chickens, Balamurugan Packialakshmi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the last 50 years, animal breeding programs in commercial poultry have made significant progress in the bodyweight gain of broilers but led to several metabolic and skeletal disorders. Lameness associated with proximal femur known as femoral head separation (FHS) or femoral head necrosis (FHN) is one of the major metabolic disorders in poultry industry. In order to select for healthy chickens, markers that can distinguish between healthy and affected birds are required. Biomarkers from blood represent an ideal and rich source of markers which can be obtained using minimally invasive methods. The biomarkers were explored in an experimental model …

Arkansas Animal Science Department Report 2014, David L. Kreider, Paul Beck

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

Occurrence Of Rift Valley Fever In Cattle In Ijara District, Kenya, Nelson O. Owange, William O. Ogara, Hippolyte Affognon, Gathura B. Peter, Jacqueline Kasiiti, Sam Okuthe, W. Onyango-Ouma, Tobias Landmann, Rosemary Sang, Murithi Mbabu

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Ijara district in Kenya was one of the hotspots of rift valley fever (RVF) during the 2006/2007 outbreak which led to human and animal deaths causing huge economic and public health losses. The main constraint in the control and prevention of RVF is inadequate knowledge on its occurrence during the interepidemic period. This study was aimed at understanding the occurrence of RVF in cattle in Ijara to enable the development of improved community-based disease surveillance, prediction, control and prevention.Six herds each 700-1000 cattle were identified with participatory involvement of locals and project technical team of the project. One animal per …

Stability, Bifurcation And Chaos Analysis Of Vector-Borne Disease Model With Application To Rift Valley Fever, Sansao A. Pedro, Shirley Abelman, Frank T. Ndjomatchoua, Rosemary Sang, Henri E.Z. Tonnang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

This paper investigates a RVF epidemic model by qualitative analysis and numerical simulations. Qualitative analysis have been used to explore the stability dynamics of the equilibrium points while visualization techniques such as bifurcation diagrams, Poincaré maps, maxima return maps and largest Lyapunov exponents are numerically computed to confirm further complexity of these dynamics induced by the seasonal forcing on the mosquitoes oviposition rates. The obtained results show that ordinary differential equation models with external forcing can have rich dynamic behaviour, ranging from bifurcation to strange attractors which may explain the observed fluctuations found in RVF empiric outbreak data, as well …

White Nose Syndrome Of Bats: Lipid Profiling And Enzyme Identification In A Host/Pathogen System, Evan Lacy Pannkuk

Student Theses and Dissertations

Pseudogymnoascus destructans is a fungus isolated from cave-dwelling bats that is the pathogen responsible for white-nose syndrome (WNS) and the associated mass mortality of North American cave bats. This study addresses isolation and identification of biomolecules that may function in host/pathogen interactions in WNS. Fungal skin infections requires fungal adherence and growth on the host organism integumentary matrix, which consists of hard cornified insoluble structural proteins coated with lipid residues from epidermal cells or sebaceous secretions. There is a knowledge gap on how molecules present on the bat integument are utilized as carbon or nitrogen sources by P. destructans. I …

Characterization Of Corynebacterium Pseudotuberculosis Biovar Equi Isolates Obtained From Cal Poly Horses And Review Of Application Of Transposons To Better Prevent Pigeon Fever In Horses, Irene Hasen

Animal Science

No abstract provided.

The Efficacy Of Probiotic Bacterial Isolates In Reducing Cecal Camylobacter Colonization In Broiler Chickens, Komala Arsi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Campylobacter is the leading cause of foodborne illness worldwide and human illnesses are often associated with consumption of poultry or poultry products. Many strategies have been tried to eliminate Campylobacter from poultry with limited success. One of the strategies to reduce Campylobacter colonization in poultry is by use of probiotics. We conducted 2 separate studies to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics against Campylobacter in broiler chickens. For our first study, GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) bacteria were isolated from healthy chickens and tested their efficacy against Campylobacter in vitro. Twenty six isolates with in vitro anti-Campylobacter activity were …

Human African Trypanosomiasis Research Gets A Boost: Unraveling The Tsetse Genome, Serap Aksoy, Geoffrey Attardo, Matt Berriman, Alan Christoffels, Mike Lehane, Dan Masiga, Yeya Toure

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected disease that impacts 70 million people distributed over 1.55 million km2 in sub-Saharan Africa [1]. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense accounts for almost 90% of the infections in central and western Africa, the remaining infections being from T. b. rhodesiense in eastern Africa [1]. Furthermore, the animal diseases caused by related parasites inflict major economic losses to countries already strained [2]. The parasites are transmitted to the mammalian hosts through the bite of an infected tsetse fly.

Phages Of Non-Diary Lactococci: Isolation And Characterization Of Phi L47, A Phage Infecting The Grass Isolate Lactococcus Lactis Ssp Cremoris Dpc6860, Daniel Cavanagh, Caitríona M. Guinane, Horst Neve, Aidan Coffey, R. Paul Ross, Gerald F. Fitzgerald, Olivia Mcauliffe

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Lactococci isolated from non-dairy sources have been found to possess enhanced metabolic activity when compared to dairy strains. These capabilities may be harnessed through the use of these strains as starter or adjunct cultures to produce more diverse flavor profiles in cheese and other dairy products. To understand the interactions between these organisms and the phages that infect them, a number of phages were isolated against lactococcal strains of non-dairy origin. One such phage, ΦL47, was isolated from a sewage sample using the grass isolate L. lactis ssp. cremoris DPC6860 as a host. Visualization of phage virions by transmission electron …

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

Miscellaneous Fish Helminth Parasite (Trematoda, Cestoidea, Nematoda, Acanthocephala) Records From Arkansas, C. T. Mcallister, C. R. Bursey, H. W. Robison, D. A. Neely, M. B. Connior, M. A. Barger

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Between June 2012 and January 2014, 147 fishes (10 species) within five families were collected from watersheds in 8 counties of Arkansas and examined for helminth parasites. Almost every fish species examined harbored at least one or more helminth parasite, including 5 trematodes (Alloglossidium sp., Plagioporus sp., Crepidostomum sp., Clinostomum marginatum and unknown metacercaria), 2 cestodes (unknown cyclophyllidean cysticerci and Corallotaenia parva), 3 nematodes (Spiroxys sp., Capillaria catostomi, and Eustrongylides sp.), and 3 acanthocephalans (unknown cystacanths, Neoechinorhynchus sp., and Leptorhynchoides sp.). We document 16 new host and 2 new distributional records for these helminths. In addition, this is the first …

New Host Records For Mesocestoides Sp. Tetrathyridia (Cestoidea: Cyclophyllidea) In Anurans (Bufonidae, Ranidae) From Arkansas, With A Summary Of North American Amphibian Hosts, C. T. Mcallister, M. B. Connior, S. E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Examination Of The Snsag Surface Antigen Gene Family In Sarcocystis Neurona, Ablesh Gautam

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Sarcocystis neurona is a protozoan parasite that causes the serious neurologic disease equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). The life cycle of S. neurona progresses through multiple developmental stages that differ morphologically and molecularly. The S. neurona merozoite surface is covered by multiple related proteins, which are orthologous to the surface antigen (SAG) gene family of Toxoplasma gondii. The SAG surface antigens in T. gondii and another related parasite Neospora caninum are life cycle stage-specific and seem necessary for parasite transmission and persistence of infection. The present research was conducted to explore the gene family of SnSAGs in S. …

Isoflupredone Acetate As Ancillary Therapy For Bovine Respiratory Disease In High-Risk Stocker Calves, Claire Crews, Jeremy Powell, Elizabeth Kegley, Jana Reynolds, Pete Hornsby

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most prevalent and devastating disease in U.S. feedlot cattle. This study evaluated the use of isoflupredone acetate in the treatment of BRD. Crossbred male beef calves (n = 192; body weight = 221 ± 3.9 kg) were acquired in two blocks from regional auction markets and transported to the University of Arkansas Stocker and Receiving Cattle Unit. Calves were observed daily for signs of respiratory illness. Antibiotic treatment was administered if calves displayed signs of respiratory illness and rectal temperature was ≥40 °C. Calves (n = 72) requiring antibiotic treatment were assigned randomly to …

Steer Stress Response As Affected By Genotype And Transportation, Megan Wary, Marites Sales, Ben Williamson, Ken Coffey, Michael Looper, Charles Rosenkrans Jr.

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Bovine cytochrome P450 3A28 is responsible for metabolizing ergot alkaloids that cattle ingest when feeding on endophyte-infested tall fescue grass. The objective of this research was to determine associations among genotype, transportation, and stress responses. Angus crossbred steers (n = 47) were genotyped (CC, CG, or GG) for a single-nucleotide polymorphism (C994G) in cytochrome P450 3A28. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification followed by restriction enzyme (Alu1) digestion. Steers were backgrounded on a mixed-cultivar tall fescue pasture. Following the stocker phase, steers were transported to the feedlot for finishing. Stress responses were determined 27 h prior to, …

Comparative Study Of Helminth Parasites Of The Many-Ribbed Salamander, Eurycea Multiplicata And Oklahoma Salamander, Eurycea Tynerensis (Caudata: Plethodontidae), From Arkansas And Oklahoma, A, C. T. Mcallister, M. B. Connior, C. R. Bursey, H. W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Ninety many-ribbed salamanders, Eurycea multiplicata and 135 Oklahoma salamanders, Eurycea tynerensis were collected between April 2010 and April 2014 from 14 counties of Arkansas and McCurtain County, Oklahoma (E. multiplicata only) and examined for helminth parasites. Twelve (13%) E. multiplicata were infected, including two (2%) each with Brachycoelium salamandrae, Bothriocephalus rarus, Batracholandros magnavulvaris, Cosmocercoides variabilis, and Omeia papillocauda, and one (1%) each with an oligacanthorhynchid cystacanth and Fessisentis vancleavei. Forty-one (30%) of the E. tynerensis were infected, including seven (5%) with Gorgoderina tenua, two (1%) each with Phyllodistomum solidum and cyclophyllidean tapeworm cysticerci, one (0.7%) with Cylindrotaenia americana, six (3%) …

New Records Of Ectoparasites And Other Epifauna From Scalopus Aquaticus And Blarina Carolinensis In Arkansas, M. B. Connior, L. A. Durden, C. T. Mcallister

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Catabolite Control Protein E (Ccpe) Affects Virulence Determinant Production And Pathogenesis Of Staphylococcus Aureus, Torsten Hartmann, Grégory Baronian, Nadine Nippe, Meike Voss, Bettina Schulthess, Christiane Wolz, Janina Eisenbeis, Kerstin Schmidt-Hohagen, Rosmarie Gaupp, Cord Sunderkötter, Christoph Beisswenger, Robert Bals, Greg A. Somerville, Mathias Herrmann, Virginie Molle, Markus Bischoff

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Carbon metabolism and virulence determinant production are often linked in pathogenic bacteria, and several regulatory elements have been reported to mediate this linkage in Staphylococcus aureus. Previously, we described a novel protein, catabolite control protein E (CcpE) that functions as a regulator of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Here we demonstrate that CcpE also regulates virulence determinant biosynthesis and pathogenesis. Specifically, deletion of ccpE in S. aureus strain Newman revealed that CcpE affects transcription of virulence factors such as capA, the first gene in the capsule biosynthetic operon; hla, encoding α-toxin; and psmα, encoding the phenol-soluble modulin cluster α. Electrophoretic mobility …

Using Quantitative Disease Dynamics As A Tool For Guiding Response To Avian Influenza In Poultry In The United States Of America, K. M. Pepin, E. Spackman, J. D. Brown, K. L. Pabilonia, Lindsey P. Garber, J. Todd Weaver, D. A. Kennedy, Kelly A. Patyk, K. P. Huyvaert, Ryan S. Miller, Alan B. Franklin, Kerri Pedersen, T. L. Bogich, P. Rohani, Susan A. Shriner, Colleen T. Webb, S. Riley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild birds are the primary source of genetic diversity for influenza A viruses that eventually emerge in poultry and humans. Much progress has been made in the descriptive ecology of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), but contributions are less evident from quantitative studies (e.g., those including disease dynamic models). Transmission between host species, individuals and flocks has not been measured with sufficient accuracy to allow robust quantitative evaluation of alternate control protocols. We focused on the United States of America (USA) as a case study for determining the state of our quantitative knowledge of potential AIV emergence processes from wild hosts …

Safety Of Improved Milbond-Tx Mycotoxin Binder When Fed To Broiler Breeders Above Recommended Levels, Michael Schlumbohm, Judy England, Rueben Kriseldi, C. Coon

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

An increasing concern in poultry nutrition is the effects of mycotoxins in contaminated grain. Several new products have come onto the market that chemically bind these toxins preventing mycotoxicosis. However, many of these products have not been tested for safety if accidently overfed to broiler breeders. In order to simulate a feed mixing error at a feed mill, Improved Milbond-TX® was overfed to broiler breeders to see if this would cause any negative effects on bird performance. A typical corn-soybean based diet supplemented with Milbond-TX mycotoxin binder at three different levels of inclusion (0%, 0.5%, and 1%) was fed to …