Animal Diseases Commons^™

Close Contacts Of Xenograft Recipients: Ethical Considerations Due To Risk Of Xenozoonosis, Daniel J Hurst, Luz Padilla, Daniel Rodger, Tamar Schiff, David K C Cooper

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

With decades of pre-clinical studies culminating in the recent clinical application of xenotransplantation, it would appear timely to provide recommendations for operationalizing oversight of xenotransplantation clinical trials. Ethical issues with clinical xenotransplantation have been described for decades, largely centering on animal welfare, the risks posed to the recipient, and public health risks posed by potential spread of xenozoonosis. Much less attention has been given to considerations relating to potentially elevated risks faced by those who may care for or otherwise have close contact with xenograft recipients. This paper examines the ethical and logistical issues raised by the potential exposure to …

Human-Bat Interactions In A Disease Emergence Hotspot: Implications For Human Health And Bat Conservation, Reilly Tempest Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bats are an ecologically important taxon that can host zoonotic pathogens. Globally, many bat species are synanthropic and live closely with humans, often roosting in man-made structures. The spatial overlap between humans and bats creates opportunities for human-bat contact, which can lead to human exposure to bat-borne pathogens and conflicts that cause bat mortality. Despite this risk, little is known about the drivers and characteristics of these human-bat interactions in buildings and work is needed to understand this aspect of the wildlife-urban interface. In Chapter I, I present a literature review that identifies the geographic and taxonomic trends in reported …

An Ecological Perspective Of American Rodent-Borne Orthohantavirus Surveillance, Nathaniel Mull

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Orthohantaviruses are a global group of viruses found primarily in rodents, though several viruses have also been found in shrews and moles. Many rodent-borne orthohantaviruses are capable of causing one of several diseases in humans, and the mortality associated with these diseases ranges from < 0.1% - 50% depending on the specific etiological virus. In North and South America, orthohantavirus research was ignited by an outbreak of severe disease in the Four Corners region of the United States in 1993. However, despite the discovery of over 20 orthohantaviruses in the Americas, our understanding of orthohantavirus ecology and virus-host dynamics in this region is still limited, and orthohantavirus surveillance is generally restricted in scope to select regions and small portions of host distributional ranges. In Chapter I, I present a literature review on the current understanding of American rodent-borne orthohantavirus ecology. This review focused on under-studied orthohantaviruses, addressing gaps in knowledge by extrapolating information from well-studied orthohantaviruses, general rodent ecology, and occassionally from Eurasian orthohantavirus-host ecology. There were several key conclusions generated from this review that warrant further research: 1) the large number of putative orthohantaviruses and gaps in orthohantavirus evolution necessitate further surveillance and characterization, 2) orthohantavirus traits differ and are more generalizable based on host taxonomy rather than geography, and 3) orthohantavirus host species are disproportionately found in grasslands and disturbed habitats. In Chapter II, I present a prioritized list of rodent species to target for orthohantavirus surveillance based on predictive modeling using machine learning. Probable orthohantavirus hosts were predicted based on traits of known orthohantavirus hosts using two different types of evidence: RT-PCR and virus isolation. Predicted host distributions were also mapped to identify geographic hotspots to spatially guide future surveillance efforts. In Chapter III, I present a framework for understanding and predicting orthohantavirus traits based on reservoir host phylogeny, as opposed to the traditional geographic dichotomy used to group orthohantaviruses. This framework establishes three distinct orthohantavirus groups: murid-borne orthohantaviruses, arvicoline-borne orthohantaviruses, and non-arvicoline cricetid-borne orthohantaviruses, which differ in several key traits, including the human disease they cause, transmission routes, and virus-host fidelity. In Chapter IV, I compare rodent communities and orthohantavirus prevalence among grassland management regimes. Sites that were periodically burned had high rodent diversity and a high proportion of grassland species. However, rodent seroprevalence for orthohantavirus was also highest in burned sites, representing a trade-off in habitat management outcomes. The high seroprevalence in burned sites is likely due to the robust populations supported by the high quality habitat resulting from prescribed burning. In Chapters V and VI, I describe Ozark virus and Sager Creek virus, two novel orthohantaviruses discovered from specimens collected during Chapter IV. Both chapters report full genome sequences of the respective viruses and compare both nucleotide and protein phylogenies with related orthohantaviruses. Additionally in Chapter VI, I support the genetic analyses with molecular and ecological characterizations, including seasonal fluctuations in host abundance, correlates of prevalence, evidence of virus shedding, and information on host cell susceptibility to Sager Creek virus.

Disease Risk Of Reintroducing Primates Confiscated From The Illegal Wildlife Trade, Ana Patricia Mendoza Becerra

Dissertations

Zoonotic infections are easily shared between human and other primates, and thus primate trafficking poses a high risk of introducing zoonotic pathogens into urban environments as well as spreading human-associated diseases into natural environments when infected primates are released. The magnitude of these risks has not been thoroughly studied in the context of primate trafficking and rehabilitation of Neotropical primates. In this dissertation, I address some knowledge gaps in disease risk analysis of reintroducing trafficked primates. In chapter 1, I describe the dynamics, diversity, and composition of live wildlife trafficking in urban markets in Peru. I found these markets are …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Bunyamwera And Ngari Viruses (Family Bunyaviridae, Genus Orthobunyavirus) Isolated In Kenya, C. Odhiambo, M. Venter, O. Lwande, R. Swanepoel, R. Sang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Orthobunyaviruses, tri-segmented, negative-sense RNA viruses, have long been associated with mild to severe human disease in Africa, but not haemorrhagic fever. However, during a Rift Valley fever outbreak in East Africa in 1997-1998, Ngari virus was isolated from two patients and antibody detected in several others with haemorrhagic fever. The isolates were used to identify Ngari virus as a natural Orthobunyavirus reassortant. Despite their potential to reassort and cause severe human disease, characterization of orthobunyaviruses is hampered by paucity of genetic sequences. Our objective was to obtain complete gene sequences of two Bunyamwera virus and three Ngari virus isolates from …

Diseases At The Livestock–Wildlife Interface: Status, Challenges, And Opportunities In The United States, Ryan S. Miller, Mathew L. Farnsworth, Jennifer L. Malmberg

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

In the last half century, significant attention has been given to animal diseases; however, our understanding of disease processes and how to manage them at the livestock–wildlife interface remains limited. In this study, we conduct a systematic review of the scientific literature to evaluate the status of diseases at the livestock–wildlife interface in the United States. Specifically, the goals of the literature review were three fold: first to evaluate domestic animal diseases currently found in the United States where wildlife may play a role; second to identify critical issues faced in managing these diseases at the livestock–wildlife interface; and third …

Viral Metagenomics Demonstrates That Domestic Pigs Are A Potential Reservoir For Ndumu Virus, Charles Masembe, George Michuki, Maria Onyango, Cecilia Rumberia, Martin Norling, Richard P. Bishop, Appolinaire Djikeng, Stephen J. Kemp, Alan Orth, Robert A. Skilton, Karl Ståhl, Anne Fischer

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: The rising demand for pork has resulted in a massive expansion of pig production in Uganda. This has resulted in increased contact between humans and pigs. Pigs can act as reservoirs for emerging infectious diseases. Therefore identification of potential zoonotic pathogens is important for public health surveillance. In this study, during a routine general surveillance for African swine fever, domestic pigs from Uganda were screened for the presence of RNA and DNA viruses using a high-throughput pyrosequencing method. Findings. Serum samples from 16 domestic pigs were collected from five regions in Uganda and pooled accordingly. Genomic DNA and RNA …

Brucellosis Can Cause Contagious Abortion In Cattle And Undulant Fever In Man, F C. Wilkinson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

WHEN the cow, shown in the accompanying photograph, was purchased it had a small fluid-filled lump on the left knee.

The swelling did not appear to be painful but gradually increased in size until it assumed the proportions shown in the picture.

It was a typical case of "big-knee," one of the less common manifestations of Brucellosis—the disease commonly known as contagious abortion—and a blood test of the animal confirmed the diagnosis.