Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health Commons^™

Characterizing The Roles Of Bacterial And Viral Agents In House Crickets (Acheta Domesticus) At Commercial Rearing Facilities In The United States, Kimberly L. Boykin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Feeder insects, and in particular crickets, are becoming more popular as food for humans and domesticated animals. However, disease outbreaks continue to decimate commercial populations. The goals of this dissertation were to characterize the epidemiology of different viral and bacterial pathogens affecting the survival of European house crickets (Acheta domesticus) being raised under mass rearing conditions and identify methods to reduce the impact of these pathogens.

Crickets from nine different producers across the United States were sampled during different seasons to better estimate the prevalence of three pathogenic viruses: Acheta domesticus densovirus (AdDV), Acheta domesticus volvovirus (AdVVV), and …

Characterization Of Bunyamwera, Batai, And Ngari Viruses: Unrecognized Arboviruses Of One Health Importance In Rwanda, Marie Fausta Dutuze

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Bunyamwera (BUNV), Batai (BATV), and Ngari (NRIV) are mosquito-borne viruses (Genus: Orthobunyavirus, Family: Peribunyaviridae, Order: Bunyavirales). They have an RNA tripartite genome consisting of small (S), medium (M), and large (L) segments. NRIV is a natural reassortant of BUNV and BATV, with the genome: S_BUNV, M_BATV, L_BUNV. All three viruses have been associated with disease of varying severity in domestic ruminants and humans. In livestock, infection with these viruses is associated with abortions, while humans may present a mild febrile illness or severe disease such as hemorrhagic fever or meningoencephalitis. In East Africa, …