Publications (5)15.22 Total impact
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Article: Using wild white-tailed deer to detect eastern equine encephalitis virus activity in Maine.
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ABSTRACT: Serum from 226 free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was screened for Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) antibodies using plaque reduction neutralization tests. EEEV antibodies were detected in 7.1% of samples. This is the first time EEEV antibodies have been detected in O. virginianus populations in the state of Maine (ME). The highest percentage of EEEV positive sera was in Somerset County (19%) in central ME, and this is the first time that EEEV activity has been detected in that County. EEEV RNA was not detected in any of the 150 harvested deer brain samples submitted to the ME Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife as a part of screening for Chronic Wasting Disease. This suggests that screening deer brains is not an efficient method to detect EEEV activity. For each serum sample tested, the geographic location in which the deer was harvested was recorded. Significant spatial clustering of antibody-positive sera samples was not detected. Relative to seronegative deer, seropositive deer were slightly more likely to be harvested in nonforested areas compared with forested areas. Results indicate that screening of free-ranging deer sera can be a useful tool for detecting EEEV activity in ME and other parts of North America.Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.) 07/2011; 11(10):1403-9. · 2.61 Impact Factor -
Article: Detection of West Nile virus in stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae) parasitizing juvenile American white pelicans.
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ABSTRACT: Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), an economically important pest of livestock and humans, were observed parasitizing prefledged American white pelicans, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos (Pelecaniformes: Pelecanidae), in a pelican breeding colony in northeastern Montana where die-offs attributed to West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV) have occurred since 2002. Engorged and unengorged flies were collected off nine moribund chicks. Of 29 blood-engorged flies testing positive for vertebrate DNA, all 29 contained pelican DNA. Virus isolation was performed on 60 pools (1,176 flies) of unengorged flies using Vero cell plaque assay. Eighteen pools were positive for WNV for an estimated infection rate of 18.0 per 1,000 flies. Fifty-four percent (36/67) of abdomens from blood-engorged flies tested positive for WNV. Pelican viremia levels from the blood-engorged fly abdomens revealed that at least one of the ill pelicans circulated a viremia capable of infecting Culex mosquito vectors. Stable flies may be involved in WNV transmission within the pelican breeding colony by serving as either a mechanical vector or as a source for oral infection if ingested by predators.Journal of Medical Entomology 11/2010; 47(6):1205-11. · 1.76 Impact Factor -
Article: Surveillance for West Nile virus in American white pelicans, Montana, USA, 2006-2007.
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ABSTRACT: West Nile virus (WNV)-associated deaths of American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) chicks have been recognized at various nesting colonies in the United States since 2002. We evaluated American white pelican nesting colonies in Sheridan County, Montana, USA, for an association between WNV-positive pelican carcasses and human West Nile neuroinvasive disease. Persons in counties hosting affected colonies had a 5x higher risk for disease than those in counties with unaffected colonies. We also investigated WNV infection and blood meal source among mosquitoes and pelican tissue type for greatest WNV detection efficacy in carcasses. WNV-infected Culex tarsalis mosquitoes were detected and blood-engorged Cx. tarsalis contained pelican DNA. Viral loads and detection consistency among pelican tissues were greatest in feather pulp, brain, heart, and skin. Given the risks posed to wildlife and human health, coordinated efforts among wildlife and public health authorities to monitor these pelican colonies for WNV activity are potentially useful.Emerging Infectious Diseases 03/2010; 16(3):406-11. · 6.79 Impact Factor -
Article: Declining mortality in American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) following natural West Nile virus infection.
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ABSTRACT: The American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is known to suffer 100% mortality from infection with the New York 1999 strain of West Nile virus (WNV). Following the initial detection of WNV in North America in 1999, we measured prevalence of WNV-reactive antibodies ("seroprevalence") in free-ranging American and fish crows (Corvus ossifragus) of central New Jersey after each transmission season through 2005. In 2002, seroprevalence in American crow juveniles increased to 14% from the 5% of the previous year, potentially indicating increased survival in this species. Using the annual seroprevalence measurements and the number of human West Nile neuroinvasive disease cases as a surrogate for WNV transmission intensity, we developed a model to estimate the annual WNV-associated mortality rates among both of these crow species. Our model supports the hypothesis that mortality is changing over time; the WNV-associated mortality rate declined over time by 1.5% for American crow and by 1.1% for fish crow. The probability that the trend in mortality was negative was 90% for the American crow and 60% for the fish crow.Avian Diseases 09/2009; 53(3):458-61. · 1.46 Impact Factor -
Article: Experimental and natural infection of North American bats with West Nile virus.
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ABSTRACT: Big brown (Eptesicus fuscus) and Mexican free-tailed (Tadarida brasiliensis) bats were inoculated with the New York 99 strain of West Nile virus to assess their potential to serve as amplifying hosts and determine the clinical effect of infection. Groups of three or four bats were bled at daily intervals between 1 and 6 days after inoculation to determine the pattern of viremia. Beginning 2 days after inoculation, virus was isolated each day from one or more E. fuscus bats, in titers ranging from 10 to 180 plaque-forming units per milliliter of serum. Virus was not isolated from any of the sera collected from T. brasiliensis bats. None of the bats from either species showed clinical signs associated with exposure to virus. Sera from an additional 149 bats collected in Louisiana in 2002 during an epizootic of West Nile fever were tested for antibodies to virus, and two were found to be positive. These data suggest that bats from these two widely distributed species are unlikely to serve as amplifying hosts for West Nile virus.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 09/2005; 73(2):467-9. · 2.59 Impact Factor
Top co-authors
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Institutions
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2010
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Montana State University
- Department of Animal and Range Sciences
Bozeman, MT, USA
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2009
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Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- Center for Vector Biology
Newark, NJ, USA
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