Tessa Carrau

• Dr. rer. nat, Dr. vet. med., DVM
• Veterinarian / Scientist at Landesuntersuchungsanstalt für das Gesundheits- und Veterinärwesen Sachsen

African swine fever (ASF), a viral haemorrhagic fever of suids, has recently transformed from an exotic disease to a panzootic threat to domestic and wild suids worldwide. By 2023, ASF had reached large parts of Europe and Asia, parts of the Americas, and with the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste the doorstep of Australia. The disease is cause...

African swine fever (ASF) emerged in Germany in 2020. A few weeks after the initial occurrence, infected wild boar were detected in Saxony. In this study, data from wild boar surveillance in Saxony were analyzed. The analysis focused on the eastern districts of the state, where the disease likely spread through infected wild boar. Additionally, dat...

African swine fever (ASF) has gained panzootic dimensions and commercial vaccines are still unavailable. Recently, a series of live attenuated vaccines has raised hope for an efficacious and safe vaccine, among them “ASFV-G-∆MGF”. We tested the latter in an in vivo reversion to virulence study in accordance with International Cooperation on Harmoni...

African swine fever (ASF) is a severe, globally important disease in domestic and wild pigs. The testing of alternative transmission routes has proven that the ASF virus (ASFV) can be efficiently transmitted to sows via semen from infected boars through artificial insemination. Boars intramuscularly inoculated with the ASFV strain “Estonia 2014” sh...

African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread and persist in the Eurasian wild boar population. The infection pressure resulting from infected carcasses in the environment can be a major contributor to disease persistence and spread. For this reason, it is crucial to find a safe and efficient method of carcass disposal under different circumstances...

The rapid spread of the African swine fever virus (ASFV), causing severe disease with often high fatality rates in Eurasian suids, prevails as a threat for pig populations and dependent industries worldwide. Although advancing scientific progress continually enhances our understanding of ASFV pathogenesis, alternative transmission routes for ASFV h...

Rapid spread of African swine fever virus (ASFV), causing severe disease with often high fatality rates in Eurasian suids, prevails as a threat for pig populations and dependent industries world-wide. Although advancing scientific progress continually enhances our understanding of ASFV pathogenesis, alternative transmission routes for ASFV have yet...

African swine fever (ASF) is a pandemic threat to the global pig industry and wild suids. A safe and efficacious vaccine could monumentally assist in disease eradication. In the past years, promising live attenuated vaccine candidates emerged in proof-of-concept experiments, among which was “ASFV-G-∆MGF”. In our study, we tested the vaccine candida...

African swine fever (ASF) has gained panzootic dimensions and commercial vaccines are still unavailable. Recently, a series of live attenuated vaccines has raised hope for an efficacious and safe vaccine, among them “ASFV-G-∆MGF”. We tested the latter in a in vivo reversion to virulence study in accordance with International Cooperation on Harmonis...

African swine fever (ASF) is a pandemic threat to the global pig industry and wild suids. A safe and efficacious vaccine could monumentally assist in disease eradication. In the past years, promising live attenuated vaccine candidates emerged in proof-of-concept experiments, among them, “ASFV-G-∆MGF”. In our study, we tested the vaccine candidate i...

African swine fever (ASF) is a notifiable viral disease of domestic and wild suids. Despite intensive research efforts, the pathogenesis of the disease is still far from being understood. Analysis of biomarkers in different body fluids may supplement traditional pathogenesis studies. As reliable protocols are often established in laboratories with...

African swine fever (ASF) is a notifiable viral disease of domestic and wild suids. Despite intensive re-search efforts, the pathogenesis of the disease is still far from being understood. Analysis of biomarkers in different body fluids may supplement traditional pathogenesis studies. As reliable protocols are often es-tablished in laboratories wit...

Since September 2020, Germany has experienced the first ever outbreak of African swine fever (ASF). The first known cases occurred exclusively in wild boar in forest areas in Brandenburg and Saxony; in July 2021, infected domestic pigs were also confirmed for the first time. As wild boar are considered the main reservoir for the virus in the Europe...

African swine fever (ASF) is a major threat to pig production, and real-time PCR (qPCR) protocols are an integral part of ASF laboratory diagnosis. With the pandemic spread of ASF, commercial kits have risen on the market. In Germany, the kits have to go through an approval process and thus, general validation can be assumed. However, they have nev...

African swine fever (ASF) has evolved from an exotic animal disease to a threat to global pig production. An important avenue for the wide-spread transmission of animal diseases is their dissemination through boar semen used for artificial insemination. In this context, we investigated the role of male reproductive organs in the transmission of ASF...

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the major threats to pig production, and real-time PCR (qPCR) protocols are integral part of ASF laboratory diagnosis. With the pandemic spread of ASF, commercial kits have risen on the market. In Germany, the kits have to go through an approval process and thus, general validation can be assumed. However, they w...

Drosophila suzukii is a neobiotic invasive pest that causes extensive damage to fruit crops worldwide. The biological control of this species has been unsuccessful thus far, in part because of its robust cellular innate immune system, including the activity of professional phagocytes known as hemocytes and plasmatocytes. The in vitro cultivation of...

In the past ten years, Drosophila suzukii, a fruit fly native to Eastern and Southeastern Asia, has devel-oped into a serious invasive economically relevant pest of soft and stone fruits. This notorious pest has an economic impact on the agricultural industry that reaches to millions of euros in crop losses. For instance, an estimate of 3 million €...

The epidemiology behind multi-host/multi-parasite systems is particularly interesting to investigate for a better understanding of the complex dynamics naturally occurring in wildlife populations. We aimed to approach the naturally occurring polyparasitism of gastrointestinal nematodes in a sympatric wild ruminant scenario present in south-east Spa...

In the analysis of a multi-host/multi-parasite system and its associated risk factors, it is particularly interesting to understand the natural dynamics among pathogens, their hosts, and the environment in wildlife populations. This analysis is particularly feasible in a scenario where multiple overlapping host populations are present in high densi...

Drosophila suzukii (Ds) is an invasive pest insect that infests ripening fruit, causing severe economic losses. Control measures based on chemical pesticides are inefficient and undesirable, so biological alternatives have been considered, including native Ds viruses. We previously isolated a strain of La Jolla virus (LJV-Ds-OS20) from Ds in German...

Lungworms can exert a negative impact on wild ruminant fitness; for this reason, the diagnosis of the associated diseases is an important prevention measure. The Baerman–Wetzel technique is the most usual method for the diagnosis of bronchopulmonary nematodes and is based on the active migration and movement of their first-stage larvae. Pulmonary t...

Caprine coccidiosis represents a major concern in goat industry worldwide causing high economic losses, mainly due to poor weight gains, treatments costs and even death of kids. Therefore, analyses on risk factors involved in the establishment and outcome of this disease are important to improve infection status and herd management. In Portugal, ap...

The invasive insect pest Drosophila suzukii causes extensive damage to soft-skinned fruit crops as they ripen. Current control methods involve the application of chemical pesticides, but this approach is ineffective and environmentally hazardous. To investigate the potential of bacterial pathogens carried by D. suzukii as biocontrol agents, we char...

The harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis is native to Asia but has been introduced into many countries as a biological control agent. It is now considered an invasive pest, threatening the biodiversity of native ladybirds globally, in part because of its superior immune system. H. axyridis is infected and killed by the parasitic nematode Parasityle...

Eimeria infections are common in sheep industry worldwide nonetheless very little is known on infection dynamics and associated risk factors influencing the outcome of clinical ovine coccidiosis. The aim of the present work was to analyse intrinsic (e. g. host age) and extrinsic (flock size, farm size and animal density) risk factors influencing dy...

The invasive insect pest Drosophila suzukii infests ripening fruits and causes extensive damage to crops in the northern hemisphere. Novel, environmentally friendly strategies to control the spread of this species are urgently needed, and one promising approach is the deployment of entomopathogenic viruses. Here we report the identification and cha...

Eighty-four Murciano-Granadina dairy goats slaughtered in the region of Murcia (South-East Spain) were necropsied to evaluate parasitic infections. The majority of the animals (94.0%) were parasitised and multiple infections were present. Twenty-one parasite species were found, including 18 nematode species (Muellerius capillaris, Dictyocaulus fila...

Eighty four Murciano-Granadina dairy goats slaughtered in Murcia province (Southeast Spain), were necropsied to evaluate parasitic infections. Most animals (94%) were parasitized, and multiple infections were present. Twenty one parasite species were found, including eighteen nematode species (Muellerius capillaris, Dictyocaulus filaria, Neostrongy...

Objective To determine whether the human spermatozoon is a sufficient stimulus to trigger the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Design Experimental study. Setting University-based laboratory. Patient(s) Semen samples from four men and blood samples from six healthy female donors. Intervention...

The present study was carried out on the occurrence of a postparturient rise of Eimeria spp. in breeding ewes grazing in natural pastures. The research was performed in a dairy flock in the municipality of Sangonera, Murcia (Southeast Spain). A total of 216 faecal samples recovered from 20 ewes and 35 lambs of the Manchega breed were analyzed betwe...

The apicomplexan parasite Eimeria ovinoidalis is distributed worldwide and causes clinical ovine coccidiosis. As one of the most pathogenic species in sheep, the principal clinical sign is profuse diarrhoea in young animals, which leads to important economic losses in the ovine industry. We here aimed to establish an in vitro culture system for the...