Publications

sentinel coyote pathogen survey to assess declining black-footed ferret (mustela nigripes) population in south dakota, usa.	as part of the national recovery effort, endangered black-footed ferrets (mustela nigripes) were reintroduced to the cheyenne river sioux reservation in south dakota, us in 2000. despite an encouraging start, numbers of ferrets at the site have declined. in an effort to determine possible causes of the population decline, we undertook a pathogen survey in 2012 to detect exposure to west nile virus (wnv), canine distemper virus (cdv), plague (yersinia pestis), tularemia (francisella tularensis), ...	2021	33822142
west nile virus seroprevalence in an outdoor nonhuman primate breeding colony in south florida.	west nile virus (wnv) was first detected in florida in july 2001, with 404 human cases reported to the centers for disease control and prevention as of february 2020. the subtropical climate of florida is ideal for the mosquitoes that transmit wnv. we investigated the wnv seroprevalence in 3 nhp species housed outdoors at the mannheimer foundation in south florida. from january to december 2016, 520 3 to 30 y old nhp were sampled at our 2 closed sites in homestead and labelle: 200 rhesus macaque ...	2021	33441221
west nile virus seroconversion in eastern loggerhead shrike (lanius ludovicianus migrans) after vaccination with a killed vaccine.	the loggerhead shrike (lanius ludovicianus migrans) is a migratory songbird that has undergone massive population declines in ontario since the 1950s. as part of a broad strategy of recovery, a captive breeding population was established in the late 1990s. this species appears to be extremely sensitive to west nile virus (wnv) infection, with prior outbreaks at ontario breeding facilities reaching a 100% mortality rate. this study aimed to investigate the humoral response to vaccination in juven ...	2021	33827175
a field test of the dilution effect hypothesis in four avian multi-host pathogens.	the dilution effect hypothesis (deh) argues that greater biodiversity lowers the risk of disease and reduces the rates of pathogen transmission since more diverse communities harbour fewer competent hosts for any given pathogen, thereby reducing host exposure to the pathogen. deh is expected to operate most intensely in vector-borne pathogens and when species-rich communities are not associated with increased host density. overall, dilution will occur if greater species diversity leads to a lowe ...	2021	34161394
characterization and host-feeding patterns of culex pipiens s.l. taxa in a west nile virus-endemic area in southeastern romania.	culex pipiens sensu lato has been documented as west nile virus (wnv) vector in southeastern romania. bucharest, the densely populated capital city of romania, and the surrounding ilfov county are wnv hotspots. in this area, the morphologically indistinguishable biotypes of cx. pipiens, namely pipiens and molestus, are usually differentiated by their behavioral and physiological traits. their involvement in wnv transmission, as suggested by entomological investigations, was not previously docume ...	2021	34160283
genetic characterization of a neurovirulent west nile virus variant associated with a fatal great grey owl infection.	this study reports on a fatal case of a captive great grey owl infected with the west nile virus (wnv) in the zoological garden košice, eastern slovakia (central europe). the tissue samples of the dead owl were used for virus isolation and genetic characterization. the novel isolate is genetically closer to hungarian, greek, and bulgarian strains from the central/southern european clade of lineage 2 than to the strains previously isolated in slovakia. interestingly, it carries ns3-249p, a molecu ...	2021	33920598
european starlings (sturnus vulgaris) as vectors and reservoirs of pathogens affecting humans and domestic livestock.	european starlings are an abundant, widespread avian species frequently found in close association with human development and agriculture. the ability of starlings to carry and disperse pathogens of humans and domesticated livestock has received considerable attention, including studies of enteric bacteria, viruses, and some fungi. to investigate the importance of european starlings as disease vectors, i reviewed and assessed the available literature, comprising several hundred published papers. ...	2021	33578636