Publications

infectivity and pathogenicity of canine h3n8 influenza a virus in horses.	equine h3n8 influenza a viruses (eivs) cause respiratory disease in horses and circulate among horses worldwide. in 2004, an outbreak of canine h3n8 influenza a virus (civ) occurred among dogs in florida and has spread among dogs in the united states (us). genetic analyses revealed that this civ is closely related to the recent eivs. although civ-infected dogs could be the source of h3n8 influenza a virus for horses, it remains unclear whether the civ circulating in the united states still maint ...	2010	20958928
diagnostic, treatment, and prevention protocols for feline heartworm infection in animal sheltering agencies.	cats are at risk for heartworm infection (dirofilaria immitis) wherever the disease is endemic in dogs. diagnosis is more difficult in cats, and little information is available regarding effective palliative and curative treatments for infected cats. in contrast to the challenges of diagnosis and treatment, chemoprophylaxis is highly effective, and current guidelines call for preventive medications to be administered to all cats in endemic areas. the purpose of this study was to survey feline he ...	2011	21330060
host blood meal identification by multiplex polymerase chain reaction for dispersal evidence of stable flies (diptera:muscidae) between livestock facilities.	a species-specific multiplex polymerase chain reaction targeting the cytochrome b gene of cattle, horses, humans, and dogs was developed to determine the blood meal sources of stable flies, stomoxys calcitrans (l.), collected from florida equine facilities. of 595 presumptive blood-fed stable flies analyzed, successful host amplification was obtained in 350, for a field host-detection efficiency of 58.8%. the majority of analyzed stable flies had fed on cattle (64.6%), followed by horses (24.3%) ...	2011	21337948
diagnostic, treatment, and prevention protocols for canine heartworm infection in animal sheltering agencies.	the high prevalence of heartworm infection in shelter dogs creates a dilemma for shelter managers, who frequently operate with insufficient funding, staffing, and expertise to comply with heartworm guidelines developed for owned pet dogs. the purpose of this study was to survey canine heartworm management protocols used by 504 animal sheltering agencies in the endemic states of alabama, florida, georgia, and mississippi. open-admission shelters, which tended to be larger and more likely to perfo ...	2011	21353743
raccoon roundworms in pet kinkajous--three states, 1999 and 2010.	baylisascaris procyonis (bp) is the common roundworm of raccoons (procyon lotor). adult bp live in the small intestine of this host, where they produce eggs that are passed in the feces. bp eggs ingested by nondefinitive host species hatch in the intestine, producing larvae that can migrate widely, causing visceral, ocular, or neural larva migrans. cases of neural larva migrans in humans caused by bp likely acquired from raccoons have resulted in severe encephalitis with permanent deficits and i ...	2011	21412211
efficacy of dinotefuran-pyriproxyfen, dinotefuran-pyriproxyfen-permethrin and fipronil-(s)-methoprene topical spot-on formulations to control flea populations in naturally infested pets and private residences in tampa, fl.	thirteen cats and 7 dogs living in 14 homes were treated topically with either a dinotefuran (22%, w/w)/pyriproxyfen (3.00%, w/w) (dp) or dinotefuran (4.95%, w/w)/pyriproxyfen (0.44%, w/w)/permethrin (36.08%, w/w) (dpp) topical spot-on, respectively. twenty cats and 7 dogs living in 16 homes were treated topically with either a fipronil (9.8%, w/w)/(s)-methoprene (11.8%, w/w) or fipronil (9.8%, w/w)/(s)-methoprene (8.8%, w/w) topical spot-on (fm), respectively. all products were applied accordin ...	2011	21705147
Serological evidence of H3N8 canine influenza-like virus circulation in USA dogs prior to 2004.	H3N8 canine influenza virus (H3N8 CIV) was first reported as a novel canine respiratory pathogen in racing greyhounds and shelter dogs in the USA in 2004. Phylogenetic analyses determined that this host-adapted pathogen originated from interspecies transmission of an equine influenza virus (EIV), but it is unknown when the transmission occurred prior to discovery in 2004. The objective of this study was to determine if racing greyhound and shelter dog sera collected from 1984 to 2004 had serolog ...	2011	22178358
genetic variation and exchange in trypanosoma cruzi isolates from the united states.	trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of chagas disease, is a multiclonal parasite with high levels of genetic diversity and broad host and geographic ranges. molecular characterization of south american isolates of t. cruzi has demonstrated homologous recombination and nuclear hybridization, as well as the presence of 6 main genetic clusters or "discrete typing units" (dtus). few studies have extensively investigated such exchange events and genetic diversity in north american isolates. in the ...	2013	23457528
flea species infesting dogs in florida and bartonella spp. prevalence rates.	several bartonella spp. associated with fleas can induce a variety of clinical syndromes in both dogs and humans. however, few studies have investigated the prevalence of bartonella in the blood of dogs and their fleas. the objectives of this study were to determine the genera of fleas infesting shelter dogs in florida, the prevalence of bartonella spp. within the fleas, and the prevalence of bartonella spp. within the blood of healthy dogs from which the fleas were collected. fleas, serum, and ...	2014	24268654
prevalence, genetic analyses, and risk factors associated with heartworm (dirofilaria immitis) in wild coyotes (canis latrans) from florida, usa.	we detected heartworm (dirofilaria immitis) in 37.2% of 212 coyotes ( canis latrans ) collected from 28 counties in florida, us, between february 2010 and april 2014. adult coyotes had a higher prevalence (45.6% of 103) than juveniles (29% of 80), and there was no significant difference in prevalence between adult male and female coyotes. adults demonstrated a higher prevalence of heartworm in northern counties (56% of 91) than in southern counties (23.1% of 121) and a higher prevalence in urban ...	2016	27458831
ticks associated with domestic dogs and cats in florida, usa.	voluntary collections of ticks from domestic dogs and cats by veterinary practitioners across florida, usa, were conducted over a 10 month period. of the 1337 ticks submitted, five species of ixodid ticks were identified and included rhipicephalus sanguineus, amblyomma americanum, a. maculatum, dermacentor variabilis, and ixodes scapularis. most ticks were collected from dogs (98.4%) with the most predominant species being r. sanguineus (94.3%). of the ticks collected from cats (1.6%), a. americ ...	2016	26888081
amblyomma auricularium (ixodida: ixodidae) in florida: new hosts and distribution records.	previous published evidence for the occurrence of an exotic armadillo tick, amblyomma auricularium (conil), in florida is scant, but we found it is fully established and integrated into the state's tick fauna. we collected 11,192 specimens of this tick from naturalized nine-banded armadillos, dasypus novemcinctus l., and 14 other species of wild native mammals and birds in florida, while sampling statewide during 2004 through 2007. in all, we document its specific presence only in 14 contiguous ...	2017	28082640