Publications

microbial impact of canada geese (branta canadensis) and whistling swans (cygnus columbianus columbianus) on aquatic ecosystems.	quantitative and qualitative analyses of the intestinal bacterial flora of canada geese and whistling swans were carried out with the finding that wild birds harbor significantly more fecal coliforms than fecal streptococci. the reverse was typical of captive and fasting birds. neither salmonella spp. nor shigella spp. were isolated from 44 migratory waterfowl that were wintering in the chesapeake bay region. enteropathogenic escherichia coli were detected in seven birds. geese eliminated 10(7) ...	1979	104659
fecal shedding and antimicrobial susceptibility of selected bacterial pathogens and a survey of intestinal parasites in free-living waterfowl.	free-living waterfowl residing in metropolitan parks in central ohio were surveyed for the fecal shedding and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of campylobacter jejuni, escherichia coli, salmonella spp., and pasteurella multocida. in addition, a survey for intestinal parasites was also conducted in these same waterfowl to determine parasite burdens in free-living waterfowl. prevalences of 67%, 50%, and 0.2% of e. coli, c. jejuni, and salmonella spp., respectively, were observed for all water ...	2001	11332473
prevalence of escherichia coli serogroups and human virulence factors in faeces of urban canada geese (branta canadensis).	this was the first study to exhaustively characterize the prevalence of escherichia coli sero-groups in any wildlife species. faecal samples from canada geese (branta canadensis) were collected over a single year in fort collins, colorado, usa. the overall prevalence for e. coli ranged from 2% during the coldest time of the year to 94% during the warmest months of the year. during the time of year when nonmigratory geese dominated the local goose population (march-july) the prevalence of enterot ...	2002	12396532
survey of campylobacter species, vtec o157 and salmonella species in swedish wildlife.	samples collected from 791 wild animals (canada geese, roe deer, hares, moose, wild boar and gulls) shot during hunting were examined for verocytotoxin-producing escherichia coli (vtec) o157, and thermophilic campylobacter and salmonella species. with the exception of one positive isolate from a wild boar, vtec o157 was not isolated from any of the animals. salmonella species were isolated only from the gulls, of which 4 per cent were estimated to be positive. thermophilic campylobacter species ...	2003	12892266
free-living canada geese and antimicrobial resistance.	we describe antimicrobial resistance among escherichia coli isolated from free-living canada geese in georgia and north carolina (usa). resistance patterns are compared to those reported by the national antimicrobial resistance monitoring system. canada geese may be vectors of antimicrobial resistance and resistance genes in agricultural environments.	2005	15963291
enumeration and antibiotic resistance patterns of fecal indicator organisms isolated from migratory canada geese (branta canadensis).	thermotolerant fecal indicator organisms carried by migratory waterfowl may serve as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance. to determine the extent to which such antibiotic resistance markers were present in migratory canada geese (branta canadensis) on the maryland eastern shore, we isolated enterococcus spp. and escherichia coli from fresh feces and examined the antibiotic resistance profiles of these bacteria. samples were obtained in october 2002, january 2003, and march 2003. thermotolerant e ...	2005	16107668
comparison of five rep-pcr genomic fingerprinting methods for differentiation of fecal escherichia coli from humans, poultry and wild birds.	the development of a methodology to identify the origin of fecal pollution is important both for assessing the degree of risk posed to public health and for developing strategies to mitigate the environmental loading of pathogens associated with waterborne disease transmission. five rep-pcr genomic fingerprinting methods, such as rep-pcr, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (eric)-pcr, eric2-pcr, box-pcr and (gtg)(5)-pcr, were assessed for their potential in differentiation of 232 fe ...	2007	17986090
source tracking of escherichia coli by 16s-23s intergenic spacer region denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (dgge) of the rrnb ribosomal operon.	this research validates a novel approach for source tracking based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (dgge) analysis of dna extracted from escherichia coli isolates. escherichia coli from different animal sources and from river samples upstream from, at, and downstream of a combined sewer overflow were subjected to dgge to determine sequence variations within the 16s-23s intergenic spacer region (isr) of the rrnb ribosomal operon. the isr was analyzed to determine if e. coli isolates fr ...	2007	18026210
antimicrobial activity of the anseriform outer eggshell and cuticle.	the avian eggshell is a complex, multifunctional biomineral composed of a calcium carbonate mineral phase and an organic phase of lipids and proteins. the outermost layer of the eggshell, the eggshell cuticle, is an organic layer of variable thickness composed of polysaccharides, hydroxyapatite crystals, lipids and glycoprotein. in addition to regulating gas exchanges, the eggshell cuticle may contain antimicrobial elements. in this study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of eggshell c ...	2008	18289902
differentiation of fecal escherichia coli from poultry and free-living birds by (gtg)5-pcr genomic fingerprinting.	determination of the non-point sources of fecal pollution is essential for the assessment of potential public health risk and development of appropriate management practices for prevention of further contamination. repetitive extragenic palindromic-pcr coupled with (gtg)(5) primer [(gtg)(5)-pcr] was performed on 573 escherichia coli isolates obtained from the feces of poultry (chicken, duck and turkey) and free-living (canada goose, hawk, magpie, seagull and songbird) birds to evaluate the effic ...	2008	17572150
escherichia coli populations in great lakes waterfowl exhibit spatial stability and temporal shifting.	populations of escherichia coli from juvenile and adult ring-billed gulls, juvenile common terns, and adult canada geese were sampled over 6 years at five locations on lake superior (duluth, mn, and wisconsin) and lake michigan (wisconsin, illinois, and indiana) to determine the extent of spatial and temporal variability in e. coli strains. strain identity was determined using horizontal fluorophore-enhanced repetitive element palindromic dna fingerprinting. multivariate statistics were used to ...	2009	19139226
concentrations of host-specific and generic fecal markers measured by quantitative pcr in raw sewage and fresh animal feces.	we measured the concentrations of four host-specific (human, dog, cow, and horse bacteroidales), four generic fecal (16s total bacteroidales and escherichia coli, 23s enterococcus and uida e. coli,) and two universal bacterial (16s universal and rpob universal) dna targets by qpcr in raw sewage and pooled fecal samples from dogs, cows, horses, and canada geese. a spiking protocol using the non-fecal bacterium pseudomonas syringae pph 6 was developed to estimate the recovery of dna from fecal and ...	2009	19765792
Waterfowl abundance does not predict the dominant avian source of beach Escherichia coli.	The horizontal, fluorophore enhanced, rep-PCR (HFERP) DNA fingerprinting technique was used to identify potential sources of in water, nearshore sand, and sediment at two beaches in the Duluth-Superior Harbor, near Duluth, MN, and Superior, WI, during May, July, and September 2006. An animal or environmental source could be identified for 35, 29, and 30% of strains in water, sand, and sediments, respectively. Waterfowl, including Canada geese, ring-billed gulls, and mallard ducks, were the lar ...	2011	22031576
Genetic Markers for Rapid PCR-Based Identification of Gull, Canada Goose, Duck, and Chicken Fecal Contamination in Water.	Avian feces contaminate waterways but contribute fewer human pathogens than human sources. Rapid identification and quantification of avian contamination would therefore be useful to prevent overestimation of human health risk. We used subtractive hybridization of PCR-amplified gull fecal 16S RNA genes to identify avian-specific fecal rRNA gene sequences. The subtracters were rRNA genes amplified from human, dog, cat, cow, and pig feces. Recovered sequences were related to Enterobacteriaceae (47 ...	2012	22081573
survival of escherichia coli, enterococci and campylobacter jejuni in canada goose faeces on pasture.	freshly excreted canada goose faeces pose a public health risk as they contain pathogenic microorganisms. accordingly, a study was carried out on the growth and survival of resident indicator bacteria (enterococci and escherichia coli) and inoculated campylobacter jejuni in freshly excreted faeces over summer and winter. canada goose faeces were collected, mixed thoroughly and inoculated with 10⁸ g⁻¹ c. jejuni. the faeces were mixed again before making the canada goose dropping. the simulated go ...	2012	22963647
quantitative multi-year elucidation of fecal sources of waterborne pathogen contamination in the south nation river basin using bacteroidales microbial source tracking markers.	over a seven-year period (2004-2010) 1095 water samples were obtained from the south nation river basin at multiple watershed monitoring sites (ontario, canada). real-time pcr using bacteroidales specific markers was used to identify the origin (human (10% prevalence), ruminant (22%), pig (~2%), canada goose (4%) and muskrat (7%)) of fecal pollution. in parallel, the distribution of fecal indicator bacteria and waterborne pathogens (cryptosporidium oocysts, giardia cysts, escherichia coli o157:h ...	2013	23497974
virulence genes and the antimicrobial susceptibility of escherichia coli, isolated from wild waterbirds, in the netherlands and poland.	affiliation to four phylogroups (a, b1, b2, and d) was examined, among 190 escherichia coli strains, collected from five, wild waterbird species, including the following: the greylag goose-anser anser (61) and the canada goose-branta canadensis (33) obtained in the netherlands, and the mallard-anas platyrhynchos (38), the mute swan-cygnus olor (37), and the great cormorant-phalacrocorax carbo (21) obtained in poland. moreover, the prevalence of 10 virulence factors: asta, iss, iucd, irp2, papc, ...	2016	27348207
pathogen loading from canada geese faeces in freshwater: potential risks to human health through recreational water exposure.	canada geese (branta canadensis) faeces have been shown to contain pathogenic protozoa and bacteria in numerous studies over the past 15 years. further, increases in both the canada geese populations and their ideal habitat requirements in the united states (us) translate to a greater presence of these human pathogens in public areas, such as recreational freshwater beaches. combining these factors, the potential health risk posed by canada geese faeces at freshwater beaches presents an emerging ...	2016	26414207