Publications

epidemiologic survey of sylvatic plague by serotesting coyote sentinels with enzyme immunoassay.	the geographic distribution and areas of high sylvatic plague activity in california were verified by using coyotes (canis latrans) as sentinel animals. antibody levels against yersinia pestis were tested using the enzyme-labelled antibody (ela) test and the microtiter passive hemagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition. a survey using the ela test indicated that the overall antibody prevalence among 143 coyotes was 21%. by geographic regions, the highest antibody prevalence was 27% among c ...	1979	382839
surveillance of sylvatic plaque in oregon by serotesting carnivores.	in oregon, during 1974-1979, 10.3 per cent of 3.255 statewide blood samples from carnivores were positive for yersinia pestis. the per cent positive rate and geometric mean positive titer increase monthly from january (6.5 per cent) to june (21.7 per cent), and decline thereafter. data are presented on how geographic location, species, and time of year affect surveillance results. the correlation of carnivore plague surveillance with human cases in discussed.	1982	7125037
an overview of plague in the united states and a report of investigations of two human cases in kern county, california, 1995.	plague was confirmed in the united states from nine western states during 1995. evidence of yersinia pestis infection was identified in 28 species of wild or domestic mammals. thirteen of the plague positive species were wild rodents; 15 were predators/carnivores. yersinia pestis was isolated from eight species of fleas. seven confirmed cases of human plague were reported in 1995 (new mexico 3; california 2; arizona and oregon 1 each). five of the seven cases were bubonic; one was septicemic and ...	1997	9221742
multiple antimicrobial resistance in plague: an emerging public health risk.	antimicrobial resistance in yersinia pestis is rare, yet constitutes a significant international public health and biodefense threat. in 1995, the first multidrug resistant (mdr) isolate of y. pestis (strain ip275) was identified, and was shown to contain a self-transmissible plasmid (pip1202) that conferred resistance to many of the antimicrobials recommended for plague treatment and prophylaxis. comparative analysis of the dna sequence of y. pestis plasmid pip1202 revealed a near identical inc ...	2007	17375195
ocular plague (yersinia pestis) in mule deer (odocoileus hemionus) from wyoming and oregon.	although plague is relatively rare in wild ungulates, this report describes ocular lesions associated with yersinia pestis infection in three free-ranging mule deer (odocoileus hemionus) from wyoming and oregon, usa. all deer were observed antemortem and seemed to be blind. post-mortem examination revealed gross lesions of bilateral keratoconjunctivitis and/or panophthalmitis in the first two deer, but only partial retinal detachment in the third deer. microscopically, all deer had moderate-to-s ...	2008	18957655
notes from the field: two cases of human plague--oregon, 2010.	plague, caused by yersinia pestis, is enzootic among rodents in the western united states. humans can be infected through 1) the bite of an infected flea carried by a rodent or, rarely, other animals, 2) direct contact with contaminated tissues, or 3) in rare cases, inhalation of respiratory secretions from infected persons or animals. in september 2010, the oregon health authority reported the first two cases of human plague in oregon since 1995 and the only two u.s. cases in 2010.	2011	21346709
misidentification of yersinia pestis by automated systems, resulting in delayed diagnoses of human plague infections--oregon and new mexico, 2010-2011.	one human plague case was reported in oregon in september 2010 and another in new mexico in may 2011. misidentification of yersinia pestis by automated identification systems contributed to delayed diagnoses for both cases.	2012	22715170
burrowing owls, pulex irritans, and plague.	western burrowing owls (athene cunicularia hypugaea) are small, ground-dwelling owls of western north america that frequent prairie dog (cynomys spp.) towns and other grasslands. because they rely on rodent prey and occupy burrows once or concurrently inhabited by fossorial mammals, the owls often harbor fleas. we examined the potential role of fleas found on burrowing owls in plague dynamics by evaluating prevalence of yersinia pestis in fleas collected from burrowing owls and in owl blood. dur ...	2015	26367482
disease surveillance of california ground squirrels ( spermophilus beecheyi ) in a drive-through zoo in oregon, usa.	rodents and other small wild mammals are often considered to be pests and vectors for disease in zoos that house small populations of valuable threatened and endangered animals. in 2005, three nonhuman primates at a drive-through zoo in oregon, us, acquired tularemia from an unknown source. due to an abundance of california ground squirrels ( spermophilus beecheyi ) on zoo grounds, we instituted serosurveillance of this species from july through september 2008 to determine the prevalence of anti ...	2017	28418764