| serologic evidence of west nile virus exposure in north american mesopredators. | sera from 936 mammalian mesopredators (virginia opossums, gray foxes, striped skunks, hooded skunks, raccoons, a bobcat, and a red fox) were collected during 2003 and 2004 in california, arizona, texas, louisiana, ohio, and wyoming and screened for flavivirus-specific antibodies by an epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (blocking elisa). serum samples positive for antibodies against flaviviruses were screened for west nile virus (wnv)-specific antibodies by blocking elisa and sele ... | 2007 | 17255248 |
| modest genetic differentiation among north american populations of sarcocystis neurona may reflect expansion in its geographic range. | sarcocystis neurona is an important cause of neurological disease in horses (equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, epm) and sea otters in the united states. in addition, epm-like disease has been diagnosed in several other land and marine mammals. opossums are its only definitive hosts. little genetic diversity among isolates of s. neurona from different hosts has been reported. here, we used 11 microsatellites to characterize s. neurona dna isolated from natural infections in 22 sea otters (enhyd ... | 2008 | 18243561 |
| evaluation of cruzia americana, turgida turgida, and didelphostrongylus hayesi infection in the virginia opossum (didelphis virginiana) and risk factors along the california coast. | three nematodes, turgida turgida, cruzia americana, and didelphostrongylus hayesi, have been documented to cause morbidity and mortality in the virginia opossum (didelphis virginiana). the present study was designed to determine the frequency of infection of these nematodes in opossums at 2 study sites in california and to determine if there are risk factors associated with shedding of eggs or larvae in the feces. turgida turgida and c. americana adults were found in 84.4% (stomach; n = 45) and ... | 2008 | 18973414 |
| seroprevalence of trypanosoma cruzi among eleven potential reservoir species from six states across the southern united states. | trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of chagas' disease, is a substantial public health concern in latin america. although rare in humans and domestic animals in the united states, t. cruzi is commonly detected in some wildlife species, most commonly raccoons (procyon lotor) and virginia opossums (didelphis virginiana). to increase our understanding of the reservoir host species range and geographic distribution, 11 species of mammals from six states spanning the known range of t. cruzi (arizo ... | 2010 | 20020815 |
| natural la crosse virus infection in the red fox (vulpes fulva), gray fox (urocyon cinereoargenteus), raccoon (procyon lotor), and opossum (didelphis virginiana). | natural infection of sentinel red foxes (vulpes fulva) and free-ranging red foxes, gray foxes (urocyon cinereoargenteus) and raccoons (procyon lotor) with la crosse (lac) virus was demonstrated. one isolate of lac virus was obtained from a sentinel red fox in an enzootic area. the viremia titer of the lac virus-infected red fox was above the threshold of infection for aedes triseriatus mosquitoes. antibody responses were measured by the microneutralization test employing four california group vi ... | 1981 | 7258486 |
| rickettsial infections among ctenocephalides felis and host animals during a flea-borne rickettsioses outbreak in orange county, california. | due to a resurgence of flea-borne rickettsioses in orange county, california, we investigated the etiologies of rickettsial infections of ctenocephalides felis, the predominant fleas species obtained from opossums (didelphis virginiana) and domestic cats (felis catus), collected from case exposure sites and other areas in orange county. in addition, we assessed the prevalence of igg antibodies against spotted fever group (sfgr) and typhus group (tgr) rickettsiae in opossum sera. of the 597 flea ... | 2016 | 27537367 |
| abiotic and biotic contributors to support inter-epidemic francisella tularensis in an agricultural peri-urban environment. | to characterize the inter-epidemic ecology of francisella tularensis, we surveyed vertebrates and invertebrates for the abundance, spatial distribution, and status of infection at a site in northern california that had evidence of endemic type b tularemia. we collected 2910 mosquitoes, 77 biting flies, 704 ticks, 115 mammals, and 1911 aquatic invertebrates in 2013-2014. real-time pcr on all mosquitoes, 40 biting flies, 113 aquatic invertebrates, and 650 ticks did not detect f. tularensis dna. in ... | 2017 | 28968195 |
| scanning electron microscopy of turgida turgida (nematoda: spiruroidea), parasite of the virginia opossum, didelphis virginiana, from southern california. | taxonomic characters for identification of turgida turgida rudolphi, 1819, a parasitic nematode of the virginia opossum didelphis virginiana, were studied by scanning electron microscopy. the distinguishing feature of the cephalic end is the presence of numerous denticles, structures associated with the internal tooth, and 2 spongelike areas on the inner side of each pseudolabia. the posterior end of male t. turgida differs from that in other species of physalopteridae by the number of caudal pa ... | 2001 | 11695400 |
| prevalence and risk factors associated with sarcocystis neurona infections in opossums (didelphis virginiana) from central california. | sarcocystis neurona, a protozoal parasite shed by opossums (didelphis virginiana), has been shown to cause significant morbidity and mortality in horses, sea otters, and other marine mammals. over the course of 3 years (fall 2005-summer 2008), opossums from central california were tested for infection with s. neurona. of 288 opossums sampled, 17 (5.9%) were infected with s. neurona based on the molecular characterization of sporocysts from intestinal scrapings or feces. risk factors evaluated fo ... | 2009 | 19735983 |
| rickettsia felis in cat fleas, ctenocephalides felis parasitizing opossums, san bernardino county, california. | los angeles and orange counties are known endemic areas for murine typhus in california; however, no recent reports of flea-borne rickettsioses are known from adjacent san bernardino county. sixty-five opossums (didelphis virginiana) were trapped in the suburban residential and industrial zones of the southwestern part of san bernardino county in 2007. sixty out of 65 opossums were infested with fleas, primarily cat fleas, ctenocephalides felis (bouché, 1835). the flea minimum infection rate wit ... | 2012 | 22712460 |
| molecular characterization of sarcocystis neurona strains from opossums (didelphis virginiana) and intermediate hosts from central california. | sarcocystis neurona is a significant cause of neurological disease in horses and other animals, including the threatened southern sea otter (enhydra lutris nereis). opossums (didelphis virginiana), the only known definitive hosts for s. neurona in north america, are an introduced species in california. s. neurona dna isolated from sporocysts and/or infected tissues of 10 opossums, 6 horses, 1 cat, 23 southern sea otters, and 1 harbor porpoise (phocoena phocoena) with natural infections was analy ... | 2010 | 20226596 |
| two pathogens and one disease: detection and identification of flea-borne rickettsiae in areas endemic for murine typhus in california. | results of an environmental assessment conducted in a newly emergent focus of murine typhus in southern california are described. opossums, didelphis virginiana kerr, infested with cat fleas, ctenocephalides felis buché, in the suburban area were abundant. animal and flea specimens were tested for the dna of two flea-borne rickettsiae, rickettsia typhi and rickettsia felis. r. felis was commonly detected in fleas collected throughout this area while r. typhi was found at a much lower prevalence ... | 2012 | 23270180 |