Journal of Wildlife Diseases最新文献

{"title":"Survey of Coyotes for Vector-Borne and Bacterial Pathogens in South Carolina and Tennessee, USA.","authors":"Eliza Baker, Michelle M Dennis, Debra Miller, Sreekumari Rajeev, Mohamed A Abouelkhair, Alex Jensen, Carmen Black, Richard Gerhold","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-24-00206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-24-00206","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Coyotes (Canis latrans) can serve as hosts for many pathogens of concern and may be useful for monitoring the prevalence and emergence of these pathogens. We collected serum and/or whole blood antemortem from 43 coyotes from South Carolina, US, and collected samples from opportunistically collected carcasses from 71 Tennessee, US and 15 South Carolina, US coyotes. We tested samples with SNAP 4Dx PLUS rapid ELISA tests for Ehrlichia spp., Anaplasma spp., Dirofilaria immitis, and Borrelia burgdorferi and with microscopic agglutination tests for Leptospira spp. Real-time and conventional PCR for B. burgdorferi were performed on Ixodes scapularis ticks from Tennessee coyotes, detecting B. burgdorferi DNA in 5% of tested ticks. We found 43% (28/65) of Tennessee coyotes were seropositive for B. burgdorferi compared to only 2% (1/52) of South Carolina coyotes. Coyotes were also seropositive for Ehrlichia spp. (66% [43/65] in Tennessee; 21% [11/52] in South Carolina) and Anaplasma spp. (26% [14/65] in Tennessee). Three Tennessee coyotes were PCR-positive for Leptospira spp., including two sequences most similar to Leptospira santarosai and one most similar to Leptospira interrogans. A total of 25% of coyotes (23/91) were seropositive for Leptospira spp., and interstitial nephritis was associated with Leptospira spp. seropositivity. This study demonstrates the expanded geographic range of B. burgdorferi in the southeast and the high prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in the coyote populations of Tennessee and South Carolina.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144993038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alternate Evolutionary Trajectories Following a Pathogen Spillover into a Novel Host: The Case of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus).","authors":"André A Dhondt, Andrew P Dobson, Keila V Dhondt, Wesley M Hochachka, Stephen P Ellner, Dana M Hawley","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-24-00098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-24-00098","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Few studies exist in which host-pathogen systems have been studied within months of their emergence and followed for many years, making it possible to test the virulence-transmission hypothesis and to determine if a pathogen becomes more or less virulent over time. Around 1994 the bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum jumped from poultry to House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) and other wild birds in the US. Bacterial virulence increased as it rapidly spread across eastern North America, causing House Finch abundance to decline by half. The new M. gallisepticum variants that eventually colonized the western US had lost a substantial part of their genome and had a reduced virulence. In our study, initial survival of M. gallisepticum was lower in eastern US than in western US isolates, and birds with a higher bacterial load showed higher transmission rates, but this relationship differed between birds inoculated with eastern versus western isolates. Western isolates were less pathogenic (similar pathogen loads caused less-severe disease) than eastern isolates and had lower transmission rates for a given bacterial load. Our study provides insights into how pathogens spreading after a host shift and across a continent may respond to novel evolutionary pressures in diverse ways.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144959032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Surveys for Three Pathogens Reveal No Chytrid Detections But First Detection of Ranavirus in Southern Torrent Salamanders (Rhyacotriton variegatus) in Northern California, USA.","authors":"Marilyn V Sandoval, Jacob L Kerby, Karen M Kiemnec-Tyburczy","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-24-00223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-24-00223","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigated the prevalence of widely researched amphibian pathogens within the Rhyacotritonidae, a salamander family endemic to the Pacific Northwest of the US. We tested skin swabs (n=309) from southern torrent salamanders (Rhyacotriton variegatus) in northern California, US, for the presence of three pathogens: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, and ranavirus (frog virus 3-like). Using quantitative PCR assays, we detected ranavirus DNA in 16% of swabs but did not detect either Batrachochytrium spp. Prevalence of ranavirus ranged from 0% to 40%, and was significantly different across nine sites in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Viral load was significantly and positively associated with the water temperature of the microhabitat. Nevertheless, overall viral loads were generally low (none higher than 782 viral particles per swab), and we did not observe any animals exhibiting clinical signs typically associated with ranavirus disease. Further research is needed to determine if this species can develop ranavirus-associated disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144847304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Leprosy in Missouri, USA: Are Armadillos Carrying the Causative Agent Mycobacterium leprae ?","authors":"Lynn W Robbins, Jonathan A Dyer, Gillian A Warner, Barbara M Stryjewska, Maria T Pena, Ramanuj Lahiri","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-25-00050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-25-00050","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Mexican long-nosed nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus mexicanus) has continued to expand its range since it was first documented in Texas, US, in the mid-1800s. It dispersed north and east and was found in Missouri, US, starting in the 1980s. This species is known to contract leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Infected armadillos are considered to be a zoonotic source of leprosy in the US. A recent case (2021) of leprosy in a native Missourian who had a history of contacts with armadillos appears to have been locally acquired. However, no data were available on the presence or prevalence of leprosy in wild armadillos from Missouri. We sampled various tissues from 64 armadillos, 39 road killed and 25 hunter killed/culled, from southwestern and central Missouri in summer 2022 to determine the local prevalence of M. leprae. Two animals were PCR positive for M. leprae, providing evidence that this pathogen is moving northward along with the range expansion of Mexican long-nosed armadillos.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144732014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterizing the Performance of Multiple Testing Modalities to Detect Emydomyces testavorans in Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii).","authors":"Kaitlin A Moorhead, Dylan M Burke, Laura A Adamovicz, Gretchen C Anchor, William Graser, Gary Glowacki, Matthew C Allender","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-25-00001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-25-00001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Emydomyces testavorans is a recently described fungus associated with significant shell disease in chelonians, including Illinois state-endangered Blanding's turtles (Emydoidea blandingii). Characterizing the epidemiology of this pathogen requires accurate detection; however, E. testavorans is challenging to detect and optimal antemortem sampling strategies have not been identified. In total, 90 juvenile Blanding's turtles from two populations naturally infected with E. testavorans were used to determine the detection performance of different testing approaches and establish optimal sampling strategies in the context of commonly encountered clinical and management scenarios. Turtles received comprehensive physical examinations and computed tomography scans to document grossly apparent and/or radiographic shell lesions. Multiple sample types were tested for E. testavorans via quantitative PCR (qPCR), including shell swabs, combined cloacal-oral swabs, combined cloacal-oral-shell swabs (COSSs) swabs, and tank water samples. Latent class modeling was used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of each detection method in the absence of a gold standard test. Using multiple tests often increases information available to decision-makers; therefore, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated for two E. testavorans detection methods interpreted either in series or in parallel. Latent class modeling demonstrated that COSS and water qPCRs were highly sensitive (98.0 and 94.0%, respectively) and adequately specific (74.9 and 88.3%, respectively) for E. testavorans; thus, these testing methods are recommended for routine surveillance where use of multiple methods is not possible. In wild and head-started Blanding's turtle populations where false negatives are costly, qPCR testing of two COSS samples interpreted in parallel maximized sensitivity (sensitivity=100%, specificity=56.1%) and is recommended for E. testavorans surveillance when multiple tests are available. This study provides objective measures to guide effective E. testavorans testing and inform future epidemiologic studies, support chelonian medicine, and empower conservation managers, ultimately safeguarding turtle health in managed care and wild settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144732013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hematologic and Biochemical Analytes in Free-Ranging Marsican Brown Bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus) in the Central Apennines, Italy.","authors":"Leonardo Getuli, Giammarco Quaglia, Michela Toro, Nausica D'Aurelio, Daniele Giansante, Vincenza Di Pirro, Valentina Zenobio, Daria Di Sabatino, Fabrizio De Massis, Leonardo Gentile","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-24-00029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-24-00029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We investigated blood from 39 free-ranging Marsican brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus), a critically endangered brown bear subspecies. Bears were 1-15 yr old and sampled from January 1991 to May 2023. We found significantly lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume in subadults than in adults (P<0.10) and higher cholesterol (P<0.10) in males than in females.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144707957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Detection of Rickettsia-Infected Argas (Persicargas) giganteus on Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) from the Northeastern USA.","authors":"Michael J Yabsley, Alec T Thompson, Nicholas Friedeman, Kevin C Richmond, Ian Gereg, Nicole L Chinnici, Destiny Sample Koon Koon, Håkon H Jones, Andrea Howey-Newcomb, Erica A Miller","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-25-00036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-25-00036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), piscivorous raptors with extensive global distributions, can undergo extensive migrations. Migratory species can transport ectoparasites, including ticks, to new regions. Many soft ticks (Argasidae) are ornithophilic and occur in bird nests, occasionally causing nest abandonment and chick mortality through pathogen transmission, blood loss, or paralysis. Argas spp. soft ticks are distributed worldwide, with several species in the US, predominately in the western US. Argas (Persicargas) giganteus, has been documented on numerous passerine and raptor species in the western US and parts of Mexico. We detected A. giganteus on two Ospreys from Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, US, representing a significant recognized range expansion. Genetic analysis confirmed that ticks from both birds were A. giganteus: internal transcribed spacer 2, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA gene sequences were 100, 100, and 99.7% similar to A. giganteus, respectively. Most ticks tested (7/8, 88%) were Rickettsia spp. positive; six sequences were Rickettsia hoogstraalii, with one most similar (99.5%) to Rickettsia monacensis. Although A. giganteus is not known to infest people, R. monacensis is a cause of spotted fever rickettsiosis; the pathogenicity of R. hoogstraalii in humans is poorly understood. Furthermore, A. giganteus can probably cause tick paralysis in raptors, especially in young birds. Therefore, continued surveillance for A. giganteus and Rickettisa spp. is warranted, particularly because this tick and associated pathogens seem to be emerging in the eastern US.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144675171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Influenza A Virus infection in Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus), USA, 2022.","authors":"Mark W Cunningham, Justin Brown, Rebecca Hardman, Suzan Loerzel, Bryan M Kluever, Trevor T Zachariah, Kyle A Donnelly, Rebecca L Poulson, Nicole M Nemeth, Kyle Van Why, Robert Sargent, Cindy P Driscoll, Amy K Tegeler, Lijuan Zhou, Veronica Guzman-Vargas, Julianna Lenoch, Mark G Ruder, Y Reddy Bommineni, David E Stallknecht","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-24-00214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-24-00214","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mortalities in Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) caused by A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 2.3.4.4b lineage highly pathogenic (HP) influenza A virus (IAV) H5N1 (HP H5N1) were detected in Florida, USA, on 14 February 2022. By the end of 2022, at least 2,674 and 5,707 deaths where HP H5N1 infection was confirmed or suspected had been documented in Florida and the USA as a whole, respectively. Reported vulture mortalities at die-off locations nationwide ranged from 1 to 700. In Florida and Pennsylvania, USA, antibodies to both H5 and N1 subtypes of IAV were detected in apparently healthy Black Vultures sampled ≤12 mo after mortality events. Antibodies to these subtypes were not detected in Black Vultures at sites in Kentucky and Tennessee, USA, where HP H5N1 was not detected, nor in Pennsylvania vultures sampled before HP H5N1 introduction into North America. Infections in vultures probably originated through scavenging of infected bird carcasses, but once in the vulture population, HP H5N1 infections may have been maintained by conspecific scavenging. Black Vultures can serve as an indicator species for HP H5N1 in North America, and they may sustain an outbreak after infection rates have declined in other species.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144608704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fatal Infection in a Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) with Leptospira interrogans Related to the Australis Serogroup in France.","authors":"Nathan Thenon, Marine Le Guyader, Anouk Decors, Bruno Degrange, Karin Lemberger, Florence Ayral, Rozenn Le Net","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-25-00009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-25-00009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We necropsied a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) with gross and histologic lesions suggestive of leptospirosis, with intralesional argyrophilic bacteria. Real-time PCR detected Leptospira spp. in multiple organs. We identified Leptospira interrogans related to the Australis serogroup by typing the 16S rRNA and Lfb1 genes and by multilocus sequence typing.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144553819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-year Occurrence of Ranavirus and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Anurans from Central, Southeast, and Coastal Regions of Texas, USA, 2012-19.","authors":"Andrea Villamizar-Gomez, Trina Guerra, Shashwat Sirsi, William L Farr, Michael R J Forstner, Dittmar Hahn","doi":"10.7589/JWD-D-24-00186","DOIUrl":"10.7589/JWD-D-24-00186","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ranaviruses (Iridoviridae) and chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium spp.) cause globally reportable diseases affecting a wide array of amphibians. Both pathogens are well documented in the US and have caused local or regional scale mortality events for susceptible amphibians. Over a period of 8 y (2012-2019), we tested salvaged amphibians collected during amphibian audio survey work across the central, southeastern, and coastal areas of Texas, US. Individuals of 7/8 anuran taxa tested positive for either or both pathogens, as did individuals in counties with large sample sizes (i.e., n>25) across taxa. Ranavirus prevalence was high in 2012 (67%) but decreased to 5% by 2019. Conversely, chytrid fungus prevalence started low in 2013 (4%) but increased to 20% by 2019. The detection of both pathogens in any individual was consistently rare throughout the period. Although salvage of specimens during annual fieldwork adds permitting requirements, handling time, and curation effort, we argue that this additional effort significantly contributes to regional pathogen surveillance. Therefore, it should be considered a standard approach for the extensive array of roadway-based herpetofaunal surveys conducted each year.</p>","PeriodicalId":17602,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Diseases","volume":" ","pages":"749-755"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144120021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}