Bluetongue (BT) is an important viral disease of ruminants that is transmitted by hematophagous Culicoides midges. We examined the seasonal patterns of abundance and infection of Culicoides sonorensis at four dairy farms in the northern Central Valley of California to develop estimates of risk for b...

The objectives of the current study were to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of three real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for diagnosis of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection in domestic cats, both individually and when interpreted in series with one of two serological ...

Monte Carlo simulation was used to determine optimal fecal pool sizes for identification of all Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP)-infected cows in a dairy herd. Two pooling protocols were compared: a halving protocol involving a single retest of negative pools followed by halving of ...

The Atlantic Canadian aquaculture industry is dominated by Atlantic salmon production. In recent years, infectious disease, parasitic infestations, and price fluctuations from international competition have caused disruptions to the industry. Diversification of the industry away from Atlantic salmon...

Syndromic surveillance is a tool for continuous, automated extraction of surveillance information from health data sources. The research documented in this dissertation aimed at exploring informatics and data mining tools in order to develop and implement techniques to harvest additional surveillanc...

The Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) aquaculture industry is a major contributor of salmon products that help meet protein needs for the world’s growing population. The industry in NL continues to grow and evolve and now includes emerging species in its production such as Atlantic cod. In a growing ...

We describe the development and preliminary characterization of a recombinant canarypox virus vectored (ALVAC®) vaccine for protective immunization of equids against African horse sickness virus (AHSV) infection. Horses (n=8) immunized with either of two concentrations of recombinant canarypox viru...

We describe the development and preliminary characterization of a recombinant canarypox virus vectored vaccine for protective immunization of ruminants against bluetongue virus (BTV) infection. Sheep (n=6) immunized with recombinant canarypox virus vector (BTV-CP) co-expressing synthetic genes encod...

To secure the safety of international trade of animal and their derived products, it is required that animals should be proven infection-free using a validated diagnostic test certified by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Test validation involves a multi-step evaluation process to as...

Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is an economically important disease in New Brunswick, Canada. Current regulatory control involves detection of ISAv in broodstock, hatcheries and marine sites through a surveillance program. Prior to recent assessments of operating characteristics of diagnostic tests...

The conduct of randomized controlled trials in livestock with production, health, and food-safety outcomes presents unique challenges that may not be adequately reported in trial reports. The objective of this project was to modify the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement t...

Objective: Sample Population: Procedures: Results: Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: To compare macrostructural and microstructural features of proximal sesamoid bones (PSBs) from horses with and without PSB midbody fracture to gain insight into the pathogenesis of PSB fracture.PSBs from 16 Thorou...

The availability of accurate diagnostic tests is essential for the detection and control of Toxoplasma gondii infections in both definitive and intermediate hosts. Sensitivity, specificity and the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve are commonly used measures of test accurac...

Objective - To investigate herd characteristics and management practices associated with a high seroprevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in dairy herds in central California. Sample Population - 60 randomly selected cows from each of 21 dairy herds. Procedures - Sera of se...

The objective of this study was to determine if viable Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) was present in waste milk delivered and fed to calves on California calf ranches. Four calf-raising facilities in the Central Valley of California that fed pasteurized waste milk to calves were e...

Objective: Sample Population: Procedure: Results: Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: To determine the distribution for limbs and bones in horses with fractures of the proximal sesamoid bones and relationships with findings on palmarodorsal radiographic images.Proximal sesamoid bones obtained from b...

One hundred and ninety-one sera from horses that recently were exposed to West Nile virus (WNV) by either vaccination or natural infection or that were not vaccinated and remained free of infection were used to evaluate fluorescent microsphere immunoassays (MIAs) incorporating recombinant WNV envelo...

Objective - To estimate the analytic sensitivity of microscopic detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts and the environmental loading of T. gondii oocysts on the basis of prevalence of shedding by owned and unowned cats. Design - Cross-sectional survey. Sample Population - 326 fecal samples from cats...

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of blood contamination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) on the results of indirect fluorescent antibody tests (IFATs) for Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi. The in vitro study used antibody-negative CSF collected from non-neurologic horses imm...

Objective: Animals: Procedures: Results: Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: To measure the frequency and magnitude of reduced fibrinogen binding in a population of horses from a Thoroughbred breeding farm.444 Thoroughbred horses, 1 to 27 years old, including 316 females, 72 geldings, and 56 sexuall...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate flow cytometric analysis for sex identification in 3 psittacine species, establish reference values for blood cell DNA content for each species, and determine effects of sample storage on DNA content. ANIMALS: 36 orange-winged Amazon parrots, 41 budgerigars, and 39 cockatiels....

This study was conducted to determine risk factors for Lawsonia intracellularis seropositivity in the breeding and grower-finisher units of US farrowing-to-finishing swine herds. Serum was collected from 15 breeding females and 15 grower-finisher pigs per herd in 184 farrow-to-finish herds, a subset...

To describe epidemiologic characteristics of outbreaks of porcine proliferative enteropathy (PPE) and evaluate associations between herd production and management factors, and disease occurrence. A questionnaire about management factors was administered by telephone to the owners or managers of 30 P...