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Results for “Journal of Infectious Diseases”

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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS2018

Mortality trends in northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) collected from the coasts of Washington and Oregon (2002–15)

During 2002−15 we examined the causes of mortality in a population of northern sea otters ( Enhydra lutris kenyoni ). Beachcast sea otters were collected primarily from the coast of Washington. Although there are no permanent sea otter residents in Oregon, several beachcast otters were collected from the Oregon coast. Infectious diseases were the primary cause of death (56%) for otters we examined. Sarcocystosis was the leading infectious cause of death (54%) and was observed throughout the study period. Some infectious diseases, such as morbilliviral encephalitis and leptospirosis, were documented for a limited number of years and then not detected again despite continued testing for these pathogens in necropsied animals. Trauma was the second most common cause of death (14%) during the study period. The continued stable growth of the Washington population of otters suggests they are able to tolerate current mortality rates.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2014

Gross and microscopic pathology of lesions in Pocillopora spp. from the subtropical eastern Pacific

Coral reefs are threatened by a variety of factors including diseases that have caused significant damage in some regions such as in the Caribbean. At present, no data are available on coral diseases in the Mexican Pacific where Pocillopora spp. is a dominant component of coral communities. Here, we describe gross and microscopic morphology of lesions found in pocilloporids at four sites in the Mexican Pacific. Corals were identified and their lesions photographed and quantified in the field. Tissue samples were collected from healthy and affected colonies for histopathology. We recorded seven species of pocilloporids at the study sites with Isla Isabel being the location with the highest coral diversity ( H ′ = 1.27). Lesions were present in 42% of the colonies and included discoloration (32%), predation-induced tissue loss (30%), unexplained tissue loss (3%) and overgrowth by sponges or algae (35%). The most affected species, P . damicornis (50%), was also one of the most common in the region. No species was more prone to a particular lesion, but there was a significant association between location and the presence of lesions. Northern Islas Marietas (61%) and Isla Isabel (41%) had the highest prevalence of lesions, followed by Manzanillo (37%) and Bahías de Huatulco (23%). Histological changes included atrophy of the surface body wall with depletion of zooxanthellae (91%) in corals with discoloration (bleaching). Ablation of tissue from mesoglea (18%) was also observed. Colonies with unexplained tissue loss showed atrophy and thinning of the epidermis (89%), characterized by cuboidal instead of pseudocolumnar cells normally found in healthy pseudocolumnar ciliated epithelium. Bacterial aggregates between the mesoglea and gastrodermis (11%) were very conspicuous in healthy and diseased corals. Lesions produced by fish bites and gastropods were associated with tissue atrophy (40%) and, in some cases, algal overgrowth near the lesion (20%). No infectious agents associated with cell pathology were detected microscopically. Bleaching and overgrowth by algae and sponges, as well as unexplained tissue loss, are common in Pocillopora . These lesions and anatomical changes warrant further study since their incidence is potentially indicative of reef degradation.

Mexican Pacific↗
USGS1974

An antigenic comparison between infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (OSV strain) and the virus of haemorrhagic septicaemia of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) (Denmark strain) by cross neutralization

The infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (OSV strain) and the virus of haemorrhagic septicaemia of rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) (Denmark strain) were examined for possible antigenic relationship by plaque neutralization using homologous and heterologous antisera. No neutralization of either virus was observed on exposure to heterologous antiserum. This indicates that there is no antigenic relationship between these two viruses as determined by this method.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS1996

Causes of owl mortality in Hawaii, 1992 to 1994

Eighty-one barn owls ( Tyto alba ) and five Hawaiian owls or pueo ( Asio flammeus sandwichensis ) from Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii (USA) were evaluated for cause of death, November 1992 through August 1994. The most common cause of death in barn owls was trauma (50%) followed by infectious disease (28%) and emaciation (22%). Most traumas apparently resulted from vehicular collisions. Trichomoniasis was the predominant infectious disease and appeared to be a significant cause of death in barn owls in Hawaii. Pasteurellosis and aspergillosis were encountered less commonly. No predisposing cause of emaciation was detected. Stomach contents from 28 barn owls contained mainly insects (64%) of the family Tetigoniidae and Gryllidae, and rodents (18%); the remainder had mixtures of rodents and insects or grass. Three pueo died from trauma and one each died from emaciation and pasteurellosis. We found no evidence of organochlorine, organophosphorus, or carbamate pesticides as causes of death in pueo or barn owls.

Hawaii↗
USGS1991

Poisoning of Canada geese in Texas by parathion sprayed for control of Russian wheat aphid

Approximately 200 Canada geese ( Branta canadensis ) died at a playa lake in the Texas Panhandle shortly after a winter wheat field in the basin adjacent to the lake was treated with parathion to control newly invading Russian wheat aphids ( Diuraphis noxia ). No evidence of infectious disease was diagnosed during necropsies of geese. Brain ChE activities were depressed up to 77% below normal. Parathion residues in GI tract contents of geese ranged from 4 to 34 ppm. Based on this evidence, parathion was responsible for the goose mortalities. Parathion applications to winter wheat will undoubtedly increase if parathion is applied for control of both Russian wheat aphids and greenbugs ( Schizaphis graminum ). Geese may potentially be exposed to widespread applications of parathion from fall to spring, essentially their entire wintering period.

Texas↗
USGS2006

Attributes of desert tortoise populations at the National Training Center, Central Mojave Desert, California, USA

We sampled 21 study plots for desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. Each plot was sampled once between 1997 and 2003 to obtain a snapshot of population attributes, status, and relationships between tortoise densities and human activities. Densities ranged from <1 to 28 tortoises km-2; overall, tortoises were uncommon to rare at 16 of the 21 plots. Tortoise densities were negatively correlated with death rates, infectious disease (mycoplasmosis), surface disturbance and trash. Health status of tortoises was correlated with some anthropogenic uses. The presence of infectious disease in tortoises was negatively correlated with distances from offices, the Ft. Irwin cantonment, and paved roads. Also, significantly more tortoises with shell disease were found on plots with current and recent military use than on plots with no history of military use. Factors contributing to or causing deaths of tortoises included vehicles, vandalism, predation, mycoplasmosis and shell diseases. Annual death rates for subadult and adult tortoises ranged from 1.9% to 95.2% for the 4 years preceding surveys. Deaths from anthropogenic sources were significantly correlated with surface disturbances, trash, military ordnance, and proximity to offices and paved roads-typical characteristics of military training areas.

Journal of Arid Environments↗
USGS1973

Fish viruses: Isolation and identification of infectious hematopoietic necrosis in eastern North America

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) was isolated from diseased fingerling rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) from a hatchery in West Virginia. Clinical signs, histopathologic findings, and origin of eggs provided a basis for diagnosis, and virus was isolated and presumptively identified by plaque characteristics. Serum neutralization tests provided positive identification of the agent as IHNV, and electronmicroscopy showed its rhabdovirus morphology. Experimental infections resulted in signs of IHNV and death; test fish had characteristic histopathologic alterations and appropriate virus titers. This is the first completely documented occurrence of IHNV beyond the Pacific Northwest.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗
USGS2006

Transmission of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus in striped bass, Morone saxatilis (Walbaum)

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) did not cause increased mortality in experimentally challenged striped bass, Morone saxatilis (Walbaum). Fry became transiently infected after waterborne challenge but fingerlings were resistant to that route. However, striped bass fingerlings readily became chronic virus carriers following ingestion of IPNV-contaminated food. Vertical transmission was not demonstrated using either IPNV-carrier striped bass adults or IPNV-exposed sex products.

Journal of Fish Diseases↗
USGS2011

Avian influenza shedding patterns in waterfowl: implications for surveillance, environmental transmission, and disease spread

Despite the recognized importance of fecal/oral transmission of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) via contaminated wetlands, little is known about the length, quantity, or route of AI virus shed by wild waterfowl. We used published laboratory challenge studies to evaluate the length and quantity of low pathogenic (LP) and highly pathogenic (HP) virus shed via oral and cloacal routes by AI-infected ducks and geese, and how these factors might influence AI epidemiology and virus detection. We used survival analysis to estimate the duration of infection (from virus inoculation to the last day virus was shed) and nonlinear models to evaluate temporal patterns in virus shedding. We found higher mean virus titer and longer median infectious period for LPAI-infected ducks (10&ndash;11.5 days in oral and cloacal swabs) than HPAI-infected ducks (5 days) and geese (7.5 days). Based on the median bird infectious dose, we found that environmental contamination is two times higher for LPAI- than HPAI-infectious ducks, which implies that susceptible birds may have a higher probability of infection during LPAI than HPAI outbreaks. Less environmental contamination during the course of infection and previously documented shorter environmental persistence for HPAI than LPAI suggest that the environment is a less favorable reservoir for HPAI. The longer infectious period, higher virus titers, and subclinical infections with LPAI viruses favor the spread of these viruses by migratory birds in comparison to HPAI. Given the lack of detection of HPAI viruses through worldwide surveillance, we suggest monitoring for AI should aim at improving our understanding of AI dynamics (in particular, the role of the environment and immunity) using long-term comprehensive live bird, serologic, and environmental sampling at targeted areas. Our findings on LPAI and HPAI shedding patterns over time provide essential information to parameterize environmental transmission and virus spread in predictive epizootiologic models of disease risks.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS1975

Detection and transmission of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in rainbow trout

Detection and transmission of Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus in rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) was studied at a commercial trout hatchery. Transmission of virus was demonstrated via water, feed and contaminated eggs. If eggs from carrier females were incubated several weeks in virus-free water, the resulting fry did not become infected. However, if fry subsequently became infected they were lifetime carriers. Infectious virus was readily detectable in most tissues of moribund fish; in carriers it was detected in sex products of spawning fish, and in samples from the intestine of post-spawning fish, but not in samples from blood, feces, kidney, or liver. The carrier rate was not significantly different between sexes. It was concluded that adult carriers are the reservoir of infection and that transmission occurs primarily when carriers shed virus and expose susceptible fish or eggs.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS1974

Pathophysiology of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus disease in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri): early changes in blood and aspects of the immune Response after Injection of IHN Virus

Juvenile rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) were injected with infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) virus and various hematological and blood chemical changes were monitored over 9 days. The packed cell volume, hemoglobin, red blood cell count, and plasma bicarbonate were significantly depressed by day 4. Plasma chloride, calcium, phosphorus, total protein, and blood cell types did not change during the 9 days. Furthermore, plasma LDH isozyme was significantly increased by the fourth day, and fish infected with infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, Vibrio anguillarum , Aeromonas salmonicida , and redmouth bacterium did not show specific LDH isozyme alterations. Acid-base alterations occurred at 10&ensp;C but not at 18&ensp;C. The acid-base imbalance and elevation of the LDH isozyme were consistently associated with the early development of the disease.The immune response after injection of IHN virus was determined and protection from disease was tested by passive immunization. Actively immunized fish developed IHN-neutralizing antibodies within 54 days after injection of virus, and the antibodies were protective when juvenile fish were passively immunized and experimentally challenged with IHN virus.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada↗
USGS2006

Titre distribution patterns of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus in ovarian fluids of hatchery and feral salmon populations

Infectious haematopoietic mecrosis virus (IHNV) is enzootic in virtually all populations of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), and in populations of chinook salmon, O. tshawytscha (Walbaum), of the Sacramento River drainage in California. This disease is an obstacle in hatcheries using brood stocks from these populations. However, naturally spawning sockeye salmon are highly successful and are the most important commercially fished salmon species in the United States. Most of the commercial landings of sockeye salmon are of feral fish originating in Alaska. The success of natural populations of salmon in which IHNV is enzootic, and the recurrent outbreaks of the disease in hatchery fish, led us to compare IHNW prevalence rates in hatchery and feral salmon populations.

Journal of Fish Diseases↗
USGS2003

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus in the environment: Relationship to effluent from aquaculture facilities

Effluents from three fish hatcheries were monitored for the discharge and subsequent downstream distribution of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV). Samples of springwater and surface water, and tissues from salmonid and non-salmonid fish were assayed for IPNV. Water samples were processed to recover virus by adsorption to an electropositive, microporous filter matrix. No IPNV was detected in surface water collected above fish hatcheries or in hatchery springwater supplies. The virus could be detected for at least 19.3 km below the point of effluent discharge from hatcheries and the prevalence of IPNV infection in stream-resident fish was 2.8%.

Journal of Fish Diseases↗
USGS2016

Experimental challenge of a peridomestic avian species, European Starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ), with novel Influenza A H7N9 virus from China

In 2013 a novel avian influenza H7N9 virus was isolated from several critically ill patients in China, and infection with this virus has since caused more than 200 human deaths. Live poultry markets are the likely locations of virus exposure to humans. Peridomestic avian species also may play important roles in the transmission and maintenance of H7N9 at live poultry markets. We experimentally challenged wild European Starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ) with the novel H7N9 virus and measured virus excretion, clinical signs, and infectious dose. We found that European Starlings can be infected with this virus when inoculated with relatively high doses, and we predict that infected birds excrete sufficient amounts of virus to transmit to other birds, including domestic chickens. Infected European Starlings showed no clinical signs or mortality after infection with H7N9. This abundant peridomestic bird may be a source of the novel H7N9 virus in live poultry markets and may have roles in virus transmission to poultry and humans.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS1989

Case histories of wild birds killed intentionally with famphur in Georgia and West Virginia

Five incidences of bird mortality in Georgia and West Virginia (USA) involving migratory waterfowl, cranes, raptors, corvids and songbirds were investigated during the first 6 mo of 1988. Gross and histopathologic examinations revealed no evidence of infectious or other diseases. However, severe depression of cholinesterase activity was evident in brains of birds found dead, suggesting gross exposure to an organophosphorus (OP) or carbamate pesticide. All of the gastrointestinal tract contents chemically analyzed contained famphur, an OP insecticide used as a pour-on treatment against lice and grubs on livestock, ranging from 5 to 1,480 ppm (wet weight). Grain scattered at two of the mortality sites contained 4,240 and 8,500 ppm famphur. Gastrointestinal tracts of most of the dead birds contained mainly corn and some wheat. This is the first report to document the use of famphur as an intentional means of killing wildlife thought to be depredating crops.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS1992

Chlamydial-caused infectious keratoconjunctivitis in bighorn sheep of Yellowstone National Park

An epizootic of infectious keratoconjuctivitis occurred in bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis ) in Yellowstone National Park during the winter of 1981-82. The causative organism was identified as Chlamydia sp. Mortality related to the epizootic was approximately 60% of an estimated 500 bighorn sheep in the northern range population. The infection probably affected all sex and age classes, but field surveys of live animals and mortality suggested that mature rams died disproportionately. Limited field observations the following winter on individuals having both normal and cloudy-appearing eyes suggested that half of the bighorns then present on the core units of winter range had contracted the disease and survived. By 1988, there were about 300 bighorn sheep in the population.

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming↗
USGS1986

Immunoblot assay: a rapid and sensitive method for identification of salmonid fish viruses

An immunoblot assay was used to identify the viruses of infectious pancreatic necrosis, infectious hematopoietic necrosis, and viral hemorrhagic septicemia. Viral antigen in infected cell culture supernatant was adsorbed onto nitrocellulose membrane or Whatman 541 filter paper and detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques. The immunoblot assay took less than 4 hr to perform and required no special instrumentation. Assays using cell culture supernatant fluids showed immunoblot sensitivity was 10 5 –10 6 PFU/ml. Assay sensitivity, determined using purified virus, is 0.85–4.0 ng of viral antigen. The immunoblot assay was used to detect and identify virus in cell culture fluids.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS2008

Recovery of a fish pathogenic bacterium, Aeromonas salmonicida, from ebonyshell mussels Fusconaia ebena using nondestructive sample collection procedures

Refugia are increasingly being used to maintain and propagate imperiled freshwater mussels for future population augmentations. Success for this endeavor is dependent on good husbandry, including a holistic program of resource health management. A significant aspect to optimal health is the prevention or control of infectious diseases. Describing and monitoring pathogens and diseases in mussels involves examination of tissues or samples collected from an appropriate number of individuals that satisfies a certain confidence level for expected prevalences of infections. In the present study, ebonyshell mussels Fusconaia ebena were infected with a fish pathogenic bacterium, Aeromonas salmonicida, through their cohabitation with diseased brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis. At a 100% prevalence of infection, the F. ebena were removed from the cohabitation tank to clean tanks that were supplied with pathogen-free water, which initiated their depuration of A. salmonicida. Three samples (nondestructive fluid, mantle, hemolymph) collected using nondestructive procedures were compared with fluids and soft tissue homogenates collected after sacrificing the mussels for recovery of the bacterium during this period of depuration. Nondestructive sample collections, especially ND fluid, provide a comparable alternative to sacrificing mussels to determine pathogen status.

Journal of Shellfish Research↗