Browsing by Author "Cardona, Carol"

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    Appendix 1: Ring-billed and Franklin's Gull AIV rT-PCR and ELISA Results
    (2021-06-01) Cuthbert, Francesca; Culhane, Marie; Rasmussen, Elizabeth; Craft, Meggan; Cardona, Carol; rasmu611@umn.edu; Rasmussen, Elizabeth; University of Minnesota: Marie Culhane Lab
    The natural reservoirs for avian influenza virus (AIV) are wild waterbirds such as ducks and gulls. In Minnesota, gulls are abundant and known to visit poultry farms, yet are underrepresented in AIV wild bird surveillance efforts. The purpose of this research was to fill part of this surveillance gap by studying AIV in Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) (RBGU) and Franklin’s Gulls (Leucophaeus pipixcan) (FRGU) in August 2017. Results from previous work showed that RBGUs in Minnesota have the highest AIV prevalence levels in the fall, when gulls migrate from their breeding colonies, through areas with poultry farms, to their wintering grounds. This finding, coupled with the reported presence of gulls of all species loafing and foraging near poultry dense areas of Minnesota, warranted further targeted surveillance efforts of other related species, in particular the FRGU. Due to their slow and widely dispersed fall migration pattern, the FRGU may have even more opportunities than the RBGU to become infected with and transmit AIV to other species. This study evaluated 120 FRGU sera, oropharyngeal swabs and cloacal swabs from a wild bird surveillance project conducted in Minnesota in 2017. These samples were tested to determine the AIV sero- and viral prevalence of the FRGU, and subsequently compared their prevalence rates to RBGU. In addition to performing surveillance to determine AIV prevalence in FRGU and RBGU in Minnesota, the swabs that tested positive for AIV from the RBGU and FRGU samples were subjected to whole genome sequencing to determine subtype and lineage. Analyses of each virus segment showed there was no virus movement between the gulls in this study and the 2015 H5N2 highly pathogenic AIV that infected domestic poultry in Minnesota. In other words, the AIV from these gulls in Minnesota did not share a common ancestry with the domestic HPAI H5 viruses of 2014-2015. The RBGU and FRGU H13N2, H13N6, and H13N8 AIV detected were reassortants with AIV genes of North American and Eurasian lineage primarily from other gull species but also commonly containing gene segments from North American duck species. The implications for not finding H5 AIV by rRT-PCR could mean that gulls do not harbor or circulate H5 AIV or that the timing and geographic location are imperative for detection of H5 AIV in wild birds during outbreaks in domestic birds. Finally, to add support to the genetic evidence that AIV in RBGU are a result of RBGU mixing with other species from different geographic locations during migration, we explored the ecological drivers of these AIV infections to see how they affect viral genetic diversity. We investigated gull movements by collecting resighting events from banded RBGU and from satellite location tracking of a small subset of RBGU from one breeding colony on Interstate Island in Duluth, Minnesota. The predominant resightings and recorded movements of Minnesota RBGU were along the Great Lakes, crossing both the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways during fall migration, and overwintering along the Atlantic coast of the Eastern United States. This study determined that the geographic dissemination of the gulls and the geographic lineage of their viruses were in agreement with RBGU having ample opportunity during their life stages to interact and mix with other avian species and become infected with AIV from those other species. Overall, these studies determined that targeted surveillance of gulls over the migration and breeding seasons allows for the successful identification of AIV and estimates of AIV prevalence in gulls. Although there are populations of gulls in Minnesota with reassortant AIV containing gene segments from AIV of multiple avian species and of varying geographic lineage, there is no evidence that exchange of viruses or gene segments of viruses between domestic poultry and gulls has occurred in Minnesota. Through the satellite monitoring of RBGUs from a single breeding colony, we were able to investigate gull movement to and from Minnesota which will facilitate timing and location of future AIV surveillance efforts.
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    An Assessment of the Risk Associated with the Movement of Broilers to Market Into, Within, and Out of a Control Area during a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak in the United States.
    (2018-10) Cardona, Carol; Alexander, Carie; Bonney, Peter; Contadini, Francesca; Culhane, Marie; Goldsmith, Timothy; Halvorson, David; Linskens, Eric; Malladi, Sasidhar; Ssematimba, Amos; Umber, Jamie; Weaver, Todd; Walz, Emily
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    An Assessment of the Risk Associated with the Movement of Pullets Out of the Pullet Barn In a Control Area during a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak in the United States
    (2019-08) Cardona, Carol; Bonney, Peter; Culhane, Marie; Goldsmith, Timothy; Halvorson, David; Malladi, Sasidhar; Ssematimba, Amos; Walz, Emily; Umber, Jamie
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    An Assessment of the Risk Associated with the Movement of Turkeys to Market Into, Within, and Out of a Control Area during a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak in the United States.
    (2018-10) Cardona, Carol; Alexander, Carie; Bergeron, Justin; Bonney, Peter; Culhane, Marie; Goldsmith, Timothy; Halvorson, David; Linskens, Eric; Malladi, Sasidhar; Ssematimba, Amos; Walz, Emily; Weaver, Todd; Umber, Jamie
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    An Assessment of the Risk Associated with the Movement of Weaned Pigs Within, Into, and Outside of a Control Area during a Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak in the United States
    (2020-02-11) Cardona, Carol; Culhane, Marie; Goldsmith, Timothy; Iglesias, Irene; Soininen, Riikka; Patterson, Gilbert; Sampedro, Fernando; VanderWaal, Kimberly; Vesterinen, Heidi; Walz, Emily
    This document is a proactive semi-qualitative Risk Assessment (RA) that seeks to evaluate the risk that movement of live pigs during a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the swine industry in the United States will result in the spread of FMD virus (FMDv) to other premises with swine. This assessment evaluates risks of FMDv spread associated with: the movement of weaned pigs originating from a Monitored Premises within, into, and outside a Control Area.
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    A consistent and predictable commercial broiler chicken bacterial microbiome in antibiotic-free production displays strong correlations with performance
    (2018-01-16) Johnson, Timothy J; Youmans, Bonnie P; Noll, Sally; Cardona, Carol; Evans, Nicholas; Kernezos, Peter; Ngunjiri, John; Abundo, Michael; Lee, Chang-Won; tjj@umn.edu; Johnson, Timothy J
    Defining the baseline bacterial microbiome is critical towards understanding its relationship with health and disease. In broiler chickens, numerous studies have aimed at defining the core microbiome, yet the core and its possible relationships with health and disease have been difficult to define due to lack of study power. Here, the most comprehensive microbiome-based effort to date in commercial broilers was undertaken. The primary goals of this study included understanding what constitutes core in the broiler gastrointestinal, respiratory, and barn environments; how these core players change across age, geography, and time; and which bacterial taxa correlate with enhanced bird performance in antibiotic-free flocks. Using 2,309 samples from 37 different commercial flocks within a vertically integrated broiler system, and metadata from 549 flocks within that system, the baseline bacterial microbiome was defined. The effects of age, sample type, flock, and successive flock cycles were compared, and results indicate a consistent, predictable, age-dependent bacterial microbiome, irrespective of flock. The tracheal bacterial microbiome of broilers was comprehensively defined for the first time, and interestingly, Lactobacillus was the dominant bacterial taxa in the trachea. Numerous bacterial taxa were identified which were strongly correlated with broiler chicken performance, across multiple tissues. While many positively correlated taxa were identified representing targets for future probiotic development, many negatively associated potential pathogens were identified in the absence of clinical disease, indicating subclinical dynamics occurring that impact performance. Overall, this work provides necessary baseline data for the development of effective antibiotic alternatives for sustainable poultry production.
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    Surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) in a raptor rehabilitation center — 2022
    (2024-03-11) Hall, Victoria L; Cardona, Carol; Mendoza, Kristelle; Torchetti, Mia; Lantz, Kristina; Bueno, Irene; Franzen-Klein, Dana; hall2112@umn.edu; Hall, Victoria L; University of Minnesota The Raptor Center
    An ongoing, severe outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) A H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b has been circulating in wild and domestic bird populations throughout the world, reaching North America in 2021. This HPAI outbreak has exhibited unique characteristics when compared to previous outbreaks. The global distribution of disease, prolonged duration, extensive number of species and individual wild birds affected, and the large impact on the global poultry industry have all exceeded historical impacts of previous outbreaks in North America. In this study, we describe the results of HPAI surveillance conducted at The Raptor Center, a wildlife rehabilitation hospital at University of Minnesota (Saint Paul, MN, U.S.A.), from March 28th – December 31, 2022. All wild raptors admitted to the facility were tested for avian influenza viruses using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. All non-negative samples were submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) National Veterinary Services Laboratories for confirmatory HPAI testing and genetic sequencing. During the study period, 996 individual birds representing 20 different species were tested for avian influenza, and 213 birds were confirmed HPAI positive. Highly pathogenic avian influenza surveillance conducted at The Raptor Center contributed 75% of the HPAI positive raptor detections within the state of Minnesota, located within the Mississippi flyway, significantly augmenting state wildlife surveillance efforts. The viral genotypes observed in birds sampled at The Raptor Center were representative of what was seen in wild bird surveillance within the Mississippi flyway during the same time frame. Wildlife rehabilitation centers provide an opportune situation to augment disease surveillance at the human, wildlife and domestic animal interface during ongoing infectious disease outbreaks.