Publications by authors named "Barnum S"

Objective: To describe the prevalence, clinical findings, lesions, and risk factors associated with chlamydial infections in free-ranging raptors presented to a university veterinary medical teaching hospital.

Methods: Medical records retrospectively searched for raptors admitted from January 1993 through April 2022 were tested for Chlamydia spp infections using quantitative PCR (qPCR), immunohistochemistry, culture, and sequencing. Findings were collected and analyzed.

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The objective of this study was to describe an outbreak of equine herpesvirus-1 myeloencephalopathy (EHM) in a population of aged equids. The outbreak was linked to the introduction of five healthy non-resident horses 15 days prior to the first case of acute recumbency. This fulminant EHM outbreak was predisposed by the grouping of the 33 unvaccinated animals in two large pens with shared water and feed troughs.

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Patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) experience intense chronic itch and impaired sleep. Reports from parents and teachers suggest that AD patients may also have attention problems. However, attention has not yet been directly assessed in AD patients.

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  • The study examines how respiratory pathogens can spread among healthy show horses, notably focusing on equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) following recent disease outbreaks in the USA and Europe.
  • Researchers tested the effectiveness of biosecurity measures, including individual horse testing and hygiene practices, by analyzing environmental samples from both vaccinated and non-vaccinated horses.
  • Results showed EHV-1 was predominantly detected in vaccinated horses for a short time, with environmental samples remaining positive longer than nasal swabs, indicating that subclinical shedding can occur and lead to potential contamination in shared stables.
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During neurological EHV-1 outbreaks, modified-live vaccines (MLV) are often administrated intranasally in an off-label fashion to healthy cohort horses in order to achieve rapid mucosal immunity. Thus, the goal of the present study was to determine if a commercially available EHV-1 MLV given intranasally to healthy horses would trigger a measurable systemic and/or mucosal antibody response. Eight healthy adult horses were given the EHV-1 MLV vaccine intranasally, while 8 healthy adult horses received the vaccine intramuscularly.

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  • Adult horses can get infected with equine coronavirus (ECoV) and SARS-CoV-2, but only ECoV is known to cause illness in them.
  • A study tested 385 serum samples from imported horses to see how many were seropositive for ECoV and SARS-CoV-2, finding 2.3% and 1.0% positivity rates, respectively.
  • The seropositive horses were mostly mares aged 4 to 26 years and came from various European countries, with their import times possibly influencing the transmission of these viruses.
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  • Equine rhinitis B virus (ERBV) is emerging as a significant respiratory pathogen in horses, identified through a biosurveillance program that analyzed 8,684 nasal swabs from 2012 to 2023.
  • Out of the tested samples, ERBV was found in 5.08% of cases, often identified alone (65.99%) or in combination with other pathogens like equine herpesvirus type 4 and equine influenza virus.
  • Young horses and those involved in competition are particularly susceptible, showing symptoms such as fever, nasal discharge, and cough, highlighting the clinical importance of understanding ERBV and its coinfection effects.
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  • - The study focused on detecting equine respiratory viruses and bacteria in horses at a winter equestrian show by collecting environmental sponge samples from the stalls over multiple weeks.
  • - Out of the collected samples, 35.13% tested positive for at least one of the selected pathogens, with equine herpesvirus-2 being the most commonly found.
  • - The frequency of pathogen detection was higher in winter compared to spring and summer, suggesting a seasonal increase, and using environmental samples is a more efficient method than directly collecting respiratory secretions from horses.
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  • A study investigated the frequency of respiratory virus shedding in healthy sport horses during a multi-week equestrian event in the summer, focusing on nasal secretions and environmental stall samples.
  • Out of 682 nasal swabs and 1288 environmental samples collected over 11 weeks, only 2.8% and 2.2% tested positive for common respiratory pathogens, predominantly ERBV.
  • The findings indicated low levels of virus shedding, minimal evidence of active transmission, and limited environmental contamination among the sampled horses.
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The introduction of microfluidic card technology has opened the field for rapid point-of-care (POC) molecular assays, including fecal and environmental Salmonella spp. testing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a novel POC PCR assay for the detection of Salmonella spp.

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This study aimed to describe selected epidemiological aspects of horses with acute onset of fever and respiratory signs testing qPCR-positive for and to determine the effect of vaccination against on qPCR status. Horses with acute onset of fever and respiratory signs from all regions of the United States were included in a voluntary biosurveillance program from 2008 to 2020 and nasal secretions were tested via qPCR for and common respiratory viruses. A total of 715/9409 equids (7.

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A voluntary upper respiratory biosurveillance program in the USA received 9740 nasal swab submissions during the years 2008-2021 from 333 veterinarians and veterinary clinics. The nasal swabs were submitted for qPCR testing for six common upper respiratory pathogens:equine influenza virus (EIV), equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), equine herpesvirus-4 (EHV-4), subspecies (), equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV), and equine rhinitis B virus (ERBV). Additional testing was performed for equine gamma herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2) and equine gamma herpesvirus-5 (EHV-5) and the results are reported.

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  • A study analyzed 297 EHV-1 qPCR-positive samples from horses in the U.S. to investigate the prevalence of three EHV-1 genotypes: non-neuropathogenic (N), neuropathogenic (D), and new variant (H) from 2019 to 2022.
  • The findings showed that the N genotype was the most common across different conditions, including respiratory diseases, equine herpesvirus-1 myeloencephalopathy (EHM), and abortions, while the D genotype was less frequent and H was rarely detected.
  • Monitoring these genotypes is crucial for diagnostics and can inform medical and preventive strategies to minimize serious complications from EHV-1 infections in horses.
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  • EHV-1 vaccines are typically given intranasally during outbreaks, but their effectiveness and the complications in diagnosing EHV-1 infections post-vaccination are not well understood.
  • This study aimed to evaluate the systemic antibody response from two types of EHV-1 vaccines (Calvenza and Rhinomune) and how long the virus could be detected in nasal secretions after vaccination.
  • Results showed no significant immune response in vaccinated horses, but a high incidence of detectable vaccine-derived EHV-1 in nasal secretions, which could complicate diagnosis during outbreaks.
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  • The study investigates the prevalence of a disease-causing parasite found in coyotes, which can lead to hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia in domestic dogs.
  • Researchers collected 461 splenic samples from coyotes in California and found a 4.8% infection rate, with higher prevalence in certain areas and among rural coyotes.
  • The study suggests that coyotes may act as a reservoir for the parasites that can infect domestic dogs, indicating a need for further investigation.
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While some companion animals have been shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, their role in the COVID-19 pandemic has remained poorly investigated. Equids are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 based on the similarity of the human ACE-2 receptor and reports of infection. Clinical disease and prevalence factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in equids have not yet been investigated.

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Actively shedding healthy horses have been indicated as a possible source of respiratory pathogen outbreak, transmission, and spread. Using nasal swabs from clinically healthy sport horses submitted for qPCR testing after an outbreak of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) myeloencephalopathy (EHM) in the spring of 2022, this study aimed to identify the rate of clinically healthy horses shedding common and less characterized respiratory pathogens within the sport horse population to better understand their role in outbreaks. Swabs were collected during a required quarantine and testing period, according to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), and showed return-to-competition requirements.

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The objective of this study was to determine detection frequency of respiratory viruses (equine influenza virus [EIV], equine herpesvirus-1 [EHV-1], EHV-2, EHV-4, EHV-5, equine rhinitis A virus [ERAV], ERBV) and bacteria (Streptococcus equi ss. equi[S. equi], S.

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A voluntary biosurveillance program was established in 2008 in order to determine the shedding frequency and prevalence factors for common respiratory pathogens associated with acute onset of fever and/or respiratory signs in equids from the USA. Over a period of 13 years, a total of 10,296 equids were enrolled in the program and nasal secretions were analyzed for the qPCR detection of equine influenza virus (EIV), equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), EHV-4, equine rhinitis A and B virus (ERVs), and subspecies (). Single infections with respiratory pathogens were detected in 21.

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While the main goal in the management of an EHM outbreak focuses on identifying early clinical disease in order to physically separate infected horses, little effort is placed towards monitoring healthy horses. The assumption that EHV-1 shedding parallels clinical disease is erroneous, as subclinical shedders have been shown to be actively involved in viral spread. In an attempt to document the frequency of EHV-1 shedders and their impact on environmental contamination, we collected nasal swabs from 231 healthy horses and 203 environmental samples for the testing of EHV-1 by qPCR.

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Nasopulmonary mites (NPMs) of the family Halarachnidae are obligate endoparasites that colonize the respiratory tracts of mammals. NPMs damage surface epithelium resulting in mucosal irritation, respiratory illness, and secondary infection, yet the role of NPMs in facilitating pathogen invasion or dissemination between hosts remains unclear. Using 16S rRNA massively parallel amplicon sequencing of six hypervariable regions (or "16S profiling"), we characterized the bacterial community of NPMs from 4 southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis).

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The authors report on a possible direct exposure to SARS-CoV-2 from a COVID-19-positive individual to an adult horse. The individual, diagnosed with COVID-19 (Delta B.1.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigated sampling methods during a large EHV-1 outbreak, enrolling 17 infected horses and 19 healthy ones, using various types of swabs, primarily focusing on nasal secretions.
  • - Samples were collected multiple times from each horse and tested for EHV-1 using qPCR, revealing that infected horses showed a high rate of viral presence, while healthy horses mostly tested negative.
  • - Muzzle/nares swabs showed a 74% agreement with nasal swabs, suggesting they could be a useful alternative for identifying EHV-1 shedders quickly, which is essential for effective biosecurity during outbreaks.
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