Advancing a U.S. navy shipboard infrastructure for sleep monitoring with wearable technology.

Development of fatigue management solutions is critical to U.S. Navy populations.

Disease Progression and Serological Assay Performance in Heritage Breed Pigs following Experimental Challenge as a Model for Naturally Infected Feral Swine.

Invasive feral swine () are one of the most important wildlife species for disease surveillance in the United States, serving as a reservoir for various diseases of concern for the health of humans and domestic animals. , the causative agent of swine brucellosis, is one such pathogen carried and transmitted by feral swine. Serology assays are the preferred field diagnostic for infection, as whole blood can be readily collected and antibodies are highly stable.

American alligators are capable of West Nile virus amplification, mosquito infection and transmission.

West Nile virus (WNV) overwintering is poorly understood and likely multifactorial. Interest in alligators as a potential amplifying host arose when it was shown that they develop viremias theoretically sufficient to infect mosquitoes. We examined potential ways in which alligators may contribute to the natural ecology of WNV.

Peridomestic Mammal Susceptibility to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection.

Wild animals have been implicated as the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but it is largely unknown how the virus affects most wildlife species and if wildlife could ultimately serve as a reservoir for maintaining the virus outside the human population. We show that several common peridomestic species, including deer mice, bushy-tailed woodrats, and striped skunks, are susceptible to infection and can shed the virus in respiratory secretions. In contrast, we demonstrate that cottontail rabbits, fox squirrels, Wyoming ground squirrels, black-tailed prairie dogs, house mice, and racoons are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A Whole Virion Vaccine for COVID-19 Produced via a Novel Inactivation Method and Preliminary Demonstration of Efficacy in an Animal Challenge Model.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated intense interest in the rapid development and evaluation of vaccine candidates for this disease and other emerging diseases. Several novel methods for preparing vaccine candidates are currently undergoing clinical evaluation in response to the urgent need to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In many cases, these methods rely on new approaches for vaccine production and immune stimulation.

Experimental infection of domestic dogs and cats with SARS-CoV-2: Pathogenesis, transmission, and response to reexposure in cats.

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has reached nearly every country in the world with extraordinary person-to-person transmission. The most likely original source of the virus was spillover from an animal reservoir and subsequent adaptation to humans sometime during the winter of 2019 in Wuhan Province, China. Because of its genetic similarity to SARS-CoV-1, it is probable that this novel virus has a similar host range and receptor specificity.

Vaccine Candidate Brucella melitensis 16M Is Safe in a Pregnant Sheep Model and Confers Protection.

As a natural host species for , pregnant sheep offer an ideal model to evaluate vaccine candidates for safety. strain Rev. 1 has been used almost exclusively to prevent brucellosis in small ruminants, but it causes abortions when given to pregnant animals.

Investigating the Potential Role of North American Animals as Hosts for Zika Virus.

The recent emergence of the mosquito-borne Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas has become a global public health concern. We describe a series of experimental infections designed to investigate whether animals within certain taxonomic groups in North America have the potential to serve as ZIKV amplifying or maintenance hosts. Species investigated included armadillos, cottontail rabbits, goats, mink, chickens, pigeons, ground hogs, deer mice, cattle, raccoons, ducks, Syrian Golden hamsters, garter snakes, leopard frogs, house sparrows, and pigs.

PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNE RESPONSES OF FRANCISELLA TULARENSIS STRAINS IN WILD-CAUGHT COTTONTAIL RABBITS (SYLVILAGUS SPP.).

Francisella tularensis is a highly virulent, zoonotic bacterium that causes significant natural disease and is of concern as an organism for bioterrorism. Serologic testing of wildlife is frequently used to monitor spatial patterns of infection and to quantify exposure. Cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.

Riboflavin and ultraviolet light for pathogen reduction of murine cytomegalovirus in blood products.

Background: Two studies were performed to test the effectiveness of riboflavin and ultraviolet (UV) light treatment (Mirasol PRT, Terumo BCT) against murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). The first study utilized immune-compromised mice to measure the reduction of cell-free MCMV. A second study used a murine model to evaluate the ability of Mirasol PRT to prevent transfusion-transmitted (TT)-MCMV infection.

Unique characteristics of bat rabies viruses in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus).

Rabies virus infection has been documented in several North American bat species, including Eptesicus fuscus. The virus-host relationship between bats and rabies virus (RV) is not well understood. The incidence of non-lethal RV exposure, based on the presence of viral neutralizing antibodies, demonstrates that exposure to RV does not always lead to clinical infection in bats.

Naturally acquired rabies virus infections in wild-caught bats.

The study of a zoonotic disease requires an understanding of the disease incidence in animal reservoirs. Rabies incidence in bats submitted to diagnostic laboratories does not accurately reflect the true incidence in wild bat populations as a bias exists for testing bats that have been in contact with humans or pets. This article details the rabies incidence in two species of bats collected from natural settings without such bias.

DNA vaccination of the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) provides partial protection against lethal challenge with West Nile virus.

The New York 1999 strain of West Nile virus (WNV) is nearly 100% fatal in the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). We evaluated four WNV vaccine formulations in American crows, including intramuscular (i.m.

Experimental and natural infection of North American bats with West Nile virus.

Big brown (Eptesicus fuscus) and Mexican free-tailed (Tadarida brasiliensis) bats were inoculated with the New York 99 strain of West Nile virus to assess their potential to serve as amplifying hosts and determine the clinical effect of infection. Groups of three or four bats were bled at daily intervals between 1 and 6 days after inoculation to determine the pattern of viremia. Beginning 2 days after inoculation, virus was isolated each day from one or more E.

Alligators as West Nile virus amplifiers.

Recent evidence suggests that American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) may be capable of transmitting West Nile virus (WNV) to other alligators. We experimentally exposed 24 juvenile alligators to WNV parenterally or orally. All became infected, and all but three sustained viremia titers >5.

Assessment of the efficacy of a single dose of a recombinant vaccine against West Nile virus in response to natural challenge with West Nile virus-infected mosquitoes in horses.

Objective: To determine the onset of immunity after IM administration of a single dose of a recombinant canarypox virus vaccine against West Nile virus (WNV) in horses in a blind challenge trial.

Animals: 20 mixed-breed horses.

Procedure: Horses with no prior exposure to WNV were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups (10 horses/group).

Recombinant canarypoxvirus vaccine carrying the prM/E genes of West Nile virus protects horses against a West Nile virus-mosquito challenge.

An ALVAC (canarypoxvirus)-based recombinant (vCP2017) expressing the prM and E genes derived from a 1999 New York isolate of West Nile virus (WNV) was constructed and assessed for its protective efficacy in horses in two different experiments. In the first trial, a dose titration study was conducted to evaluate both serum neutralising antibody responses to WNV and duration of immunity. In the second trial the onset of protection was determined.

Immune responses in mice, cattle and horses to a DNA vaccine for vesicular stomatitis.

Vesicular stomatitis (VS) virus causes an important clinical disease of cattle and horses in North America. In order for a vaccine to be useful in the control of VS, it must not only protect against disease, but allow ready differentiation of infected and vaccinated animals. In these studies, we evaluated neutralizing antibody responses in outbred mice, calves, and horses that received a DNA vaccine that expressed the glycoprotein (G) gene of VS New Jersey virus.

Cloning and characterization of cDNAs for a bovine (Bos taurus) Mx protein.

Mx proteins are GTPases that are stringently induced in cells from many vertebrates on exposure to type I interferons (IFNs), and expression of some Mx proteins potently inhibits replication of specific viruses. Two cDNAs encoding bovine Mx proteins were isolated from an endometrial phage library. The open reading frames (ORFs) of these two clones predict proteins of 654 (Mxl) and 648 (Mxl-a) residues.