Two years after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, there is still a need for better ways to assess the risk of transmission in congregate spaces. We deployed active air samplers to monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in real-world settings across communities in the Upper Midwestern states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Over 29 weeks, we collected 527 air samples from 15 congregate settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo years after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, there is still a need for better ways to assess the risk of transmission in congregate spaces. We deployed active air samplers to monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in real-world settings across communities in the Upper Midwestern states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Over 29 weeks, we collected 527 air samples from 15 congregate settings and detected 106 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples, demonstrating SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in air collected from daily and weekly sampling intervals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, contagious, neurodegenerative prion disease affecting both free-ranging and captive cervid species. CWD is spread via direct or indirect contact or oral ingestion of prions. In the gastrointestinal tract, prions enter the body through microfold cells (M-cells), and the abundance of these cells can be influenced by the gut microbiota.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: High-frequency, rapid-turnaround severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing continues to be proposed as a way of efficiently identifying and mitigating transmission in congregate settings. However, 2 SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks occurred among intercollegiate university athletic programs during the fall 2020 semester, despite mandatory directly observed daily antigen testing.
Methods: During the fall 2020 semester, athletes and staff in both programs were tested daily using Quidel's Sofia SARS Antigen Fluorescent Immunoassay, with positive antigen results requiring confirmatory testing with real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol
March 2021
The human gut microbiome has a great deal of interpersonal variation due to both endogenous and exogenous factors, like household pet exposure. To examine the relationship between having a pet in the home and the composition and diversity of the adult gut microbiome, we conducted a case-control study nested in a larger, statewide study, the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin. Stool samples were collected from 332 participants from unique households and analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Prevention of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections, such as those caused by methicillin-resistant , vancomycin-resistant enterococci, fluoroquinolone-resistant Gram-negative bacteria and is crucial. Evidence suggests that dietary fibre increases gut microbial diversity, which may help prevent colonisation and subsequent infection by MDROs. The aim of the Winning the War on Antibiotic Resistance (WARRIOR) project is to examine associations of dietary fibre consumption with the composition of the gut microbiota and gut colonisation by MDROs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine if corneal epithelial cell integrity is detrimentally affected by short-term administration of 1.0% morphine sulfate. Additionally, we sought to determine if topical 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA canine influenza A(H3N2) virus emerged in the United States in February-March 2015, causing respiratory disease in dogs. The virus had previously been circulating among dogs in Asia, where it originated through the transfer of an avian-origin influenza virus around 2005 and continues to circulate. Sequence analysis suggests the US outbreak was initiated by a single introduction, in Chicago, of an H3N2 canine influenza virus circulating among dogs in South Korea in 2015.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate the severity and extent of lung disease using thoracic computed radiography (CR) compared to contrast-enhanced multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) of the thorax in calves with naturally occurring respiratory disease and to evaluate the feasibility and safety of performing contrast-enhanced thoracic multi-detector MDCT examinations in sedated calves. Furthermore, to evaluate if combining CR or MDCT with respiratory scoring factors will improve prediction of the chronicity of pulmonary disease in calves.
Animals: Thirty Jersey heifer calves ranging in age between 25 and 89 days with naturally occurring respiratory disease.
Objective: To evaluate whether topical ocular application of 1% morphine sulfate would change corneal sensitivity and to identify the duration of action.
Animal Studied: Eight healthy adult horses.
Procedure: Corneal touch threshold (CTT) was measured in the center of one randomly selected eye of each horse by Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer (Luneau Cochet-Bonnet Esthesiometer; Western Ophthalmics, Lynnwood, WA, USA).
This study aimed to determine the effects of high-pressure processing on the immunoglobulin concentration, microbial load, viscosity, and transfer of passive immunity to calves when applied to bovine colostrum as an alternative to thermal pasteurization. A pilot study using Staphylococcus aureus was conducted to determine which pressure-time treatments are most appropriate for use with bovine colostrum, with the goals of maximizing bacterial inactivation while minimizing IgG content and viscosity changes. Following the pilot study, an inoculation study was conducted in which first-milking colostrum samples from Holstein-Friesian cows were inoculated with known concentrations of various bacteria or viruses and pressure processed at either 300 MPa for up to 60min or at 400MPa for up to 30min.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOBJECTIVE To estimate an appropriate isolation period for dogs infected with canine influenza A H3N2 virus on the basis of the duration of virus shedding. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 16 dogs, from 3 Chicago area shelters, naturally infected with canine influenza A H3N2 virus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate the use of the acute-phase proteins serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin as prognostic indicators in horses with colic with regard to the need for surgical intervention, development of complications, and hospitalization cost and duration.
Design: Prospective observational study.
Animals: 20 clinically normal horses and 42 horses with colic.
Objective: To evaluate use of serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin concentrations as prognostic indicators for horses with inflammatory disease in regard to euthanasia, complications, and hospitalization duration and cost.
Animals: 20 clinically normal horses and 53 horses with inflammatory disease.
Procedures: Total WBC count, neutrophil count, and fibrinogen, SAA, and haptoglobin concentrations were determined for clinically normal horses and horses with suspected inflammatory disease.
A 14-year-old Morgan gelding was presented for progressive weakness and muscle atrophy. The horse was initially diagnosed with equine protozoal myelitis based on history, physical examination, and laboratory diagnostics. Despite therapy, the horse declined clinically and was euthanized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to conduct a convenience study for brucellosis prevalence in dairy-producing animals in northern Ecuador. In total, 2,561 cows and 301 goats were tested. Cattle sera were tested using the Rose Bengal card antigen test (RBCT), yielding an overall apparent prevalence of 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInternational immersion experiences do not, in themselves, provide students with the opportunity to develop cultural competence. However, using an anthropological lens to educate students allows them to learn how to negotiate cultural differences by removing their own cultural filters and seeing events through the eyes of those who are culturally different. Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Global Health Institute believed that an embedded experience, in which students engaged with local communities, would encourage them to adopt this Cultural Competency 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFListeria monocytogenes causes several clinical manifestations in humans and domestic animals. This bacterium is a saprophyte in soil and ensiled feeds, which are sources of infection for food producing animals (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we first assessed the effect of intragastric infection of pregnant mice with Listeria monocytogenes on relative expression of select genes associated with T cell subsets. Relative gene expression was moderately increased in placental tissues for IFNγ, IL-4, IL-17a, IL-22, CD3, and FoxP3. To assess the roles of IL-17a and IL-22 in resistance to listeriosis during pregnancy, we compared the severity of maternal and fetal infection in IL-17a((-/-)), IL-22((-/-)), and IL-17a((-/-))/IL-22((-/-)) mice with that of wild type C57BL/6 mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 3-month-old Hereford heifer calf was presented for lethargy. Blood gas analysis and plasma biochemical testing revealed severe metabolic acidosis, azotemia, hyponatremia, hyperchloremia, and normal anion gap. Results of a urinalysis were consistent with acute tubular necrosis with inadequate acidification of urine based on the degree of acidemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA mass in the pelvic canal of a 4-year-old pregnant alpaca hembra diagnosed as leiomyosarcoma of the urogenital tract was confirmed by biopsy. Following a tube cystotomy, the alpaca was presented 33 d later, 2 d after the tube cystotomy had been dislodged. A dead cria was delivered by caesarean section.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF