Publications by authors named "Kevin Niedringhaus"

Article Synopsis
  • The Wild Turkey, a significant game bird in North America, has faced health risks due to population declines and diseases like histomonosis caused by the parasite Histomonas meleagridis.
  • A study from 2002 to 2023 found that out of 857 turkeys examined, 4% had trichomonad disease, with a variety of trichomonads found, indicating a more complex disease landscape than previously understood.
  • Coinfections with other diseases and pathogens were common among affected turkeys, underscoring the necessity for advanced molecular diagnostics to accurately identify the causes of illness.
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We identified a Thelazia callipaeda eyeworm in an American black bear in Pennsylvania, USA, on the basis of its morphological features and molecular analysis. Our finding highlights emergence of a T. callipaeda worm sylvatic transmission cycle in the United States.

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Over the last four decades, Barred Owls (Strix varia) have expanded their range to include much of western North America, including California. This expansion is suspected to have contributed to declining populations of a closely related species, the federally threatened Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). As a result, understanding potential health threats to Barred Owls has implications for Spotted Owl health and recovery.

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Free-living amoebae are rare causes of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals around the globe. Because the route of exposure and clinical progression of disease caused by different species of amoebae may vary in people and animals, determining the species of amoeba present is important. We describe here a fatal infection by the free-living amoeba in a Siberian tiger ().

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Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) populations have declined in much of the eastern US in recent decades. Research suggests that West Nile virus (WNV) contributed to these declines, based on decreasing population indices temporally correlated to WNV introduction into North America, high morbidity and mortality in experimentally infected Ruffed Grouse, and relatively low statewide seroprevalence concurrent with high WNV vector indices. We describe lesions and relevant diagnostic findings in six, free-ranging Ruffed Grouse that directly or indirectly died of natural WNV infection and compare results to experimentally infected Ruffed Grouse.

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This case report describes for the first time the cytologic characteristics of a hormonally secreting pituitary adenoma in a cat. An 8-year-old female spayed domestic long-haired cat was referred with a previous diagnosis of hypersomatotropism and secondary diabetes mellitus 7 months prior. Clinical signs included weight loss, polyphagia, polyuria, and polydipsia.

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Article Synopsis
  • Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that can infect various species, including humans and wildlife, and may spread more easily due to overlapping habitats.
  • A study analyzed diagnostic data from 1991 to 2020, finding that gray foxes and wild turkeys showed significant lesions from listeriosis and other comorbidities, like canine distemper virus.
  • The research confirmed listeriosis as a serious health threat in these wildlife species, which often experienced additional infections that could weaken their immune systems.
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Extreme weather events, particularly heavy rainfall, are occurring at greater frequency with climate change. Although adverse human health effects from heavy rainfall are often publicized, impacts to free-ranging wildlife populations are less well known. We first summarize documented associations of heavy rainfall on wildlife health.

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The tapeworms are a family of helminths that have a similar life cycle, with intermediate hosts developing characteristic cysts in visceral organs. We describe here a case in Pennsylvania, USA, of fatal infection in a muskrat (), which, to our knowledge, has not been reported to develop disease associated with infection. Postmortem examination revealed widespread tissue loss and replacement by solid-bodied cestode larvae with minimal adjacent inflammation in many visceral organs, most severe in the lungs, liver, and brain.

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The family has been associated with fatal diseases in numerous avian species. Several new taxa within this family, including Bisgaard taxon 40, have been recently described in wild birds, but their genomic characteristics and pathogenicity are not well understood. We isolated Bisgaard taxon 40 from four species of seabirds, including one sampled during a mass, multi-species mortality event in Florida, United States.

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American black bears (Ursus americanus) are increasingly reported to develop mange. This report describes a case of mange associated with a Chorioptes species, which has not previously been reported, to our knowledge, in free-ranging black bears. Basic clinical findings as well as methods of identification for this mite are provided.

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A 10-year-old female spayed mixed breed dog was evaluated for diarrhea and vomiting. Diagnostic imaging demonstrated the presence of an intracardiac mass. A modified Seldinger technique was used to access the right jugular vein, and an endomyocardial biopsy forceps was introduced through a sheath to obtain several biopsies.

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Widely distributed aquatic species such as terns are highly dependent on, and can serve as indicators of, the global health of marine and other aquatic environments. Documented mass mortality events in terns have been associated with anthropogenic, weather-related and, less commonly, infectious causes. This study describes a multispecies mortality event associated with brevetoxicosis and Bisgaard taxon 40-induced sepsis involving common (Sterna hirundo) and sandwich (Thalasseus sandvicensis) terns off the southwest coast of Florida, USA, in November and December 2018.

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Raptors, including eagles, are geographically widespread and sit atop the food chain, thereby serving an important role in maintaining ecosystem balance. After facing population declines associated with exposure to organochlorine insecticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) have recovered from the brink of extinction. However, both bald and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are exposed to a variety of other toxic compounds in the environment that could have population impacts.

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Sarcoptic mange, a skin infestation caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, is an emerging disease for some species of wildlife, potentially jeopardizing their welfare and conservation. Sarcoptes scabiei has a near-global distribution facilitated by its forms of transmission and use of a large diversity of host species (many of those with broad geographic distribution). In this review, we synthesize the current knowledge concerning the geographic and host taxonomic distribution of mange in wildlife, the epidemiological connections between species, and the potential threat of sarcoptic mange for wildlife conservation.

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We document a case of , a rare, zoonotic bacterium, in a white-tailed deer (WTD; ) in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Grossly, the deer had fibrinous pleuropneumonia with yellow, mineralized nodules scattered throughout the lungs and extending to the pleura. The kidneys were enlarged and had numerous pale foci in the cortex.

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Black bears () have historically been considered an uncommon host for sarcoptic mange. However, over the last 25 yr, sarcoptic mange has been increasingly reported in black bears in the northeastern US. Syndromic monitoring is the most common surveillance approach for mange in bears, but tools to monitor exposure to in bear populations have not been thoroughly evaluated under field conditions.

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Infectious diseases, particularly of wildlife, are intrinsically linked to human and domestic animal health. Reports of sarcoptic mange in black bears () are increasing in multiple states in the USA and while the reason is unknown, mange in other species has been associated with immunosuppression from multiple causes. Serum from bears across Pennsylvania were collected to determine the seroprevalence of five pathogens important for animal and/or human health: Canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV), canine adenovirus-1 (CAV), , and sp.

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For two decades, the incidence and range of sarcoptic mange in black bears (Ursus americanus) in Pennsylvania has increased. The causative agent, Sarcoptes scabiei, can be directly or indirectly transmitted; therefore, data on environmental persistence is important for guiding management and public communications. The objective of this study was to determine the survival of S.

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Multiple oncogenic viruses, including lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) and reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV), have been detected in wild turkeys (). The prevalence of infection with these viruses appears to be more common than overt disease; thus, data on the manifestation of associated disease in wild turkeys are scarce. Diagnostic records from wild turkeys submitted to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study from 1980 to 2017 were reviewed to identify cases of neoplasia.

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The "itch mite" or "mange mite", causes scabies in humans and sarcoptic mange in domestic and free-ranging animals. This mite has a wide host range due to its ability to adapt to new hosts and has been spread across the globe presumably through human expansion. While disease caused by has been very well-studied in humans and domestic animals, there are still numerous gaps in our understanding of this pathogen in free-ranging wildlife.

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Mange was historically rare in American black bears (Ursus americanus). Since the 1990s, however, sarcoptic mange has become more widespread in black bears with hundreds of reports in 2018 from eight states. This emerging disease has potential implications regarding human and animal health and on future black bear management.

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Trichomonosis is an important cause of mortality in multiple avian species; however, there have been relatively few reports of this disease in owls. Two barn owls (Tyto alba) and four barred owls (Strix varia) submitted for diagnostic examination had lesions consistent with trichomonosis including caseous necrosis and inflammation in the oropharynx. Microscopically, these lesions were often associated with trichomonads and molecular testing, if obtainable, confirmed the presence of Trichomonas gallinae, the species most commonly associated with trichomonosis in birds.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined 62 new cases and 18 previously published reports of Dracunculus infections in dogs and cats across North America to better understand the distribution and characteristics of this parasite.
  • Infected dogs were primarily aged between 7 months and 19 years, with most cases involving single worms typically found in the legs, but those also appeared in other body areas; infections did not occur in toy breed dogs.
  • Three new individual cat cases were detected in the southern U.S., and most infections in both species occurred from late winter to early spring; genetic analysis identified the nematode species primarily as D. insignis, linked to raccoons.
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