Publications by authors named "Susan Shriner"

Emerging infectious diseases with zoonotic potential often have complex socioecological dynamics and limited ecological data, requiring integration of epidemiological modeling with surveillance. Although our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 has advanced considerably since its detection in late 2019, the factors influencing its introduction and transmission in wildlife hosts, particularly white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), remain poorly understood. We use a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Susceptible epidemiological model to investigate the spillover risk and transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in wild and captive white-tailed deer populations across various simulated scenarios.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * An investigation revealed a cluster of COVID-19 symptoms among farm employees coinciding with increased illness and death rates in mink, with nearly all sampled mink testing positive for the virus.
  • * Genetic similarities between the virus in mink and infected workers suggest that humans contracted COVID-19 from the mink, prompting the need for comprehensive public health strategies to control zoonotic virus transmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Wild birds are the natural reservoir hosts of influenza A viruses. Highly pathogenic strains of influenza A viruses pose risks to wild birds, poultry, and human health. Thus, understanding how these viruses are transmitted between birds is critical.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2 can spread between humans and animals, particularly free-ranging white-tailed deer, raising public health concerns about the potential for new virus variants to develop.
  • Researchers collected over 8,800 respiratory samples from deer across the U.S. and found 391 virus sequences, including well-known variants like Alpha and Omicron.
  • The study revealed that the virus entered deer populations from humans multiple times, leading to deer-to-deer transmission, and indicated possible cases of the virus spilling back to humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The effects of flock size of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) was experimentally manipulated to assess the potential of influenza A virus (IAV; H4N6) transmission from a flocking passerine to bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) through shared food and water resources to mimic starling intrusions into free-range and backyard poultry operations. Of the three starling flock sizes tested (n = 30, n = 20 and n = 10), all successfully transmitted the virus to all or most of the quail in each animal room (6/6, 6/6 and 5/6) by the end of the experimental period, as determined by seroconversion and/or viral RNA shedding. Although starlings have been shown to be inconsistent shedders of IAVs and when they do replicate and subsequently shed virus they typically do so at low to moderate levels, this study has provided evidence that relatively small flocks (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Widespread human infections of SARS-CoV-2 raise concerns about reverse zoonosis, particularly in white-tailed deer due to their ability to contract the virus.
  • Researchers conducted serosurveillance on 624 deer serum samples from four US states, focusing on both prepandemic and post-pandemic periods.
  • The study found that 40% of samples taken in 2021 showed exposure to SARS-CoV-2, indicating that white-tailed deer populations have been significantly affected by the virus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • In summer 2020, SARS-CoV-2 was discovered on mink farms in Utah, prompting a One Health initiative to determine the outbreak's scope by sampling various animals around the farms.
  • Of 365 animals tested, 72% were found to have at least one type of coronavirus, with specific findings including 127 alphacoronaviruses and 74 cases of SARS-CoV-2 in mink.
  • The study indicates a concerningly high prevalence of coronaviruses among animals on mink farms, suggesting these locations could be significant sources for future cross-species viral transmission and new pandemic risks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) pose risks to public, agricultural, and wildlife health. Bridge hosts are spillover hosts that share habitat with both maintenance hosts (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Plague is caused by a bacterial pathogen () that can infect a wide range of mammal species, but its presence in wildlife is often underappreciated. Using a large-scale data set ( = 44,857) that details the extent of exposure in wildlife, we document exposure in 18 wildlife species, including coyotes (), bobcats (), and black bears (). Evidence of plague activity is widespread, with seropositive animals detected in every western state in the contiguous United States.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Outbreaks of avian influenza virus (AIV) infection included the spread of highly pathogenic AIV in commercial poultry and backyard flocks in the spring of 2015. This resulted in estimated losses of more than $8.5 million from federal government expenditures, $1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Reassortment among co-infecting influenza A viruses (IAVs) is an important source of viral diversity and can facilitate expansion into novel host species. Indeed, reassortment played a key role in the evolution of the last three pandemic IAVs. Observed patterns of reassortment within a coinfected host are likely to be shaped by several factors, including viral load, the extent of viral mixing within the host and the stringency of selection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In August 2020, outbreaks of coronavirus disease were confirmed on mink farms in Utah, USA. We surveyed mammals captured on and around farms for evidence of infection or exposure. Free-ranging mink, presumed domestic escapees, exhibited high antibody titers, suggesting a potential severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission pathway to native wildlife.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Some snow geese (Anser caerulescens) migrate between Eurasia and North America and exhibit high seroprevalence for influenza A viruses (IAVs). Hence, these birds might be expected to play a role in intercontinental dispersal of IAVs. Our objective in this manuscript was to characterize basic incidence and infection characteristics for snow geese to assess whether these birds are likely to significantly contribute to circulation of IAVs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The potential role of wild mammals in the epidemiology of influenza A viruses (IAVs) at the farm-side level has gained increasing consideration over the past two decades. In some instances, select mammals may be more likely to visit riparian areas (both close and distant to farms) as well as poultry farms, as compared to traditional reservoir hosts, such as waterfowl. Of significance, many mammalian species can successfully replicate and shed multiple avian IAVs to high titers without prior virus adaptation and often can shed virus in greater quantities than synanthropic avian species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Avian influenza A viruses (IAV) have received significant attention due to the threat they pose to human, livestock, and wildlife health. In this review, we focus on what is known about IAV dynamics in less common avian species that may play a role in trafficking IAVs to poultry operations. Specifically, we focus on synanthropic bird species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Impacts of large-scale oil spills on avian species are far-reaching. While media attention often focuses on lethal impacts, sub-lethal effects and the impacts of rehabilitation receive less attention. The objective of our study was to characterize effects of moderate external oiling and subsequent rehabilitation on feather structure and thermoregulation in gulls.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A method was developed and validated for the detection of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli containing mcr-1 in the feces of feral swine. Following optimization of an enrichment method using EC broth supplemented with colistin (1 μg/mL) and vancomycin (8 μg/mL), aliquots derived from 100 feral swine fecal samples were spiked with of one of five different mcr-1 positive E. coli strains (between 10 and 10 CFU/g), for a total of 1110 samples tested.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies have found that peridomestic mammals, which are animals living close to human habitats, are naturally exposed to influenza A viruses (IAVs).
  • These mammals can replicate various strains of IAVs, including those that pose significant risks to public health and agriculture.
  • The chapter will discuss the relationship between peridomestic mammals and IAVs, particularly avian strains, and offer guidelines for studying these species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In 2015, the mcr-1 gene was discovered in Escherichia coli in domestic swine in China that conferred resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort used in treating multi-drug resistant bacterial infections in humans. Since then, mcr-1 was found in other human and animal populations, including wild gulls. Because gulls could disseminate the mcr-1 gene, we conducted an experiment to assess whether gulls are readily colonized with mcr-1 positive E.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Recent investigations suggest that freshwater crayfish might play a role in the ecology and surveillance of avian influenza A virus (IAV).
  • In experiments with crayfish exposed to different IAV concentrations, the water with crayfish showed significantly lower levels of detectable viral RNA compared to water without crayfish.
  • While crayfish exhibited varying levels of IAV RNA in their tissues, especially in gill samples, more research is needed to determine their potential as carriers of the virus to mammals and birds that consume them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Anticoagulant rodenticides are used worldwide to control pest rodent species. However, the risks posed to non-target reptiles have not been well characterized. In this study, 46 giant ameivas (Ameiva ameiva), 39 boa constrictors (Boa constrictor), 33 wood turtles (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima), and 47 green iguanas (Iguana iguana) were orally dosed with one of two levels of either diphacinone or brodifacoum anticoagulant in propylene glycol solutions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Avian species experience extensive morbidity and mortality following large-scale oil spills, often resulting in oiled birds being rescued, and admitted to rehabilitation. Our objective was to experimentally establish time-specific, descriptive blood analyte data following sublethal oil exposure and subsequent rehabilitation. Thirty wild Ring-billed Gulls () were randomly allocated to three treatment groups of 10 birds each.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Reassortment is an evolutionary mechanism by which influenza A viruses (IAV) generate genetic novelty. Reassortment is an important driver of host jumps and is widespread according to retrospective surveillance studies. However, predicting the epidemiological risk of reassortant emergence in novel hosts from surveillance data remains challenging.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF