Publications by authors named "Swaantje J Roth"

Phocine herpesvirus 1 (PhHV-1) infections in seals are associated with disease and sometimes high mortality, primarily in young animals. PhHV-1 has been detected in seals from European waters as well as in waters on both coasts of North America. Serological surveys of various pinniped species have indicated a wide geographical distribution of PhHV-1.

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Article Synopsis
  • Limited data exists on the health parameters of Antarctic seal species, including antibody prevalence and serum chemistry, which are important for understanding their exposure to pathogens and diseases.
  • Analysis of serum samples revealed that adult male Antarctic fur seals had higher total protein levels compared to females and pups, and showed greater enzyme activity than other seal species studied.
  • Antibodies against certain pathogens were found in various seal species, with concerns about the impacts of climate change and human activities introducing new threats to these animals and their ecosystems.
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It was previously reported that cowpox virus (CPXV) strain Brighton Red (BR) causes red pocks upon inoculation of chorioallantoic membranes (CAMs) of embryonated chicken eggs. Red pocks are characterized by hemorrhage and reduced numbers of inflammatory cells while white pocks induced by other members of the genus Orthopoxvirus lack hemorrhage and have higher numbers of infiltrating heterophils. Analyses of CPXV BR white pock variants identified the cytokine response modifier A (CrmA) as the factor responsible for the differences in pock phenotype through induction of hemorrhage and inhibition of chemotaxis.

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Transmission from pet rats and cats to humans as well as severe infection in felids and other animal species have recently drawn increasing attention to cowpox virus (CPXV). We report the cloning of the entire genome of cowpox virus strain Brighton Red (BR) as a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) in Escherichia coli and the recovery of infectious virus from cloned DNA. Generation of a full-length CPXV DNA clone was achieved by first introducing a mini-F vector, which allows maintenance of large circular DNA in E.

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