Publications by authors named "T Thacker"

Bacteria in the complex and nontuberculous mycobacteria may affect a variety of animal species under human care and pose public health risks as zoonotic pathogens. A case of sudden onset of lethargy and increased respiratory effort in a 5-y-old, intact female reindeer () under managed care had progressed to severe dyspnea despite aggressive treatment. The animal was euthanized due to poor prognosis.

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Bovine tuberculosis is caused by , a member of the complex of mycobacterial species that cause tuberculosis in humans and animals. Diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis has relied on examinations of cell-mediated immune responses to proteins using tuberculin skin testing and/or interferon gamma release assays. Even when using these methods, disease detection during the earliest phases of infection has been difficult, allowing a window for cattle-to-cattle transmission to occur within a herd.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This report highlights the risk of exposure to the zoonotic pathogen Brucella canis on a commercial flight after an infected dog aborted in the cabin, emphasizing challenges in brucellosis screening for airline staff and travelers.
  • - It outlines a public health investigation involving several health departments and diagnostic laboratories to diagnose canine brucellosis and evaluate the exposure risk among passengers and airline personnel, who received infection prevention guidance.
  • - The conclusions stress the need for regular screening of dogs for brucellosis, point out the difficulties in monitoring health histories of dogs at the time of acquisition, and suggest that transporting pregnant dogs poses significant health risks that need further attention.
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Nonhuman primates (NHP) can become infected with the same species of Mycobacteria that cause human tuberculosis. All NHP imported into the United States are quarantined and screened for tuberculosis; no confirmed cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed among NHP during CDC-mandated quarantine during 2013-2020. In February 2023, an outbreak of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium orygis was detected in a group of 540 cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) imported to the United States from Southeast Asia for research purposes.

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Scrapie is a neurodegenerative disease that impacts sheep and goats, characterized by gradual and progressive changes in neurological function. Recent research shows that the scrapie incubation period is significantly influenced by specific variations in amino acids within the prion protein gene (). The objective of this study was to estimate the national prevalence of caprine genetic variability at codons 146, 211, and 222 in goat populations across the United States.

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