, major cause of bovine babesiosis with zoonotic potential, was analyzed through genomes Bdiv23B and Bdiv24B following Illumina sequencing of DNA extracted from PCR-positive cattle blood. The genomes comprised 3888 and 4032 predicted coding sequences, respectively, comparable to the reference genome, Rouen 1987, highlighting genomic consistency across isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRed foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are found throughout the United Kingdom (UK), and can reach high population densities in urban areas. They are often infested with ticks which may carry tick-borne pathogens, leading to a risk of transmission to domestic animals and humans. This study investigated the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks sourced from red fox carcasses across Great Britain between 2018 and 2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe family comprising positive-sense RNA viruses, is characterised by its non-enveloped, small virions, broad host range, and notable tendency for host switching. These viruses are primarily associated with gastroenteric disease, though they can lead to haemorrhagic or respiratory infections. Our study employed a metagenomics analysis of faecal samples from stoats (), identifying two novel calicivirus species, named stoat vesivirus and stoat valovirus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRepeat spillover of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into new hosts has highlighted the critical role of cross-species transmission of coronaviruses and establishment of new reservoirs of virus in pandemic and epizootic spread of coronaviruses. Species particularly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 spillover include Mustelidae (mink, ferrets and related animals), cricetid rodents (hamsters and related animals), felids (domestic cats and related animals) and white-tailed deer. These predispositions led us to screen British wildlife with sarbecovirus-specific quantitative PCR and pan coronavirus PCR assays for SARS-CoV-2 using samples collected during the human pandemic to establish if widespread spillover was occurring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF() is the aetiological agent of tick-borne fever in cattle and sheep, and granulocytic anaplasmosis in human and dogs. Livestock, companion animal and human infections with have been reported globally. Across England and Wales, two isolates (called ecotypes) have been reported in ticks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHorseshoe bats are the natural hosts of the subgenus that includes SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV- 2. Despite the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still little known about the underlying epidemiology and virology of sarbecoviruses in their natural hosts, leaving large gaps in our pandemic preparedness. Here we describe the results of PCR testing for sarbecoviruses in the two horseshoe bat species ( and ) present in Great Britain, collected in 2021-22 during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic.
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