Featured Publications:
A prospective cohort study was performed to evaluate the prevalences and loads of Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. in farm and processing plant samples collected from 55 commercial broiler chicken flocks. Environmental samples were collected from broiler houses within 48 h before slaughter, and carcass rinses were performed on birds from the same flocks at…
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Analysis of gene quantities measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) can be complicated by observations that are below the limit of quantification (LOQ) of the assay. A hierarchical model estimated using MCMC methods was developed to analyze qPCR data of genes with observations that fall below the LOQ (censored observations). Simulated datasets with moderate to…
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Antimicrobials have been used extensively as growth promoters (AGPs) in agricultural animal production. However, the specific mechanism of action for AGPs has not yet been determined. The work presented here was to determine and characterize the microbiome of pigs receiving one AGP, tylosin, compared with untreated pigs. We hypothesized that AGPs exerted their growth promoting…
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There is concern that a relationship exists between antibiotic use in livestock production and the emergence, spread, and persistence of antibiotic resistance. It is important to understand the impact that therapeutic doses of antibiotics for treatment of disease have on resistance because disease treatment typically involves higher doses of antibiotic over short time spans. Absolute…
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The health of the animals within the food animal production system impacts many aspects of the system far removed from the animals themselves. To promote high productivity in animal agriculture, researchers need to examine nutrition, management systems, and animal care practices including the use of antibiotics and vaccines. This Commentary looks at the pressures to…
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Using real-time PCR, we tested 15 wolf (Canis lupus) feces from the Superior National Forest (SNF), Minnesota, USA, and 191 from Yellowstone National Park (YNP), USA, collected during summer and 13 during winter for canine parvovirus (CPV)-2 DNA. We also tested 20 dog feces for CPV-2 DNA. The PCR assay was 100% sensitive and specific…
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When considering the development of antimicrobial resistance in food animals, comparing gross use estimates of different antimicrobials is of little value due to differences in potencies, duration of activity, relative effect on target and commensal bacteria, and mechanisms of resistance. However, it may be valuable to understand quantities of different antimicrobials used in different ages…
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Incompatibility group A/C (IncA/C) plasmids have received recent attention for their broad host range and ability to confer resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents. Due to the potential spread of multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotypes from foodborne pathogens to human pathogens, the dissemination of these plasmids represents a public health risk. In this study, four animal-source IncA/C plasmids isolated from…
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The importance of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals is widely acknowledged as important. However, very little is known about composition and distribution of the microbial population in lower intestinal tracts of animals. Because most bacterial species in pig intestines have not been cultured, it has been difficult to analyze bacterial diversity by conventional…
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Salmonella enterica continues to be a significant cause of foodborne gastrointestinal illness in humans. A wide variety of Salmonella serovars have been isolated from production birds and from retail poultry meat. Recently, though, S. enterica subsp. enterica serovar Kentucky has emerged as one of the prominent Salmonella serovars isolated from broiler chickens. Recent work suggests…
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Climate and environmental data were used to estimate the risk of testing positive for antibodies to bluetongue (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses (EHDV) in cattle in Illinois and western Indiana over three transmission seasons (2000-2002). The risks of BTV and EHDV seropositivity were positively associated with temperature during every year of the study. The…
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Functional metagenomics was used to search for florfenicol resistance genes in libraries of cloned DNA isolated from Alaskan soil. A gene that mediated reduced susceptibility to florfenicol was identified and designated pexA. The predicted PexA protein showed a structure similar to that of efflux pumps of the major facilitator superfamily.
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The objective of the present study was to develop a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay using SYBR Green for quantification of Lawsonia intracellularis in cell culture and pig fecal samples. Specific primers were designed and tested using the aspartate ammonia-lyase (aspA) gene as a target. Serial 10-fold dilutions of cell culture samples and several…
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