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Publications

Below is a sampling of Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment publications.

Filter Total Items: 16

Avian influenza virus RNA in groundwater wells supplying poultry farms affected by the 2015 influenza outbreak

During the 2015 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) on poultry farms in the midwestern United States, concern was raised about the potential for HPAI to contaminate groundwater. Our study objective was to evaluate the occurrence of HPAI in the groundwater supply wells on 13 outbreak-affected poultry farms in Iowa and Wisconsin. We sampled 20 wells, six waste-storage lagoons,
Authors
Mark A. Borchardt, Susan K. Spencer, Laura E. Hubbard, Aaron Firnstahl, Joel P. Stokdyk, Dana W. Kolpin

U.S. Geological Survey science strategy for highly pathogenic avian influenza in wildlife and the environment (2016–2020)

IntroductionThrough the Science Strategy for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Wildlife and the Environment, the USGS will assess avian influenza (AI) dynamics in an ecological context to inform decisions made by resource managers and policymakers from the local to national level. Through collection of unbiased scientific information on the ecology of AI viruses and wildlife hosts in a c
Authors
M. Camille Harris, John M. Pearce, Diann J. Prosser, C. LeAnn White, A. Keith Miles, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Christopher J. Brand, James P. Cronin, Susan De La Cruz, Christine L. Densmore, Thomas W. Doyle, Robert J. Dusek, Joseph P. Fleskes, Paul L. Flint, Gerald F. Guala, Jeffrey S. Hall, Laura E. Hubbard, Randall J. Hunt, Hon S. Ip, Rachel A. Katz, Kevin W. Laurent, Mark P. Miller, Mark D. Munn, Andrew M. Ramey, Kevin D. Richards, Robin E. Russell, Joel P. Stokdyk, John Y. Takekawa, Daniel P. Walsh

Determining the 95% limit of detection for waterborne pathogen analyses from primary concentration to qPCR

The limit of detection (LOD) for qPCR-based analyses is not consistently defined or determined in studies on waterborne pathogens. Moreover, the LODs reported often reflect the qPCR assay alone rather than the entire sample process. Our objective was to develop an approach to determine the 95% LOD (lowest concentration at which 95% of positive samples are detected) for the entire process of waterb
Authors
Joel P. Stokdyk, Aaron Firnstahl, Susan K. Spencer, Tucker R Burch, Mark A. Borchardt

Norovirus outbreak caused by a new septic system in a dolomite aquifer

Septic systems that are built in compliance with regulations are generally not expected to be the cause of groundwater borne disease outbreaks, especially in areas with thick vadose zones. However, this case study demonstrates that a disease outbreak can occur in such a setting and outlines the combination of epidemiological, microbiological, and hydrogeological methods used to confirm the source
Authors
M. A. Borchardt, K. R. Bradbury, E.C. Alexander, R.J. Kolberg, S.C. Alexander, John R. Archer, L.A. Braatz, B.M. Forest, J.A. Green, S. K. Spencer