Hon Ip (Former Employee)

Nobuto filter paper strips are widely used for storing blood-serum samples, but the recovery of proteins from these strips following rehydration is unknown. Poor recovery of proteins could reduce the concentration of antibodies and antigens and reduce the sensitivity of diagnostic assays. We compared the protein concentration, and its association with test sensitivity, of eluted Nobuto...

Eurasian (EA)-origin H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4 avian influenza viruses were first detected in North America during December 2014. Subsequent reassortment with North American (AM) low-pathogenic wild-bird-origin avian influenza has generated at least two reassortants, including an EA/AM H5N1 from an apparently healthy wild green-winged teal, suggesting continued ongoing reassortment.

Novel Eurasian lineage avian influenza A(H5N8) virus has spread rapidly and globally since January 2014. In December 2014, H5N8 and reassortant H5N2 viruses were detected in wild birds in Washington, USA, and subsequently in backyard birds. When they infect commercial poultry, these highly pathogenic viruses pose substantial trade issues.

Since 1998, cyclic mortality events in common eiders (Somateria mollissima), numbering in the hundreds to thousands of dead birds, have been documented along the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Although longitudinal disease investigations have uncovered potential contributing factors responsible for these outbreaks, detecting a primary etiological agent has proven enigmatic. Here...

Morbidity and mortality events caused by avian paramyxovirus-1 (APMV-1) in Double-crested Cormorant (DCCO; Phalacrocorax auritus) nesting colonies in the US and Canada have been sporadically documented in the literature. We describe APMV-1 associated outbreaks in DCCO in the US from the first reported occurrence in 1992 through 2012. The frequency of APMV-1 outbreaks has increased in the...

The infection status of harbor seals Phoca vitulina in central California, USA, was evaluated through broad surveillance for pathogens in stranded and wild-caught animals from 2001 to 2008, with most samples collected in 2007 and 2008. Stranded animals from Mendocino County to San Luis Obispo County were sampled at a rehabilitation facility: The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC, n = 175); wild...