Tonie Rocke
Science and Products
Vaccines
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) works on developing various disease management tools, including the development of vaccines. Our current work focuses on vaccines for sylvatic plague, white-nose syndrome, and rabies as disease control strategies.
Sylvatic Plague
Sylvatic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is a bacterial disease transmitted by fleas that afflicts many mammalian species, including humans.
White-Nose Syndrome
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent disease of hibernating bats that has spread from the northeastern to the central United States at an alarming rate. Since the winter of 2007-2008, millions of insect-eating bats in 33 states and seven Canadian provinces (as of August 2018)...
Vector-Borne Diseases
Vector-borne diseases are transmitted from one animal to another by vectors, including insects, such as mosquitoes or fleas, and arachnids, such as ticks. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center investigates wildlife diseases, including vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus and sylvatic plague.
Rabies outbreak in captive big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) used in white-nose syndrome vaccine trial
An outbreak of rabies occurred in a captive colony of wild-caught big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Five of 27 bats exhibited signs of rabies virus infection 22–51 d after capture or 18–22 d after contact with the index case. Rabid bats showed weight loss, aggression, increased vocalization, hypersalivation, and refusal of food. Antigenic typing...
Abbott, Rachel C.; Saindon, L.G.; Falendysz, Elizabeth; Greenberg, Lauren; Orciari, L.A.; Satheshkumar, Panayampalli Subbian; Rocke, Tonie E. Differential plague susceptibility in species and populations of prairie dogs
Laboratory trials conducted over the past decade at USGS National Wildlife Health Center indicate that wild populations of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) display different degrees of susceptibility to challenge with fully virulent Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. We evaluated patterns in prairie dog susceptibility to plague to...
Russell, Robin E.; Tripp, Daniel W.; Rocke, Tonie E. Plague positive mouse fleas on mice prior to plague outbreaks in black-tailed and white-tailed prairie dogs
Plague is a lethal zoonotic disease associated with rodents worldwide. In the western United States, plague outbreaks can decimate prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies. However, it is unclear where the causative agent, Yersinia pestis, of this flea-borne disease is maintained between outbreaks, and what triggers plague-induced prairie dog die-offs...
Bron, Gebbiena M.; Malave, Carly; Boulerice, Jesse T.; Osorio, Jorge E.; Rocke, Tonie E. Virally-vectored vaccine candidates against white-nose syndrome induce anti-fungal immune response in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has killed millions of North American hibernating bats. Currently, methods to prevent the disease are limited. We conducted two trials to assess potential WNS vaccine candidates in wild-caught Myotis lucifugus. In a pilot study, we immunized bats with...
Rocke, Tonie E.; Kingstad-Bakke, Brock; Wuthrich, Marcel; Stading, Ben; Abbott, Rachel C.; Isidoro Ayza, Marcos; Dobson, Hannah E.; dos Santos Dias, Lucas; Galles, Kevin; Lankton, Julia S.; Falendysz, Elizabeth; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Fites, J. Scott; Lopera-Madrid, Jaime; Klein, Bruce; Osorio, Jorge E.; White, J. Paul USGS-NWHC Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report - January 2019
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) Quarterly Mortality Report provides brief summaries of epizootic mortality and morbidity events by quarter. The write-ups, highlighting epizootic events and other wildlife disease topics of interest, are published in the Wildlife Disease Association quarterly newsletter. A link is provided in this...
Richards, Bryan J.; Bodenstein, Barbara; Dusek, Robert J.; Rocke, Tonie E.; Richgels, Katherine L. D. Impact of sylvatic plague vaccine on non-target small rodents in grassland ecosystems
Oral vaccination is an emerging management strategy to reduce the prevalence of high impact infectious diseases within wild animal populations. Plague is a flea-borne zoonosis of rodents that often decimates prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies in the western USA. Recently, an oral sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) was developed to protect prairie...
Bron, Gebbiena M.; Richgels, Katherine L. D.; Samuel. Michael D.; Poje, Julia E.; Lorenzsonn, Faye; Matteson, Jonathan P.; Boulerice, Jesse T.; Osorio, Jorge E.; Rocke, Tonie E. Local factors associated with on‐host flea distributions on prairie dog colonies
Outbreaks of plague, a flea‐vectored bacterial disease, occur periodically in prairie dog populations in the western United States. In order to understand the conditions that are conducive to plague outbreaks and potentially predict spatial and temporal variations in risk, it is important to understand the factors associated with flea abundance...
Russell, Robin E.; Abbott, Rachel C.; Tripp, Daniel W.; Rocke, Tonie E. Factors influencing uptake of sylvatic plague vaccine baits by prairie dogs
Sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) is a virally vectored bait-delivered vaccine expressing Yersinia pestis antigens that can protect prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) from plague and has potential utility as a management tool. In a large-scale 3-year field trial, SPV-laden baits containing the biomarker rhodamine B (used to determine bait consumption) were...
Abbott, Rachel C.; Russell, Robin E.; Richgels, Katherine; Tripp, Daniel W.; Matchett, Marc R.; Biggins, Dean E.; Rocke, Tonie E. Assessing monkeypox virus prevalence in small mammals at the human-animal interface in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
During 2012, 2013 and 2015, we collected small mammals within 25 km of the town of Boende in Tshuapa Province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The prevalence of monkeypox virus (MPXV) in this area is unknown; however, cases of human infection were previously confirmed near these collection sites. Samples were collected from 353 mammals (...
Doty, Jeffrey B.; Malekani, Jean M.; Kalemba, Lem's N.; Stanley, William T.; Monroe, Benjamin P.; Nakazawa, Yoshinori J.; Mauldin, Matthew R.; Bakambana, Trésor L.; Liyandja Dja Liyandja , Tobit; Braden, Zachary; Wallace, Ryan; Malekani, Divin V.; McCollum, Andrea M.; Gallardo-Romero, Nadia; Kondas, Ashley; Peterson, A. Townsend; Osorio, Jorge E.; Rocke, Tonie E.; Karem, Kevin L.; Emerson, Ginny L.; Carroll, Darin S. Protection of bats (Eptesicus fuscus) against rabies following topical or oronasal exposure to a recombinant raccoon poxvirus vaccine
Rabies is an ancient neglected tropical disease that causes tens of thousands of human deaths and millions of cattle deaths annually. In order to develop a new vaccine for potential use in bats, a reservoir of rabies infection for humans and animals alike, an in silico antigen designer tool was used to create a mosaic glycoprotein (MoG)...
Stading, Ben; Ellison, James A.; Carson, William C.; Satheshkumar, Panayampalli Subbian; Rocke, Tonie E.; Osorio, Jorge E. Burrow dusting or oral vaccination prevents plague-associated prairie dog colony collapse
Plague impacts prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), the endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) and other sensitive wildlife species. We compared efficacy of prophylactic treatments (burrow dusting with deltamethrin or oral vaccination with recombinant “sylvatic plague vaccine” [RCN-F1/V307]) to placebo treatment in black-tailed prairie dog...
Tripp, Daniel W.; Rocke, Tonie E.; Runge, Jonathan P.; Abbott, Rachel C.; Miller, Michael W. Characterization of Monkeypox virus infection in African rope squirrels (Funisciurus sp.)
Monkeypox (MPX) is a zoonotic disease endemic in Central and West Africa and is caused by Monkeypox virus (MPXV), the most virulent Orthopoxvirus affecting humans since the eradication of Variola virus (VARV). Many aspects of the MPXV transmission cycle, including the natural host of the virus, remain unknown. African...
Falendysz, Elizabeth; Lopera, Juan G.; Doty, Jeffrey B.; Nakazawa, Yoshinori J.; Crill, Colleen; Lorenzsonn, Faye; Kalemba, Lem's N.; Ronderos, Monica; Meija, Andres; Malekani, Jean M.; Karem, Kevin L.; Caroll, Darrin; Osorio, Jorge E.; Rocke, Tonie E.
White-nose syndrome surveillance and research updates
Updates on white-nose syndrome surveillance and research from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Fall 2019.
Vaccination May Help Protect Bats from Deadly Disease
A new study shows that vaccination may reduce the impact of white-nose syndrome in bats, marking a milestone in the international fight against one of the most destructive wildlife diseases in modern times.
Taking the Bait: Majority of Prairie Dogs Are Consuming Plague Vaccine
About 70 percent of wild prairie dogs successfully ingested baits containing an oral sylvatic plague vaccine, or SPV, that were distributed throughout their habitats, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.
Oral Plague Vaccine Helps Reduce Outbreaks in Prairie Dog Colonies
Prairie dogs in the wild are less likely to succumb to plague after they ingest peanut-butter-flavored bait that contains a vaccine against the disease, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study published today in the journal EcoHealth.