Publications

Rapid Expansion of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Clade 2.3.4.4b Genotype D1.1 Virus across Flyway Regions, North America, Fall 2024

Emerg Infect Dis. 2026 Jul 13;32(8). doi: 10.3201/eid3208.260205. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHighly pathogenic avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b virus continues to circulate in North America and has caused severe human disease. That clade includes genotype D1.1, which became dominant in birds in late 2024. Recent phylodynamic reconstructions place D1.1 emergence in mid-2024 but differ on its … Read more

ORAL AND GASTRIC PLAQUES, PAPILLOMAS, SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS AND PAPILLOMAVIRUSES IN SLENDER-HORNED GAZELLES (GAZELLA LEPTOCEROS )

J Zoo Wildl Med. 2026 Jun;57(2):393-405. doi: 10.1638/2024-0055. ABSTRACT The slender-horned gazelle (SHG, Gazella leptoceros) is a small, sand-colored antelope native to northern Africa. It is endangered due to poaching and habitat loss. Limited reports describe health or disease in wild or zoo populations. Mucosal plaques in the oral cavity (n = 2), papillomas in … Read more

Divergent poxvirus identified in a non-native black rat from Madagascar

Virology. 2026 Jun 30;623:111021. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2026.111021. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Non-native rodents serve as bridges between anthropogenic and natural landscapes. They have expanded across the planet alongside humans while bringing competition, predation, and pathogens, such as poxviruses, to naïve ecosystems. Although rodents serve as reservoirs for multiple zoonotic poxviruses, limited research has focused on … Read more

Angiostrongylus cantonensis Rat Lungworm Detected in Rats, Madagascar, 2022-2023

Emerg Infect Dis. 2026 Jul;32(7):1188-1192. doi: 10.3201/eid3207.260142. ABSTRACT Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lungworm, is a zoonotic parasite that causes eosinophilic meningitis in humans; the parasite is maintained in rat definitive hosts and transmitted through gastropod intermediate hosts. We report A. cantonensis prevalence and mitochondrial genome from oral swab specimens from rats in Madagascar, supporting swabs … Read more

Genetic diversity of Apis mellifera filamentous virus in bees sampled in the USA and Jamaica

Arch Virol. 2026 Mar 11;171(4):125. doi: 10.1007/s00705-026-06573-w. NO ABSTRACT PMID:41811537 | DOI:10.1007/s00705-026-06573-w

Complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of Eliurus webbi and Eliurus minor, endemic tufted-tailed rats in Madagascar

Mitochondrial DNA B Resour. 2026 Mar 23;11(4):561-566. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2026.2638673. eCollection 2026. ABSTRACT The Webb’s tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus webbi) and the lesser tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus minor) are nocturnal and primarily arboreal rodents native to Madagascar, classified in the subfamily Nesomyinae. After species confirmation using cytochrome b, we assembled the first complete mitogenomes of E. webbi (n … Read more

Campus-based genomic surveillance uncovers early emergence of a future dominant A(H3N2) influenza clade

iScience. 2025 Nov 4;28(12):113941. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113941. eCollection 2025 Dec 19. ABSTRACT We conducted genomic surveillance during the 2022-2023 northern hemisphere influenza season at a university in the southwestern US to assess how local diversity and evolution compared to national trends. We identified 100 positive samples (19%) from clinical swabs collected at a student health clinic … Read more

Early-life infection dynamics and genomic diversity of adenoviruses in a wild primate (Theropithecus gelada)

Microb Genom. 2025 Dec;11(12):001595. doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001595. ABSTRACT In humans, adenoviruses (AdVs) are frequently associated with respiratory illnesses, posing risks to children with developing immune systems and immunocompromised individuals. Outbreaks and epidemics are generally centred in close-contact settings, such as childcare facilities, and transmission occurs through faecal-oral and airborne pathways. AdVs have coevolved across the primate … Read more

Novel circoviruses identified in short-finned pilot whale and orca from the North Atlantic Ocean

Virology. 2026 Feb;615:110768. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2025.110768. Epub 2025 Dec 5. ABSTRACT The family Circoviridae comprises viruses with small single-stranded DNA genomes that are known to infect various animals, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality in some hosts. Circoviruses have been recently identified through metagenomic sequencing in diverse terrestrial vertebrate species, but their distribution and diversity in … Read more

Population ecology and biogeochemical implications of ssDNA and dsDNA viruses along a permafrost thaw gradient

Nat Commun. 2025 Dec 11;17(1):375. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-67057-0. ABSTRACT Anthropogenic-driven climate change is accelerating permafrost thaw, threatening to release vast carbon stores through increased microbial activity. While microbial roles are increasingly studied, the contributions of viruses remain largely unexplored, in part due to soil-associated technical challenges that have hindered their detection and characterization. Here, we applied … Read more

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