Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jul 2, 2018
From the American West to the steppes of Eurasia, the domestic horse transformed human societies,... more From the American West to the steppes of Eurasia, the domestic horse transformed human societies, providing rapid transport, communication, and military power, and serving as an important subsistence animal. Because of the importance of oral equipment for horse riding, dentistry is an essential component of modern horse care. In the open grasslands of northeast Asia, horses remain the primary form of transport for many herders. Although free-range grazing on gritty forage mitigates many equine dental issues, contemporary Mongolian horsemen nonetheless practice some forms of dentistry, including the removal of problematic deciduous teeth and the vestigial first premolar ("wolf tooth"). Here, we present archaezoological data from equine skeletal remains spanning the past 3,200 y, indicating that nomadic dental practices have great antiquity. Anthropogenic modifications to malerupted deciduous central incisors in young horses from the Late Bronze Age demonstrate their attempt...
It is estimated that less than 20% of domestic dogs on tribal lands in the United States are vacc... more It is estimated that less than 20% of domestic dogs on tribal lands in the United States are vaccinated against rabies. One potential method to increase vaccination rates may be the distribution of oral rabies vaccines (ORV). ONRAB® is the primary ORV bait used in Canada to vaccinate striped skunks and raccoons. Research has suggested the most common non-target animals that may ingest these baits are feral domestic dogs. To further investigate the potential use of ONRAB® ORV baits to vaccinate feral domestic dogs against rabies on tribal lands, we performed a flavor preference study to increase ORV acceptance. Seven bait flavors (bacon, cheese, dog food, hazelnut, marshmallow, peanut butter and sardine) were offered in pairs to 13 domestic dogs. Each dog was offered all possible combinations of bait pairs over a period of ten days, with each bait offered six times. The proportion of times each bait was consumed first by individual dogs was calculated and comparisons among dogs were ...
Domestic dogs are the leading vector for rabies throughout the world. On United States Indian Res... more Domestic dogs are the leading vector for rabies throughout the world. On United States Indian Reservations rabies vaccinations for dogs may be as low as 5 to 20%. At the aforementioned rates, it would be nearly impossible to break the rabies cycle through vaccination of dogs. The US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were invited by the Navajo and Hopi Nations to determine the acceptance of commercially available rabies baits by tribal dogs. During 2003 and 2004, we have offered Artemis Ontario Slims, Merial raccoon baits, Merial gray fox baits and Merial fish meal coated sachets. Baits were hand tossed to each individual animal. We recorded whether the animal ignored the bait, swallowed the bait whole, chewed and discarded the bait without puncturing the placebo packet, chewed and punctured the placebo packet and discarded the bait, and chewed and punctured the placebo packet an...
Canadian journal of veterinary research = Revue canadienne de recherche vétérinaire, 2010
Canine distemper virus (CDV)-specific immune response was measured in different dog populations. ... more Canine distemper virus (CDV)-specific immune response was measured in different dog populations. Three groups of vaccinated or wild-type virus exposed dogs were tested: dogs with a known vaccination history, dogs without a known vaccination history (shelter dogs), and dogs with potential exposure to wild-type CDV. The use of a T-cell proliferation assay demonstrated a detectable CDV-specific T-cell response from both spleen and blood lymphocytes of dogs. Qualitatively, antibody assays [enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and neutralization assay] predicted the presence of a T-cell response well, although quantitatively neither antibody assays nor the T-cell assay correlated well with each other. An interesting finding from our study was that half of the dogs in shelters were not vaccinated (potentially posing a public veterinary health problem) and that antibody levels in dogs living in an environment with endemic CDV were lower than in vaccinated animals.
Bartonella melophagi sp. nov. was isolated from domestic sheep blood and from sheep keds (Melopha... more Bartonella melophagi sp. nov. was isolated from domestic sheep blood and from sheep keds (Melophagus ovinus) from the southwestern United States. The sequence analyses of the reference strain performed by six molecular markers consistently demonstrated that B. melophagi relates to but differ from other Bartonella species isolated from domestic and wild ruminants. Presence of 183 genes specific for B. melophagi, being absent in genomes of other Bartonella species associated with ruminants also supports the separation of this bacterial species from species of other ruminants. Bartonella DNA was detected in all investigated sheep keds; however, culturing of these bacteria from sheep blood rejects a speculation that B. melophagi is an obligatory endosymbiont. Instead, the results support the hypothesis that the domestic sheep is a natural host reservoir for B. melophagi and the sheep ked its main vector. This bacterium was not isolated from the blood of bighorn sheep and domestic goats belonging to the same subfamily Caprinae. B. melophagi has also been shown to be zoonotic and needs to be investigated further.
Towards the Elimination of Rabies in Eurasia, 2008
In many areas of the world, only 30 to 50% of dogs are vaccinated against rabies. On some US Indi... more In many areas of the world, only 30 to 50% of dogs are vaccinated against rabies. On some US Indian Reservations, vaccination rates may be as low as 5 to 20%. In 2003 and 2004,we evaluated the effectiveness of commercially available baits to deliver oral rabies vaccine to feral and free-ranging dogs on the Navajo and Hopi Nations. Dogs were offered one of the following baits containing a plastic packet filledwith placebo vaccine: vegetable shortening-based Ontario slimbaits (Artemis Technologies, Inc.), fish-meal-crumble coated sachets (Merial, Ltd.), dog food polymer baits (Bait-Tek, Inc.), or fish meal polymer baits (Bait-Tek, Inc.). One bait was offered to each animal and its behaviour toward the bait was recorded. Behaviours included: bait ignored, bait swallowed whole, bait chewed and discarded (sachet intact), bait chewed and discarded (sachet punctured), or bait chewed and consumed (sachet punctured). Bait acceptance ranged from 30.7%to 77.8%with the fish-meal-crumble coated sachets having the
highest acceptance rate of the tested baits.
Mass parenteral vaccination remains the cornerstone of dog rabies control. Oral rabies vaccinatio... more Mass parenteral vaccination remains the cornerstone of dog rabies control. Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) could increase vaccination coverage where free-roaming dogs represent a sizeable segment of the population at risk. ORV's success is dependent on the acceptance of baits that release an efficacious vaccine into the oral cavity. A new egg-flavored bait was tested alongside boiled bovine intestine and a commercially available fishmeal bait using a handout model
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jul 2, 2018
From the American West to the steppes of Eurasia, the domestic horse transformed human societies,... more From the American West to the steppes of Eurasia, the domestic horse transformed human societies, providing rapid transport, communication, and military power, and serving as an important subsistence animal. Because of the importance of oral equipment for horse riding, dentistry is an essential component of modern horse care. In the open grasslands of northeast Asia, horses remain the primary form of transport for many herders. Although free-range grazing on gritty forage mitigates many equine dental issues, contemporary Mongolian horsemen nonetheless practice some forms of dentistry, including the removal of problematic deciduous teeth and the vestigial first premolar ("wolf tooth"). Here, we present archaezoological data from equine skeletal remains spanning the past 3,200 y, indicating that nomadic dental practices have great antiquity. Anthropogenic modifications to malerupted deciduous central incisors in young horses from the Late Bronze Age demonstrate their attempt...
It is estimated that less than 20% of domestic dogs on tribal lands in the United States are vacc... more It is estimated that less than 20% of domestic dogs on tribal lands in the United States are vaccinated against rabies. One potential method to increase vaccination rates may be the distribution of oral rabies vaccines (ORV). ONRAB® is the primary ORV bait used in Canada to vaccinate striped skunks and raccoons. Research has suggested the most common non-target animals that may ingest these baits are feral domestic dogs. To further investigate the potential use of ONRAB® ORV baits to vaccinate feral domestic dogs against rabies on tribal lands, we performed a flavor preference study to increase ORV acceptance. Seven bait flavors (bacon, cheese, dog food, hazelnut, marshmallow, peanut butter and sardine) were offered in pairs to 13 domestic dogs. Each dog was offered all possible combinations of bait pairs over a period of ten days, with each bait offered six times. The proportion of times each bait was consumed first by individual dogs was calculated and comparisons among dogs were ...
Domestic dogs are the leading vector for rabies throughout the world. On United States Indian Res... more Domestic dogs are the leading vector for rabies throughout the world. On United States Indian Reservations rabies vaccinations for dogs may be as low as 5 to 20%. At the aforementioned rates, it would be nearly impossible to break the rabies cycle through vaccination of dogs. The US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were invited by the Navajo and Hopi Nations to determine the acceptance of commercially available rabies baits by tribal dogs. During 2003 and 2004, we have offered Artemis Ontario Slims, Merial raccoon baits, Merial gray fox baits and Merial fish meal coated sachets. Baits were hand tossed to each individual animal. We recorded whether the animal ignored the bait, swallowed the bait whole, chewed and discarded the bait without puncturing the placebo packet, chewed and punctured the placebo packet and discarded the bait, and chewed and punctured the placebo packet an...
Canadian journal of veterinary research = Revue canadienne de recherche vétérinaire, 2010
Canine distemper virus (CDV)-specific immune response was measured in different dog populations. ... more Canine distemper virus (CDV)-specific immune response was measured in different dog populations. Three groups of vaccinated or wild-type virus exposed dogs were tested: dogs with a known vaccination history, dogs without a known vaccination history (shelter dogs), and dogs with potential exposure to wild-type CDV. The use of a T-cell proliferation assay demonstrated a detectable CDV-specific T-cell response from both spleen and blood lymphocytes of dogs. Qualitatively, antibody assays [enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and neutralization assay] predicted the presence of a T-cell response well, although quantitatively neither antibody assays nor the T-cell assay correlated well with each other. An interesting finding from our study was that half of the dogs in shelters were not vaccinated (potentially posing a public veterinary health problem) and that antibody levels in dogs living in an environment with endemic CDV were lower than in vaccinated animals.
Bartonella melophagi sp. nov. was isolated from domestic sheep blood and from sheep keds (Melopha... more Bartonella melophagi sp. nov. was isolated from domestic sheep blood and from sheep keds (Melophagus ovinus) from the southwestern United States. The sequence analyses of the reference strain performed by six molecular markers consistently demonstrated that B. melophagi relates to but differ from other Bartonella species isolated from domestic and wild ruminants. Presence of 183 genes specific for B. melophagi, being absent in genomes of other Bartonella species associated with ruminants also supports the separation of this bacterial species from species of other ruminants. Bartonella DNA was detected in all investigated sheep keds; however, culturing of these bacteria from sheep blood rejects a speculation that B. melophagi is an obligatory endosymbiont. Instead, the results support the hypothesis that the domestic sheep is a natural host reservoir for B. melophagi and the sheep ked its main vector. This bacterium was not isolated from the blood of bighorn sheep and domestic goats belonging to the same subfamily Caprinae. B. melophagi has also been shown to be zoonotic and needs to be investigated further.
Towards the Elimination of Rabies in Eurasia, 2008
In many areas of the world, only 30 to 50% of dogs are vaccinated against rabies. On some US Indi... more In many areas of the world, only 30 to 50% of dogs are vaccinated against rabies. On some US Indian Reservations, vaccination rates may be as low as 5 to 20%. In 2003 and 2004,we evaluated the effectiveness of commercially available baits to deliver oral rabies vaccine to feral and free-ranging dogs on the Navajo and Hopi Nations. Dogs were offered one of the following baits containing a plastic packet filledwith placebo vaccine: vegetable shortening-based Ontario slimbaits (Artemis Technologies, Inc.), fish-meal-crumble coated sachets (Merial, Ltd.), dog food polymer baits (Bait-Tek, Inc.), or fish meal polymer baits (Bait-Tek, Inc.). One bait was offered to each animal and its behaviour toward the bait was recorded. Behaviours included: bait ignored, bait swallowed whole, bait chewed and discarded (sachet intact), bait chewed and discarded (sachet punctured), or bait chewed and consumed (sachet punctured). Bait acceptance ranged from 30.7%to 77.8%with the fish-meal-crumble coated sachets having the
highest acceptance rate of the tested baits.
Mass parenteral vaccination remains the cornerstone of dog rabies control. Oral rabies vaccinatio... more Mass parenteral vaccination remains the cornerstone of dog rabies control. Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) could increase vaccination coverage where free-roaming dogs represent a sizeable segment of the population at risk. ORV's success is dependent on the acceptance of baits that release an efficacious vaccine into the oral cavity. A new egg-flavored bait was tested alongside boiled bovine intestine and a commercially available fishmeal bait using a handout model
Uploads
Papers by Scott Bender
highest acceptance rate of the tested baits.
highest acceptance rate of the tested baits.