All Research Projects

Source tracking and transmission risk of Campylobacter spp on mixed produce crop-livestock farms using rotational grazing

Mixed crop-livestock farms (i.e. bio-diversified farms) are farms where animals and crops are raised with the goal of utilizing the products of one for the growth of the other. Mixed produce growers in northern California have diversified their production system to include a rotation of livestock in order to manage plant biomass, add manure to the soil, and increase products produced on the farm.

Temporal and spatial phylogeny of H3N8Temporal and spatial phylogeny of H3N8 equine influenza virus in the USA (2006-2016) equine influenza virus in the USA (2006-2016)

Equine influenza virus (EIV) is a major and highly contagious respiratory virus responsible for outbreaks of equine influenza (EI) worldwide.  Nowadays, only EIV of the Clade I and Clade II Florida sub lineage are circulating amongst equids. While the virus continuously evolves and alters its morphology to escape the immune system of the host, it is very important to determine how the structure of the proteins responsible for he induction of a solid immunity change over times.

Risk assessment of Brucella abortus introduction into California and cost-effectiveness evaluation of the current brucellosis vaccination program

Brucellosis is a serious infectious disease of cattle, caused by Brucella abortus, which can cause devastating economic losses to cattle industry. California has been classified a free of bovine brucellosis since 1997 and, according to a report from the USDA-APHIS 2017, all the United States are now free of brucellosis in cattle. However, brucellosis is still endemic in free ranging elk and bison populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA), which includes parts of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of condemnation cases in cattle slaughter plants in California and other US states from 2004-2015

The meat and cattle industry is the largest segment of U.S. agriculture. In 2015 the US commercial slaughter 28.74 million head with the commercial carcass weight of 23.69 billion pounds (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association). Based on the data obtained from USDA in 2015, 141,450 carcasses were condemned in the US which is approximately 0.5% of the total cattle carcasses produced in the US.

Development of an early-warning system based on real-time risk assessment for the prevention and rapid control of Avian Influenza in California Poultry industry

The recent cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commertial Turkey flock in Stanislaus country (H5N8, Jan 2015) and a commertial poultry flock (broiler chickens and ducks) in Kings county (H5N8, Feb 2015) highlights the urgent need to develop and implement solutions to protect California poultry operations (PO) against avian influenza (AI) outbreaks.

Development of an early-warning system based on real-time risk assessment, producers self-assessment of biosecurity & educational tools for the prevention, early detection & rapid control of AI outbreaks in the US poultry industry

The goal of this interdisciplinary, multi-institution, research-extension project within the "Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE)" priority is to develop an innovative early-warning system for better prevention and control of Avian Influenza (AI) outbreaks in US poultry industry.