Citation: Starčič Erjavec M, Predojević L and Žgur-Bertok D (2017) Commentary: Comparative Analysis of Phylogenetic Assignment of Human and Avian ExPEC and Fecal Commensal Escherichia coli Using the (Previous and Revised) Clermont Phylogenetic Typing Methods and its Impact on Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) Classification. Front. Microbiol. 8:1904. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01904 Comment...

Growing concerns about avian influenza, and its effect on agriculture and human health, have highlighted the need to understand the role of wildlife in maintaining and spreading the virus. We surveyed the wildlife inhabiting a poultry farm with recent H3N6 and H4N6 avian influenza virus exposure in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. One raccoon (Procyon lotor) tested positive for H4N6 antibodies. This is the...

Due to the increased frequency of interspecies transmission of avian influenza viruses, studies designed to identify the molecular determinants that could lead to an expansion of the host range have been increased. A variety of mouse-based mammalian-adaptation studies of avian influenza viruses have provided insight into the genetic alterations of various avian influenza subtypes that may contr...

Biogeographic patterns of parasite diversity are useful for determining how host-parasite interactions can influence speciation. However, variation in methodologies and sampling effort can skew diversity estimates. Avian haemosporidians are vector-transmitted blood parasites represented by over 1300 unique genetic lineages spread across over 40 countries. We used a global database of lineage di...

Avian influenza A, a highly pathogenic avian influenza, is a lethal infection in certain species of wild birds, including some endangered species. Raptors are susceptible to avian influenza, and spatial risk assessment of such species may be valuable for conservation planning. We used the maximum entropy approach to generate potential distribution models of three raptor species from presence-on...