06/18/2026
California resident becomes just the fourth person in the world to become infected with tick-borne illness, officials say
The patient was likely infected in Northern California and diagnosed in April, according to state health officials
06/09/2026
Bellinger named senior advisor for NWS preparedness - Texas Farm Bureau
The Trump administration appointed John Bellinger as the new senior advisor for New World Screwworm Preparedness. In this role, Bellinger will integrate into USDA’s team to help further drive its robust effort to explore all available technologies to combat the New World screwworm. “John’s roo...
06/09/2026
New World screwworm confirmed in New Mexico dog as US case count rises to five | dvm360
Federal officials have confirmed additional New World screwworm detections in Texas and New Mexico, bringing the total to five cases in six days, including the first in a companion animal since the parasite’s return to the United States.
06/06/2026
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Confirmed Detections of New World Screwworm | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
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06/04/2026
USDA Confirms Presence of New World Screwworm in the United States | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
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06/01/2026
I am pleased to share a new publication from our group stemming from the doctoral dissertation research of Juned Ahmed, a graduate student in .
This work advances our understanding of the nutritional virulence of non-typhoidal and how metabolic cues shape pathogen behavior.
Our study shows that lactulose, commonly viewed as a prebiotic for improving commensal microbiota, can also be metabolized by Salmonella, triggering broad transcriptional reprogramming. Importantly, this metabolic shift suppresses key persistence-associated traits including motility, biofilm formation, and fimbrial expression that drive colonization and environmental survival.
These findings provide new mechanistic insight into how nutritional interventions can be used to reprogram pathogen physiology. This work strengthens our long-standing efforts to understand Salmonella nutritional scavenging and supports development of antinutritional strategies as alternatives to antibiotics, with important implications for and within a framework.
Proud of the collaboration Smriti Shringi Samuel Ajulo and Bradd Haley for this important contribution.
Lactulose-Induced Transcriptional Reprogramming and Repression of Persistence-Associated Phenotypes in Non-Typhoidal Salmonella enterica
Lactulose, a synthetic disaccharide widely used in human and veterinary medicine as a therapeutic and prebiotic, is generally assumed to be metabolized exclusively by commensal microbiota. We recently showed that non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) can also metabolize lactulose, but the genetic basis and...
05/15/2026
Heartiest congratulations Dr. Juned Ahmed, Ph.D. in One Health Sciences. It was pleasure to assist you in your professional journey towards becoming the next generation of scientist. The scientific world awaits your next endeavor. All the very best!
04/09/2026
Here is the latest research on treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD) resulting from continued strong collaborations with Dr. Margaret Wild and colleagues at WSU CVM on elk hoof disease research.
This research led by Holly Drankhan, DVM-PhD-pathology resident at WSU, advances our previous research by establishing a reproducible experimental infection model-an important step toward understanding disease pathogenesis and transmission.
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An experimental infection model for rapid reproduction of treponeme-associated hoof disease in captive elk (Cervus canadensis) | Microbiology Spectrum
Our study details a new approach for consistent and rapid induction of treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD) lesions in captive elk. TAHD is an emerging polybacterial disease of conservation concern that causes chronic lameness and debilitation in free-ranging elk across the northwestern USA. We....