B. Borremans

Antibodies against medically relevant arthropod-borne viruses in the ubiquitous African rodent Mastomys natalensis

This study detects antibodies against 15 arboviruses in Mastomys natalensis, revealing seroprevalence and potential role in arbovirus transmission.

Navigating cross-reactivity and host species effects in a serological assay: A case study of the microscopic agglutination test for Leptospira serology

This paper examines cross-reactivity and host species effects in serological data using MAT for Leptospira, showing that antibody titers vary by host and lab, and that high titers do not reliably indicate the infecting serovar.

Reconstructing prevalence dynamics of wildlife pathogens from pooled and individual samples

This paper introduces a Bayesian multilevel model to estimate prevalence dynamics from pooled and individual wildlife samples, accounting for dilution effects and false negatives.

Periodic shifts in viral load increase risk of spillover from bats

The paper shows that periodic increases in viral load during high prevalence periods in bats correlate with spillover events, suggesting viral load is a better predictor of transmission risk than prevalence alone.

The Symptomatology and Diagnosis of Domoic Acid Toxicosis in Stranded California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus): A Review and Evaluation of 20 Years of Cases to Guide Prognosis

This paper reviews 20 years of DA-intoxicated California sea lion cases to develop a scoring system predicting release fitness.

Pathogenic Leptospira are widespread in the urban wildlife of southern California

The paper assesses Leptospira prevalence and risk factors in urban wildlife in southern California, finding widespread exposure in multiple species.

Inferring time of infection from field data using dynamic models of antibody decay

The paper develops a Bayesian dynamic model to estimate infection times from antibody decay data, improving accuracy in wildlife disease ecology.

No evidence for avoidance of black rat scent by the presumably less competitive Natal multimammate mouse in a choice experiment

A choice experiment found that Natal multimammate mice do not avoid black rat scent, suggesting scent-based avoidance is not the mechanism for their absence from areas with black rats.