Her article, "Reversal of the Progression of Fatal Coronavirus Infection in Cats by a Broad-Spectrum Coronavirus Protease Inhibitor," has just been published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

"FIP is caused by coronavirus infection," Dr. Kim said. "Coronavirus infections are very common among cats. However, in most cases, these viral infections cause mild and self-limited enteritis or no symptoms. But some cats will develop a fatal disease which is FIP."

Dr. Kim said FIP is usually found in young cats that are less than 2 or 3 years old.

"FIP arises from certain viral mutation that occur in the infected cats and failure of host immune system to contain such mutated viruses," Dr. Kim said, adding that the pathogenesis of FIP is primarily immune-mediated; it is the host immune response to virus infection that causes disease in the affected cats.

"FIP occurs in two major forms: effusive, or wet form, or non-effusive, dry form," Dr. Kim said. "The wet form is more common and is characterized by an accumulation of fluids in the abdominal area or chest cavity. Symptoms may include antibiotics unresponsive fever, jaundice, bodily effusions and weight loss. Once typical clinical symptoms develop, they progress rapidly resulting in death or euthanasia in weeks to months."

Since FIP disease progression is rapid and the pathogenesis of FIP is primarily immune-mediated, it has been unknown whether antiviral drug treatment alone can be effective at reversing disease progression in an infected cat. The results of the study showed that inhibiting viral replication is the key to the treatment of FIP.

"This is the first time we showed experimental evidence of successful treatment of laboratory cats at an advanced clinical stage of FIP," Dr. Kim said.

Since FIP is a deadly disease, there have been many efforts to develop effective treatments for it, but none has been successful.

"The knowledge gained from this study is a step forward to understanding the pathogenesis of FIP and other coronavirus infections important in humans and animals," Dr. Kim said. "Also, since it is the first report on the effective antiviral drug for coronavirus infection in a natural host, it has implications for developing effective treatment measures for other coronavirus infections, including human coronaviruses."

One of coronavirus infections that shares similar characteristics with FIP is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, virus. MERS is an emerging coronavirus infections in humans, which was first identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, and there is no available effective treatment for coronavirus infection in human or animals.

"Our antiviral compounds are also effective against other coronaviruses in cell culture, including MERS coronavirus, and we are currently working on further optimizing them for other coronaviruses," Dr. Kim said.

Dr. Kim has been working with a multidisciplinary team to develop protease inhibitors for FIP. Dr. Niels Pedersen, University of California, Davis, tested the efficacy of the antiviral compound on a small group of infected cats. He and Dr. Kim have been working together since 2013. Dr. William Groutas, Wichita State University, and Dr. Duy Hua, Kansas State University, both medicinal chemists, and Dr. Kyeong-Ok Chang, Kansas State University, a virologist, have been working together since 2010 to develop antiviral compounds for various viruses.

"The next step will be to find out how effective this antiviral treatment is for cats with naturally acquired FIP showing various clinical symptoms" Dr. Kim said. "We received funding from Morris Animal Foundation to conduct a clinical trial on cats with naturally acquired FIP and viral resistance study."

Bovine anaplasmosis affects beef and dairy production in almost all the US states, causing significant economic losses to producers. The control of this disease currently relies primarily on infection-avoidance, although an experimental vaccine is used in many areas of the US. The causative bacterium Anaplasma marginale resides in red blood cells causing a hemolytic disease in cattle, which manifests as anemia, abortion, icterus, lethargy, and can cause death, primarily in older animals. Cattle that survive infection are persistent carriers of the bacteria and are a source of infection for other cattle through inadvertent mechanical transmission via blood-contaminated, multi-use needles and surgical equipment, as well as via tick and fly transmission.

“The number of positive anaplasmosis samples submitted to the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have increased over the years, and the geographical area from where these samples originated has expanded,” said Dr. Gregg Hanzlicek, director of Production Animal Field Disease Investigations for the diagnostic laboratory. “These changes over time may have occurred because veterinarians have become more aware of the disease, but this study suggests environmental conditions and management practices may have also played a role.

Dr. Ram Raghavan, a spatial epidemiologist at the diagnostic laboratory worked closely with Dr. Hanzlicek in evaluating the space-time patterns of this disease. He said, “Some of the increase in the expansion of tick-borne diseases in the Midwestern region may be attributed to geographic expansion of tick populations over time. Other evidence suggests a growing potential threat for bovine anaplasmosis in newer areas, but a quantitative evaluation of whether or not bovine anaplasmosis has spread to previously unreported areas over time is not readily available. Likewise, information on any potential environmental and climatological drivers behind the space-time expansion of bovine anaplasmosis cannot be easily found, which has disease management implications.”

The article noted that Bayesian space-time disease mapping models are particularly appropriate tools to describe disease patterns and to identify unusual clusters of incidence in space and time-trends or both. “Such models help detect any localized clusters that may be linked in time, for instance due to a set of favorable environmental drivers or cattle movement,” Dr. Hanzlicek said. “Another way to strengthen inference from Bayesian space-time models is by including relevant ecological factors that often explain additional variability in disease prevalence. This is particularly relevant in the case of tick-borne diseases since the spatial distribution of ticks are largely determined by physical environmental and climatological conditions.

“The presence of higher space-time interaction for bovine anaplasmosis infection within a cluster of central and south central counties in Kansas indicates the possible influence of similar risk factors, and are potential areas for targeting prevention/management efforts.”

For Dr. Raghavan, who studies climate-change impacts on vector-borne diseases, the study has produced some exciting new information as well. He said, “Three climate change indices, minimum land surface temperature, diurnal temperature range and relative humidity are drivers of the space-time pattern for bovine anaplasmosis. This finding is significant in the context of climate-change implications on infectious diseases and add to the mounting evidence of climate change linkages to animal health.

The researchers noted two immediate questions they were led to ask based on this finding: How might the associations of these climate factors be further quantified under field and laboratory conditions for the tick host and the pathogen? And, how might these factors influence further geographic expansion of this disease under different climate-change scenarios?

The project will explore the pharmacokinetics of one commonly administered antibiotic drug (enrofloxacin) and one pain/anti-inflammatory drug (meloxicam) in the prairie dogs.

“This is also an excellent opportunity for mentorship and education starting with Dr. KuKanich mentoring me as a junior faculty member, while we will also be working with an intern and veterinary students on the project,” Dr. Eshar said.

Dr. Eshar and Dr. KuKanich explained that despite the fact that prairie dogs are used in research, kept as pets and at zoological collections, limited data are available regarding their medicine and appropriate treatment protocols.

“There is really no research at all in this area,” Dr. KuKanich said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to break new ground in understanding prairie dogs.”
K-State will recognize Dr. Eshar and two other fellowship recipients during the All-University Awards Ceremony May 2, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at K-State Alumni Association Ballroom.

“We weren’t sure that our proposal would be accepted since this is a very competitive award process,” Dr. Eshar said. “We are up against faculty researchers from all across campus. We appreciate the university’s support. This project will allow us to enhance the knowledge and promote the medicine of this animal species.”

The fly-in introduced participants to the legislative process and briefed them on current federal legislation that impacts the veterinary profession. The AVMA’s governmental relations team spent the first day of the workshop educating participants on high-priority legislation before setting them loose on Capitol Hill to meet with their elected officials.

The three students from K-State were Laurel Thomas, class of 2018, and Erin Jobman and Nate Kapaldo, class of 2017.

“My greatest take-away from the AVMA Fly-In is the importance of doing my homework with current legislation, and not being afraid to voice my opinion,” Erin said. “To be taken seriously by a US Senator was not only humbling, but very eye-opening and inspiring. It was an amazing opportunity to realize the wealth of knowledge we have been exposed to in the classroom, and the realm of possibility in which we can apply it.”

“The AVMA-GRD has great briefs online that provide an easy to understand explanation of bills and the special veterinary considerations,” Laurel said. “My legislators’ aids didn’t expect me to know details about the bills – they know I’m not a lobbyist, they just want a constituent veterinary student’s opinion.”

Nate highly recommended involvement in this event for other students.

“Being briefly exposed to how this process takes place was a valuable experience that I wish every veterinary student and veterinarian could have,” Nate said. “This experience also demonstrated the importance of veterinarians having a vested interest in their field’s future.”

Nearly 70 students attend the AVMA's legislative fly-in representing the different veterinary colleges in the United States. Erin, Laurel and Nate are circled in gold above.

Some assembly required

Getting primed and ready to go

We have some friendly clouds on our dog house.

A cool cat to top a cool dog house

The Winners

Most Creative: Team 9: Sarah Nissley, Steph Liao, Gracie Chen, Cyndi Davidson, Hilary Coulombee

Most Wildcat Proud : Team 3: Sarah Johnson, Amanda Jones, Megan Kelley, Jennie Kernaghan, Christine Austin

Most Veterinary/Animal Related: Team 4: Alissa Kirchoff, Ellen Kim, Megan Levin, Quynn Steichen, Jacy McDaniels

Wildcard: Team 1: Emily Niedfeldt, Emily White, Erin Dunkelberger, Tyson Honeyfield, Annelise Nicoletti, Amanda Honeyfield

Anaplasmosis is a crippling blood-borne disease carried by ticks and flies. Once thought to be a cattle disease that was mainly restricted to the coasts of the United States, Kansas beef producers are seeing more and more cases.

“In 2013 the majority of the positive anaplasmosis samples sent through the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory originated from southeast Kansas counties. In 2015 almost every county in the eastern two-thirds, and several far-west counties, of Kansas had samples that were tested and found to be anaplasmosis positive,” said Gregg Hanzlicek, director of production animal field investigations for the laboratory. “We don’t know if the geography of this disease has changed or if veterinarians and producers are looking harder for it, but it is clear that there are positive herds in a very large percentage of Kansas.”

“This meeting is in response to the hundreds of calls, emails and questions about anaplasmosis from Kansas veterinarians and beef producers that are losing cows to this disease. Kansas State University’s role as a land grant institution is to provide venues and leadership to serve the people in the beef industry.” said Dan Thomson, Jones Professor of Production Medicine and Epidemiology at K-State. “We have many talented veterinary and animal science faculty working on this issue at Kansas State. We will also bring the experts from around the United States. The beef industry brings in over $7 billion dollars in annual revenue. We need to be responsible in providing leadership for the beef industry which is an economic driver for our state and the country.”

The meeting will cover practical, applied topics about anaplasmosis. Speakers will discuss the disease process of anaplasmosis along with clinical signs in cows infected and diagnostic tests that can confirm the disease. Four speakers will discuss how to keep anaplasmosis from infecting your cows including vaccine strategies, fly control, prescribed burning and other management practices that can lower the chances of herd infections. Treatment of cows with anaplamosis and what to expect in cow productivity after infection will be discussed. The afternoon will end with a panel discussion where producers, veterinarians and allied industry personnel can ask the experts questions about the disease and how it can be controlled. The goal of the meeting is to sync up the Kansas beef industry to develop a coordinated effort to control this disease on Kansas beef ranches.

For more information, contact Anthony N. Ruiz in the K-State Research and Extension Central Kansas District extension office at 785-392-2147 or anruiz@ksu.edu

Participants of a 2015 Frontier program trip to the Food and Drug Administration in Silver Springs, Maryland.

"Frontier co-director Jason Ackleson and I are keen to play our part in preparing students to work in the complex and overlapping spaces in the global food system — from regulatory agencies to private food companies to public-private partnerships in trade," said Dr. Justin Kastner, co-director of the Frontier program and associate professor of food safety and security.

As indicated by the theme, "Moving forward with multidisciplinary scholarship," Kastner hopes this year's March 30-April 3 trip to Washington, D.C., and Virginia helps students draw from many different viewpoints to solve complex and varied problems such as fostering cross-border cooperation in the trade of agricultural and food products, feeding 9 billion people by 2050, and maintaining a safe and secure food supply in an era of global terrorism.

The trip will be the 31st for the Frontier program since its founding in 2004. Previous trips have taken more than 300 students to ports of entry at New Orleans, Boston, Los Angeles, Long Beach, California, and Santa Teresa, New Mexico; food processing and distribution facilities in the Kansas City area; governmental and non-governmental policymaking and policy analysis groups in Washington, D.C.; and more.

Frontier field trip participants, who include students from Kansas State University and other universities, receive an introduction to the history of border security, food security and trade policy, but they also experience environments that highlight the complexity of global issues. They see cattle brought across the border to New Mexico and trucked to multiple states in the U.S., for instance, or watch the inspection process for ships entering a U.S. port. They hear about health and safety regulations or trade negotiations directly from people who work for the Food and Drug Administration, the Congressional Research Service, and nonprofit advocacy groups and think tanks.

Danny Unruh, doctoral student in food science and industry, Merriam, went on the trip twice as an undergraduate and now helps administer the program by serving as a mentor to students new to the Frontier experience. The trips broadened his understanding of the global food system and his future role in protecting it.

"The trips are to places not many students would normally get to see," said Unruh, a student at K-State Olathe. "Even though someone might be an economics or food safety person, the trips expose us to how multidisciplinary the system can be. We learn about food safety issues and tenets of agreements and issues related to trade and the movement of food in our nation and across the globe."

Gaining such knowledge opens students' eyes to the existence of many career paths. Unruh, for instance, had an internship at a food processing facility as he was working on his undergraduate degree in food science and wasn't sure it was the right fit for him.

“Frontier helped me find all the other things that I could do with my degree — all these other problems that I could help solve," Unruh said. "The trip helped me see I could carve my own path."

Frontier alumni serve as program resources. This year, Megan Kulas, who works in a government regulatory agency, will visit with students about career opportunities in government. She wants to pass on to this year's group the knowledge she gained on her own Frontier trips as a Kansas State University student.

"Through experiential learning facilitated by the Frontier program, I gained an appreciation for the historical, current and potential future complexities of the food industry," Kulas said. "The scholarly skill building workshops assisted me throughout my academic career and prepared me for the workforce."

In addition to Kulas' talk, this year's trip will include meetings with staff from the Agriculture and Food Section of the Congressional Research Service, visits to the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court, a discussion of antimicrobial resistance, a panel discussion and lecture at the College of William & Mary, a skill-development workshop on public-private trade partnerships, a tour of historic Jamestown with a discussion of recent archeological discoveries there, and a briefing on current concerns about the Zika virus and how the problem is illuminated by outbreaks of malaria during the 1781 Battle of Yorktown.

This trip was designed and primarily funded by a state of Kansas Global Food Systems award to the Frontierprogram. Other funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security career development grants program; the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture Coordinated Agricultural Project grant "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in the Beef Chain: Assessing and Mitigating the Risk by Translational Science, Education and Outreach"; the College of Veterinary Medicine and the diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department; the University Honors Program; and the Dr. Ed and Chris Null Family Cultural Enrichment Fund.

Along with Unruh, the following Kansas State University students will participate in the Frontier trip:

Sarah Boline, master's student in public health, Allen; Darja Meskin, junior in philosophy, Bucklin; Shelby Stair, sophomore in animal sciences and industry, Chanute; Joshilyn Binkley, sophomore in sociology, Circleville; Zachary Plymesser, junior in mechanical engineering, Fredonia; Matthew Krug, master's student in food science, Great Bend.

From Greater Kansas City: Elizabeth Weesner, sophomore in food science and industry, Leawood; Lindsay Beardall, master's student in food science, Olivia Haney, junior in chemistry, Andrew Konecny, senior in biochemistry, and Rebecca Sease, master's student in biomedical science, all from Lenexa; David Nelson, sophomore in chemical engineering, and Christine Rock, junior in food science and industry, both from Olathe; Corinne Stratton, junior in political science, and Emmy Wilson, senior in history, both from Overland Park; and Maridee Weber, freshman in geology, Shawnee.

Johanna Diaz, third-year veterinary medicine student, and Drew Kohlmeier, senior in biology, both from Manhattan; Chloe Creager, sophomore in animal sciences and industry, Olpe; Sarah Jones, senior in food science and industry, Riverton; Sam Hughes, sophomore in political science, Sabetha.

From Topeka: Sarah Bures, sophomore in business administration, Topeka; Victoria Cox, senior in microbiology; and Rachael Henderson, master's student in food science.

Michelle Mazur, doctoral student in pathobiology, and Nick Sevart, doctoral student in food science, both from Wichita.

From out of state: Jacob Jenott, master's student in food science, Eagle, Idaho; and Elizabeth Stone, nondegree graduate in food science and industry, Kearney, Missouri.

Frontier program faculty and staff members include Kastner; Ackelson, an adjunct faculty member in diagnostic medicine and pathobiology; Abbey Nutsch, assistant professor of animal sciences and industry; Sara Gragg, assistant professor of animal sciences and industry; and Steve Toburen, field trip coordinator and web/database developer for the diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department. Other K-State faculty and staff providing programmatic support during the upcoming trip include Daralyn Gordon Arata, pre-law adviser; and Cecilia Wuertz, administrative assistant, Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies.