JEREMIAH T. SALIKI
Professor and Head of Virology/Serology Section

Current research efforts focus on improvement of cell culture systems for the isolation of viruses and on the molecular epidemiology of canine parvovirus. Although new molecular detection methods have rendered the detection of many viruses much faster than previously, the ability to culture viruses remains a necessity, especially for emerging and re-emerging viruses. When a new virus is isolated and amplified in cell culture, the isolate can be used for further characterization as well as for developing new vaccines and new diagnostic assays. Because virus isolation in cell culture is expensive, the goal of my current research is to determine ways of reducing the cost and time of virus isolation by studying the effect of short-term storage of cells at refrigerator temperatures on their susceptibility to virus infections and their usefulness in cell-based diagnostic tests.

Canine parvovirus emerged in the late 1970s and has since become the single most important virus infecting dogs worldwide. There is evidence that the virus has continued to evolve since its emergence and at least three distinct antigenic variants are currently known to occur worldwide. Continuous evolution of the virus means that existing diagnostic tests and vaccines might need to be reformulated periodically to remain effective against current variants of the virus. In the United States, only two of the three known antigenic variants have been described. The goal of my research is to determine the current occurrence and distribution of various antigenic variants of canine parvovirus in the US. This information will be useful to vaccine and diagnostic kit manufacturers.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

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Saliki JT, Cooper EJ, Rotstein DS, Caseltine SL, Pabst DA, McLellan WA, Govett P, Harms C, Smolarek KA, Romero CH (2006). A novel gammaherpesvirus associated with genital lesions in a Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris). Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 42: 142-148.

Saliki JT & Dubovi EJ (2004). Laboratory diagnosis of bovine viral diarrhea virus infections. Vet Clin North Am. Food Anim Pract. 20: 69-83.

Saliki JT, Cooper EJ & Gustavson JP (2002). Emerging Morbillivirus Infections of Marine Mammals: Development of two Diagnostic Approaches. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 969: 51-59.

Saliki JT & Lehenbauer, TW (2001). Monoclonal antibody-based competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of morbillivirus antibody in marine mammal sera. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 1877-1881.

Burek KA, Gulland FM, Sheffield G, Beckmen KB, Keyes E, Spraker TR, Smith AW, Skilling DE, Evermann JF, Stott JL, Saliki JT, Trites AW (2005). Infectious disease and the decline of steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska, USA: insights from serologic data. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41: 512-524.

Dabo SM, Confer AW, Saliki JT, Anderson BE (2006). Binding of Bartonella henselae to extracellular molecules: Identification of potential adhesins. Microbial Pathogenesis 41: 10-20.

Fulton RW, Hessman B, Johnson BJ, Ridpath JF, Saliki JT, Burge LJ, Sjeklocha D, Confer AW, Funk RA, Payton ME (2006). Evaluation of diagnostic tests used for detection of bovine viral diarrhea virus and prevalence of subtypes 1a, 1b, and 2a in persistently infected cattle entering a feedlot. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 228: 578-584.

Smolarek Benson KA, Manire CA, Ewing RY, Saliki JT, Townsend FI, Ehlers B, Romero CH (2006). Identification of novel alpha- and gammaherpesviruses from cutaneous and mucosal lesions of dolphins and whales. Journal of Virological Methods 136: 261-266.

Wohlsein P & Saliki JT (2006). Rinderpest and peste des petits ruminants—the diseases: clinical signs and pathology. In: Rinderpest and Peste des Petits Ruminants (Barrett T, Pastoret P.-P. & Taylor WP, editors). Pp. 68-85. Academic Press New York.

Zarnke RL, Saliki JT, MacMillan AP, Brew SD, Dawson CE, Ver Hoef JM & Small RJ (2006). Serologic survey for Brucella spp bacteria, phocid herpesvirus-1, phocid herpesvirus-2, and phocine distemper virus in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardsi) from Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 42: 290-300.

Email
jsaliki@uga.edu

Office
Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
706-542-5568

Degrees
DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVM