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Oklahoma State University

Krull-Ewing Laboratory

Research focuses on the natural history and transmission dynamics of vector-borne disease agents with a goal of elucidating the mechanisms that conspire to spread pathogens between reservoir hosts and arthropod vectors. The Lab concentrates on tick- and mosquito-borne disease systems important for canine and human health and leads national and international efforts to understand geographic shifts in the distribution of vector-borne infections and other veterinary parasites using big data. Projects are ongoing in a variety of areas, including:

  • National and regional studies mapping the risk of ticks and tick-borne infections in North America
  • Big data analyses to understand trends in canine intestinal parasites and vector-borne infections
  • Genotypic diversity of Ixodes spp., Dermacentor spp., and Rhipicephalus spp. across the United States
  • Heartworm disease transmission risk and development of improved diagnostic tests for identifying infection in dogs, cats, and mosquitoes

Meet the Director

Dr. Susan Little is Regents Professor and the Krull-Ewing endowed chair in veterinary parasitology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University. Her research program focuses on zoonotic parasites and vector-borne diseases.

View Dr. Little's Profile

Dr. Little also serves as co-director of the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology, an organization founded at Oklahoma State University to promote the discipline of veterinary parasitology worldwide.

Recent Publications

Little SE, Barrett AW, Beall MJ, Bowman DD, Dangoudoubiyam S, Elsemore DA, Liotta J, Lucio-Forster A, McCrann DJ, Snowden KF, Starkey LA, Tasse S. 2019. Coproantigen detection augments diagnosis of common nematode infections in dogs. Top Companion Anim Med. 35:42-46.

Beard CB, Occi J, Bonilla DL, Egizia AM, Fonesca DM, Mertins JW, Backenson BP, Bajwa WI, Barbarin AM, Bertone MA, Brown J, Connally NP, Eisen RJ, Falco RC, James AM, Krell RK, Lahmers K, Lewis N, Little SE, Neault M, de Leon AAP, Randall AR, Ruder MG, Saleh MN, Schappach BL, Schroeder BA, Seraphin LL, Wehtje M, Yabsley MJ, Halperin W. 2018. Multistate infestation with the exotic disease-vector tick Haemaphysalis longicornis–United States, August 2017–September 2018. Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report. 67(47);1310–1313.

Little SE, Barrett AW, Nagamori Y, Herrin BH, Normile D, Heaney K, Armstrong R. 2018. Ticks from cats in the United States: patterns of infestation and infection with pathogens. Vet Parasitol. 257:15-20.

Little SE, Saleh M, Wohltjen M, Nagamori Y. 2018. Prime detection of Dirofilaria immitis: understanding the influence of blocked antigen on heartworm test performance. Parasit Vector. 11(1):186.

Herrin BH, Beall MD, Feng X, Papes M, Little SE. 2018. Canine and human infection with Borrelia burgdorferi in the New York City metropolitan area. Parasit Vector. 11(1):187.
  

Mitcham JR, Barrett AW, Gruntmeir JM, Holland T, Martin JE, Johnson EM, Little SE, Noden BH. 2017. Active surveillance to update county scale distribution of four tick species of medical and veterinary importance in Oklahoma. J Vector Ecol 42(1):60-73.

Adolph CB, Barnett S, Beall M, Drake J, Elsemore D, Thomas J, Little S. 2017. Diagnostic strategies to reveal covert infections with intestinal helminths in dogs. Vet Parasitol. 247:108-112.

Skinner D, Mitcham JR, Starkey LA, Noden BH, Fairbanks WS, Little SE. 2017. Prevalence of Babesia spp., Ehrlichia spp., and tick infestations in Oklahoma black bears (Ursus americanus). J Wild Dis. 53(4):781-787.

Herrin BH, Peregrine AS, Goring J, Beall MD, Little SE. 2017. Canine infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, Dirofilaria immitis, Anaplasma spp., and Ehrlichia spp. in Canada, 2013-2014. Parasit Vectors. 10:244.

Jones EO, Gruntmeir J, Hamer S, Little SE. 2017. Temperate and tropical lineages of brown dog ticks in North America. Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Rep 7:58-61. 

Gruntmeir JM, Adolph CB, Thomas JE, Reichard MV, Blagburn BL, Little SE. 2016. Increased detection of Dirofilaria immitis antigen in cats after heat pre-treatment of samples. J Fel Med Surg 14:1-4.

McMahan CS, Wang D, Beall MJ, Bowman DD, Little SE, Pithua PO, Sharp JL, Stich RW, Yabsley MJ. 2016. Factors associated with Anaplasma spp. seroprevalence among dogs in the United States. Parasit Vectors. 9:169.