Publications by authors named "B Qurollo"
Background: The 1986 disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant released massive amounts of radioactive material into the local environment. In addition to radiation, remediation efforts and abandonment of military-industrial complexes contributed to contamination with heavy metals, organics, pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Numerous studies have evaluated the effects of this contamination on the local ecology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe evaluated spatial-temporal risk for Lyme disease in northwestern North Carolina, USA, by using individual-level canine Borrelia burgdorferi seroprevalence data collected during 2017-2021 at routine veterinary screenings for tickborne diseases. Seroprevalence in dogs increased from 2.2% (47/2,130) in 2017 to 11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLyme disease, caused by infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. The standard two-tier testing (STTT) algorithm suffers from low sensitivity, misinterpretation, and long turnaround time, preventing timely detection and treatment. To address these challenges, we hypothesized that the canine point-of-care (PoC) SNAP 4Dx Plus test used to detect Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies could be employed for human diagnosis.
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- An 11-year-old German Wirehaired Pointer showed signs of lethargy, poor appetite, diarrhea, and coughing, ultimately diagnosed with pericardial effusion that led to cardiac tamponade.
- Diagnostic tests revealed that the fluid causing the effusion contained inflammatory cells and was positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, even though initial blood tests were negative for antibodies.
- After treating the dog with pericardiocentesis (draining the fluid) and doxycycline for 14 days, a follow-up echocardiogram one month later showed that the fluid had not returned.
Point-of-care (POC) ELISA tests are routinely used in US veterinary practices to screen canine patients for antibodies to tick-transmitted pathogens. Results are also used to monitor spatial and temporal trends in canine seroprevalence, and these data can build awareness of the risk to humans of tick-transmitted diseases such as Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. This study utilized a second-generation test that has incorporated additional Anaplasma-specific peptides into a commercial POC ELISA test to allow detection of Anaplasma spp.
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