Identifying the Drivers Related to Animal Reservoirs, Environment, and Socio-Demography of Human Leptospirosis in Different Community Types of Southern Chile: An Application of Machine Learning Algorithm in One Health Perspective.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis with global public health impact, particularly in poor socio-economic settings in tropical regions. Transmitted through urine-contaminated water or soil from rodents, dogs, and livestock, leptospirosis causes over a million clinical cases annually. Risk factors include outdoor activities, livestock production, and substandard housing that foster high densities of animal reservoirs.

Weekly Forecasting of Yellow Fever Occurrence and Incidence via Eco-Meteorological Dynamics.

Yellow Fever (YF), a mosquito-borne disease, requires ongoing surveillance and prevention due to its persistence and ability to cause major epidemics, including one that began in Brazil in 2016. Forecasting based on factors influencing YF risk can improve efficiency in prevention. This study aimed to produce weekly forecasts of YF occurrence and incidence in Brazil using weekly meteorological and ecohydrological conditions.

Kidney Injury Biomarkers in Leptospirosis.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infection with a global distribution, though it has a greater impact on marginalized rural agricultural and urban communities in developing countries. Kidney injury, which can lead to severe and lethal infections, is the most frequent complication associated with leptospirosis. Novel biomarkers are being studied as tools for assessing kidney injury in different pathological processes to improve early detection.

Investigating Leptospira dynamics in a multi-host community using an agent-based modelling approach.

Leptospirosis, a neglected bacterial zoonosis, is a global public health issue disproportionately affecting impoverished communities such as urban slums in the developing world. A variety of animal species, including peridomestic rodents and dogs, can be infected with different strains of leptospirosis. Humans contract leptospirosis via exposure to water or soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals.

Environmental determinants predicting population vulnerability to high yellow fever incidence.

Yellow fever (YF) is an endemic mosquito-borne disease in Brazil, though many locations have not observed cases in recent decades. Some locations with low disease burden may resemble locations with higher disease burden through environmental and ecohydrological characteristics, which are known to impact YF burden, motivating increased or continued prevention measures such as vaccination, mosquito control or surveillance. This study aimed to use environmental characteristics to estimate vulnerability to observing high YF burden among all Brazilian municipalities.

Estimating case fatality risk of severe Yellow Fever cases: systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Background: Case fatality risk (CFR), commonly referred to as a case fatality ratio or rate, represents the probability of a disease case being fatal. It is often estimated for various diseases through analysis of surveillance data, case reports, or record examinations. Reported CFR values for Yellow Fever vary, offering wide ranges.

Pooled-sample testing for detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae during late experimental infection as a diagnostic tool for a herd eradication program.

Early and accurate detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection in live pigs is a critical component to measure the success of disease eradication strategies. However, the imperfect sensitivity of in vivo diagnostic tools, change in sensitivity over the course of infection, and expected low prevalence level at the end of an eradication program create a challenging diagnostic scenario. Here, the individual and pool sensitivities for detection of M.

Tickborne disease awareness and protective practices among U.S. Forest Service employees from the upper Midwest, USA.

Background: People with occupations that require them to spend time working outdoors in suitable tick habitats are predicted to be at an increased risk for tick-borne diseases (TBDs). However, few studies have assessed the risks of outdoor employees in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey to collect data on exposure to ticks and TBD infections among U.

A systematic literature review of leptospirosis outbreaks worldwide, 1970-2012.

Objective: This review describes the geographic and temporal distribution of, detection methods for, and other epidemiological features of published leptospirosis outbreaks, with the aim of informing efforts to standardize outbreak-reporting practices.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of leptospirosis outbreaks reported in the scientific literature and ProMED during 1970-2012. Predefined criteria were used to identify and classify outbreaks and a standard form was used to extract information.

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Tick-Borne Diseases in North-Central Wisconsin from 2000-2016.

Lyme disease is a well-recognized public health problem in the USA, however, other tick-borne diseases also have major public health impacts. Yet, limited research has evaluated changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of non-Lyme tick-borne diseases within endemic regions. Using laboratory data from a large healthcare system in north-central Wisconsin from 2000-2016, we applied a Kulldorf's scan statistic to analyze spatial, temporal and seasonal clusters of laboratory-positive cases of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis at the county level.

Exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in Marine Otters (Lontra felina) and Domestic Cats (Felis catus) in an Arid Environment in Chile.

Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide-distributed protozoon that infects warm-blooded animals. We determined T. gondii exposure in one marine otter (Lontra felina) and four domestic cats (Felis catus) along the northern and central coast of Chile, indicating a low seroprevalence of 5% (1/19) and 8% (4/50) respectively, likely related to arid environment.

When and what to test for: A cost-effectiveness analysis of febrile illness test-and-treat strategies in the era of responsible antibiotic use.

Background: Febrile illness caused by viral and bacterial diseases (e.g., dengue and leptospirosis) often have similar symptoms and are difficult to differentiate without diagnostic tests.

A One Health Approach to Investigating Serogroups and Their Spatial Distributions among Humans and Animals in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 2013⁻2015.

Leptospirosis is an endemic zoonotic disease in Brazil and is widespread throughout rural populations in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. This study aimed to identify presumptive infecting serogroups in human and animal cases and describe their occurrences within the ecoregions of the state by animal species. Data for human and animal leptospirosis cases were gathered from the government's passive surveillance systems and presumptive infecting serogroups were identified based on a two-fold titer difference in serogroups in the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) panel.

Human Babesiosis, Yucatán State, Mexico, 2015.

In 2015, we detected clinical cases of babesiosis caused by Babesia microti in Yucatán State, Mexico. Cases occurred in 4 children from a small town who became ill during the same month. Diagnosis was confirmed using conventional PCR followed by sequencing of the DNA fragment obtained.

Presence of Species in a Marginalized Area of Yucatan, Mexico.

In the state of Yucatan, Mexico, rickettsiosis has become a common vector-borne disease in the general population. Ectoparasite species such as and have been identified as vectors in Yucatan by studies focused on the wild animal population in rural areas. There have been studies that have tried to determine the presence of species in ectoparasites collected in Yucatan, but these studies did not include marginalized areas, where living in close contact with domestic and peridomestic animals that carry ectoparasites is a high-risk factor for acquiring rickettsial infection or many other vector-borne diseases.

A road map for leptospirosis research and health policies based on country needs in Latin America.

This report summarizes the presentations, discussions and the recommendations coming from the Oswaldo Cruz Institute/FIOCRUZ International Workshop for Leptospirosis Research Based on Country Needs and the 5th Global Leptospirosis Environmental Action Network meeting, which was held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 10-12 November 2015. The event focused on health policy and worked to develop a road map as a consensus document to help guide decision-making by policymakers, funding bodies, and health care professionals. The direction that leptospirosis research should take in the coming years was emphasized, taking into account the needs of countries of Latin America, as well as experiences from other world regions, as provided by international experts.

Multiple Genome Constellations of Similar and Distinct Influenza A Viruses Co-Circulate in Pigs During Epidemic Events.

Swine play a key role in the ecology and transmission of influenza A viruses (IAVs) between species. However, the epidemiology and diversity of swine IAVs is not completely understood. In this cohort study, we sampled on a weekly basis 132 3-week old pigs for 15 weeks.

The Use of Chemoprophylaxis after Floods to Reduce the Occurrence and Impact of Leptospirosis Outbreaks.

Record-breaking and devastating rainfall events have occurred in the past decade. Rain and floods are considered the main risk factors for leptospirosis and several outbreaks have been reported following extreme weather events. In such situations, one possible intervention to prevent leptospirosis cases in high-risk groups is the use of chemoprophylaxis.

Distribution and Diversity of Pathogenic Leptospira Species in Peri-domestic Surface Waters from South Central Chile.

Background: Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonosis affecting animals and humans caused by infection with Leptospira. The bacteria can survive outside of hosts for long periods of time in soil and water. While identification of Leptospira species from human cases and animal reservoirs are increasingly reported, little is known about the diversity of pathogenic Leptospira species in the environment and how surveillance of the environment might be used for monitoring and controlling disease.

Seroepidemiology of toxoplasmosis in rural and urban communities from Los Rios Region, Chile.

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a prevalent protozoan infection with a complex lifecycle and wide profile of risk factors. The impact of congenital infection is well documented; however, there is increasing evidence of a much broader range of potential health outcomes and the need to improve our understanding of the transmission patterns and infection sources in the overall population. This study examined the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in distinct community types from a highly endemic area of Chile.

[Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic zoonoses prevalent in Chile: count and challenges].

Background: Toxoplasmosis, cosmopolitan parasitic zoonosis often found in humans, is transmitted mainly by food and water, and is considered a significant risk of morbidity and mortality in pregnant women, newborns and immunocompromised patients.

Objective: To identify the information about this zoonosis and its first reports in Chile.

Materials And Methods: Review of publications in Pubmed, Mesh search of systematic reviews, case studies, cross-sectional studies, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and specialty publications.

Leptospirosis in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: An Ecosystem Approach in the Animal-Human Interface.

Background: Leptospirosis is an epidemic-prone neglected disease that affects humans and animals, mostly in vulnerable populations. The One Health approach is a recommended strategy to identify drivers of the disease and plan for its prevention and control. In that context, the aim of this study was to analyze the distribution of human cases of leptospirosis in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and to explore possible drivers.

Breed-specific reference intervals for assessing thyroid function in seven dog breeds.

Thyroxine (T4), free T4 (FT4), and thyrotropin (TSH) concentrations were measured in serum from 693 healthy representatives from 7 dog breeds (Alaskan Malamute, Collie, English Setter, Golden Retriever, Keeshond, Samoyed, or Siberian Husky) to determine whether breed-specific reference intervals (RIs) are warranted. Veterinarians reviewed the health history, performed a physical examination, and approved laboratory data for the enrolled dogs. Many purebred dogs had T4 and FT4 concentrations that were at, or below, the lower limits previously determined for non-breed-specific RIs.