Using environmental factors to predict Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) mortality.

Background: Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Latreille, 1806) can establish indoor populations, which increases the risk of pathogen transmission to humans and companion dogs.

Evidence of Permethrin Resistance and Fipronil Tolerance in Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) Populations From Florida and California.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Latreille), is a vector of multiple disease-causing pathogens to humans and dogs.

Variable Effects of Temperature and Relative Humidity on Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) Development.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Latreille, 1806) can establish populations in residences and may lead to severe domestic and peridomestic infestations.

Simulation models of dengue transmission in Funchal, Madeira Island: Influence of seasonality.

The recent emergence and established presence of Aedes aegypti in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal, was responsible for the first autochthonous outbreak of dengue in Europe. The island has not reported any dengue cases since the outbreak in 2012. However, there is a high risk that an introduction of the virus would result in another autochthonous outbreak given the presence of the vector and permissive environmental conditions.

Effects of Mosquito Biology on Modeled Chikungunya Virus Invasion Potential in Florida.

Arboviruses transmitted by and have been introduced to Florida on many occasions. Infrequently, these introductions lead to sporadic local transmission and, more rarely, sustained local transmission. Both mosquito species are present in Florida, with spatio-temporal variation in population composition.

Integrating Oral Health: Physician Assistant Education in 2017.

Purpose: This study describes the inclusion of oral health in physician assistant (PA) education programs in 2017. A 2014 study found that 78% of responding programs (n = 98 of 125) had integrated this content into their curriculum. The current study represents a partnership between the National Interprofessional Initiative on Oral Health, the Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health, and the PA Leadership Initiative in Oral Health.

MIReAD, a minimum information standard for reporting arthropod abundance data.

Arthropods play a dominant role in natural and human-modified terrestrial ecosystem dynamics. Spatially-explicit arthropod population time-series data are crucial for statistical or mathematical models of these dynamics and assessment of their veterinary, medical, agricultural, and ecological impacts. Such data have been collected world-wide for over a century, but remain scattered and largely inaccessible.

Wild pigs as sentinels for hard ticks: A case study from south-central Florida.

As a result of shifts in the habitable range of ticks due to climate change and the ongoing threat of exotic tick species introductions, efficient surveillance tools for these pests and disease vectors are needed. Wild pigs are habitat generalists, distributed throughout most of the United States, and often hunted recreationally or removed as part of management programs, making them potentially useful sentinel hosts for ticks. We compared ticks collected from captured wild pigs and standard tick dragging methods on a south-central Florida cattle ranch from May 2015-August 2017.

Promoting Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Through Simulation.

A 12-week program was developed to educate nursing, medicine, and physician assistant faculty on the principles and best practices of simulation. The goal was to facilitate team building and collaborative practice through the implementation of an interprofessional (IP) simulation experience for students. Workshops focused on IP communication involving seminar-based instruction, discussion, and the progressive development of an IP simulation based on a National League for Nursing Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors scenario.

Distribution and host associations of ixodid ticks collected from wildlife in Florida, USA.

A tick survey was conducted to document tick-host associations with Florida (USA) wildlife, and to determine the relative abundance and distribution of ixodid ticks throughout the state. The survey was conducted using collection kits distributed to licensed Florida hunters as well as the examination of archived specimens from ongoing state wildlife research programs. Collected tick samples were obtained from 66% of Florida counties and were collected from nine wildlife hosts, including black bear, bobcat, coyote, deer, gray fox, Florida panther, raccoon, swine, and wild turkey.

Environmental Drivers of Seasonal Patterns of Host Utilization by Culiseta melanura (Diptera: Culicidae) in Florida.

Field studies were carried out in four Florida counties to investigate winter and spring ecology of host use by Culiseta melanura (Coquillet), the primary vector of eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus (EEEV) in North America. Bloodmeal analysis by PCR was used to identify 233 host bloodmeals, which mainly originated from birds (78.5%) and reptiles (17.

Transmission risk of two chikungunya lineages by invasive mosquito vectors from Florida and the Dominican Republic.

Between 2014 and 2016 more than 3,800 imported human cases of chikungunya fever in Florida highlight the high risk for local transmission. To examine the potential for sustained local transmission of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Florida we tested whether local populations of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus show differences in susceptibility to infection and transmission to two emergent lineages of CHIKV, Indian Ocean (IOC) and Asian genotypes (AC) in laboratory experiments. All examined populations of Ae.

Transstadial Effects of Bti on Traits of Aedes aegypti and Infection with Dengue Virus.

Most mosquito control efforts are primarily focused on reducing the adult population size mediated by reductions in the larval population, which should lower risk of disease transmission. Although the aim of larviciding is to reduce larval abundance and thus recruitment of adults, nonlethal effects on adults are possible, including transstadial effects on phenotypes of adults such as survival and pathogen infection and transmission. In addition, the mortality induced by control efforts may act in conjunction with other sources of mosquito mortality in nature.

Vector competence of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) for West Nile virus isolates from Florida.

Objectives: To assess vector competence (infection, dissemination and transmission) of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus for Florida (FL) West Nile virus (WNV) isolates.

Methods: West Nile virus isolates (WN-FL-03: NY99 genotype; WN-FL-05-558, WN-FL-05-2186, WN-FL-05-510: WN02 genotype) collected from different regions of FL were used for vector competence experiments in Cx. p.

Survival of West Nile virus-challenged Southern house mosquitoes, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus, in relation to environmental temperatures.

We investigated the effect of West Nile virus (WNV) infection on survival in two colonies of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) originating from Vero Beach and Gainesville, FL. Mosquitoes were fed West Nile virus-infected blood and checked daily for survival. Exposure to WNV decreased survival among Cx.

Effects of virus dose and extrinsic incubation temperature on vector competence of Culex nigripalpus (Diptera: Culicidae) for St. Louis encephalitis virus.

Culex nigripalpus Theobald is a primary vector of St. Louis encephalitis virus in the southeastern United States. Cx.

An eco-physiological model of the impact of temperature on Aedes aegypti life history traits.

Physiological processes mediate the impact of ecological conditions on the life histories of insect vectors. For the dengue/chikungunya mosquito, Aedes aegypti, three life history traits that are critical to urban population dynamics and control are: size, development rate and starvation mortality. In this paper we make use of prior laboratory experiments on each of these traits at 2°C intervals between 20 and 30°C, in conjunction with eco-evolutionary theory and studies on A.

Relationships between infection, dissemination, and transmission of West Nile virus RNA in Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae).

Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say fed blood containing 6.8 +/- 0.3 logs (mean +/- SE) plaque-forming units of West Nile virus (WNV)/ml were maintained at 28 degrees C for incubation periods (IP) of 7, 14, or 21 d.

Impact of West Nile virus dose and incubation period on vector competence of Culex nigripalpus (Diptera: Culicidae).

Female Culex nigripalpus were fed blood containing a low dose (6.3±0.01 logs plaque-forming units (PFU)/mL) or high dose (7.

Environmental and biological factors influencing Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) vector competence for West Nile Virus.

Interactions between environmental and biological factors affect the vector competence of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus for West Nile virus. Three age cohorts from two Cx. p.

Age modifies the effect of body size on fecundity in Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae).

Fecundity of mosquitoes can vary with many factors and can have a strong effect on population growth. This study reports the effects of body size, blood meal size, and age on the reproductive output of nulliparous Culex quinquefasciatus, a vector of arboviruses and other pathogens. Mated adult female mosquitoes from a colony were reared under standard conditions and fed on chickens at different ages post-eclosion.

Sources of error in the estimation of mosquito infection rates used to assess risk of arbovirus transmission.

Infection rate is an estimate of the prevalence of arbovirus infection in a mosquito population. It is assumed that when infection rate increases, the risk of arbovirus transmission to humans and animals also increases. We examined some of the factors that can invalidate this assumption.

The Effect of Multiple Vectors on Arbovirus Transmission.

Many mosquito-borne arboviruses have more than one competent vector. These vectors may or may not overlap in space and time, and may interact differently with vertebrate hosts. The presence of multiple vectors for a particular virus at one location over time will influence the epidemiology of the system, and could be important in the design of intervention strategies to protect particular hosts.

Environmental and biological factors influencing Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) vector competence for Saint Louis encephalitis virus.

Complex interactions between environmental and biological factors influence the susceptibility of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus to St. Louis encephalitis virus and could affect the epidemiology of virus transmission. Similar interactions could have epidemiologic implications for other vector-virus systems.