Environmental Health Assessment by Local Environmental Justice Experts for Evidence-based Decision-making in an Agricultural Community of Northern California.

Environmental justice research driven by academics and policymakers often overlooks the valuable insights and leadership of the communities most impacted by environmental hazards. When institution-led research approaches are employed, inadequate community ownership and limited institutional accountability hinder the effectiveness of environmental public health interventions. In contrast, a community-owned and -managed approach to environmental justice research can guide community members in developing evidence-based interventions.

Elevated incidence of infant botulism in a 17-county area of the Mid-Atlantic region in the United States, 2000-2019, including association with soil types.

Unlabelled: We sought to identify counties in the northeastern United States where the incidence of infant botulism (IB) is elevated compared to the nationwide incidence and to assess associations with soil type at the case residence. IB cases were identified through the distribution of the orphan drug Human Botulism Immune Globulin Intravenous for treatment of IB by state and national surveillance systems and were subsequently confirmed by laboratory testing. IB incidence by county was calculated as the number of IB cases divided by the number of live births in the county from 2000 to 2019.

Outpatient Infant Botulism in the United States, 1976-2021.

Objective: To characterize cases of outpatients with infant botulism (IB) in the US identified by the Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program at the California Department of Public Health from 1976 through 2021.

Study Design: Outpatient IB cases were defined as patients presenting with an illness consistent with the known paralyzing action of botulinum neurotoxin and with laboratory confirmation. Outpatient cases were distinguished from the majority of patients with IB by the atypical fact that they did not require hospitalization throughout the course of their illness.

Infant Botulism: In Search of Clostridium botulinum Spores.

Infant botulism is now the most common form of human botulism in Canada and the United States. Infant botulism is a severe neuroparalytic disease caused by ingestion of the spore-forming neurotoxic clostridia, including Clostridium botulinum that colonize the large intestine and subsequently produce botulinum neurotoxin in situ. It has been over a century since the first surveys documenting the ubiquitous prevalence of C.

Duration of Fecal Excretion of Clostridium Botulinum and Botulinum Neurotoxin in Patients Recovering from Infant Botulism.

This study sought to determine duration of fecal excretion of Clostridium botulinum organisms and neurotoxin after onset of infant botulism in 66 affected infants. Median excretion was longer for type A than type B patients (organisms: 5.9 vs 3.

Descriptive Epidemiology of Infant Botulism in California: The First 40 Years.

Objective: To ascertain the descriptive epidemiology of infant botulism, the flaccid paralysis that results when neurotoxigenic Clostridium species produce botulinum toxin (BoNT) in the infant colon, in its first 40 years following initial recognition in California in 1976.

Study Design: Cases were defined by laboratory identification of BoNT and/or neurotoxigenic Clostridium species in patients' feces. Parents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire.

Seven-Year Case-Control Study in California of Risk Factors for Infant Botulism.

Objective: To ascertain possible risk factors for infant botulism, the intestinal infectious form of human botulism, in the years immediately following its initial recognition in California in 1976.

Study Design: Parents of 159 California laboratory-confirmed cases of infant botulism from 1976 to 1983 and 318 healthy controls were interviewed using a comprehensive (>300 factors) questionnaire. "Neighborhood controls" (n = 184) were matched on date of birth, sex, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood of residence.

Correction to: The One Health Approach to Toxoplasmosis: Epidemiology, Control, and Prevention Strategies.

This article was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on April 3, 2019 without open access.

The One Health Approach to Toxoplasmosis: Epidemiology, Control, and Prevention Strategies.

One Health is a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort that seeks optimal health for people, animals, plants, and the environment. Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is an intracellular protozoan infection distributed worldwide, with a heteroxenous life cycle that practically affects all homeotherms and in which felines act as definitive reservoirs. Herein, we review the natural history of T.

Molecular epidemiology of infant botulism in California and elsewhere, 1976-2010.

Background: Infant botulism (IB), first identified in California in 1976, results from Clostridium botulinum spores that germinate, multiply, and produce botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) in the immature intestine. From 1976 to 2010 we created an archive of 1090 BoNT-producing isolates consisting of 1012 IB patient (10 outpatient, 985 hospitalized, 17 sudden death), 25 food, 18 dust/soils, and 35 other strains.

Methods: The mouse neutralization assay determined isolate toxin type (56% BoNT/A, 32% BoNT/B).

Maternal hospital experiences associated with breastfeeding at 6 months in a northern California county.

A retrospective cohort study of infant-feeding practices at 6 months of age was conducted for 382 breastfed infants in a semirural northern California county. The authors hypothesized that almost exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months would be related to maternal experiences in the hospital. Multiple logistic regression analysis, controlling for maternal age and education, found that almost exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months was positively associated with receiving a telephone number for breastfeeding help from the hospital (odds ratio, 6.

Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and co-infection with TORCH pathogens in high-risk patients from Qatar.

Testing of patients who are deemed to be at high risk for TORCH pathogens, e.g., pregnant women, their fetuses, neonates, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients, is important so that specific treatment can be initiated.

Cats and Toxoplasma: implications for public health.

Cats are popular as pets worldwide because they are easy to care for and provide companionship that enriches the lives of human beings. Little attention has been focused on their potential to contaminate the environment with zoonotic pathogens. One such pathogen, the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, rarely causes clinical manifestations in cats or immunocompetent humans; however, it can have serious adverse effects on human foetuses and immunocompromised patients.

Evaluation of lactation support in the workplace or school environment on 6-month breastfeeding outcomes in Yolo County, California.

Six-month breastfeeding outcomes (almost exclusive breastfeeding, partial breastfeeding, and not breastfeeding) were analyzed for 201 infants born to Yolo County, California, mothers who returned to work or school. Twenty-two percent of workplaces and 17% of schools did not provide a lactation room. Although part- or full-time status, knowledge of breastfeeding rules, and support from colleagues were independently associated with the outcome, they were not significant in the multivariate analysis.

Risk factors for infection with pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant fecal bacteria in northern elephant seals in California.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to identify potential environmental and demographic factors associated with Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), Salmonella enterica (Salmonella spp.), and antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli (E.

Evaluation of Cruzia americana, Turgida turgida, and Didelphostrongylus hayesi infection in the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) and risk factors along the California coast.

Three nematodes, Turgida turgida, Cruzia americana, and Didelphostrongylus hayesi, have been documented to cause morbidity and mortality in the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana). The present study was designed to determine the frequency of infection of these nematodes in opossums at 2 study sites in California and to determine if there are risk factors associated with shedding of eggs or larvae in the feces. Turgida turgida and C.

Risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection in wild rodents from central coastal California and a review of T. gondii prevalence in rodents.

Sera from 523 wild rodents were tested for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using either an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) (rats and mice, with titer >or=80 considered positive) or a latex agglutination test (LAT) (voles, squirrels, and pocket mice, with titer >or=32 considered positive). Seventeen percent (88/523) of the rodents, including 26% (85/328) of the Peromyscus sp. and 8% (3/37) of Spermophilus beecheyi, were seropositive.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in small mammal hosts of Ixodes ticks, western United States.

A total of 2,121 small mammals in California were assessed for Anaplasma phagocytophilum from 2006 through 2008. Odds ratios were >1 for 4 sciurids species and dusky-footed woodrats. High seroprevalence was observed in northern sites.

Type X Toxoplasma gondii in a wild mussel and terrestrial carnivores from coastal California: new linkages between terrestrial mammals, runoff and toxoplasmosis of sea otters.

Sea otters in California are commonly infected with Toxoplasma gondii. A unique Type X strain is responsible for 72% of otter infections, but its prevalence in terrestrial animals and marine invertebrates inhabiting the same area was unknown. Between 2000 and 2005, 45 terrestrial carnivores (lions, bobcats, domestic cats and foxes) and 1396 invertebrates (mussels, clams and worms) were screened for T.

Experimental infection of Peromyscus californicus with Toxoplasma gondii.

Eight female Peromyscus californicus were infected with 10(2) or 10(4) Toxoplasma gondii culture-derived tachyzoites (Type II or X) isolated from southern sea otters. All but 2 mice survived infection and developed antibodies to T. gondii.

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii-like oocysts in cat feces and estimates of the environmental oocyst burden.

Objective: To estimate the analytic sensitivity of microscopic detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts and the environmental loading of T gondii oocysts on the basis of prevalence of shedding by owned and unowned cats.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Sample Population: 326 fecal samples from cats.

Evaluation of two Toxoplasma gondii serologic tests used in a serosurvey of domestic cats in California.

We evaluated the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of an IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and IgG indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) for detection of Toxoplasma gondii-specific antibodies in sera from 2 cat populations using a Bayesian approach. Accounting for test covariance, the Se and Sp of the IgG ELISA were estimated to be 92.6% and 96.

Ectoparasite diversity and exposure to vector-borne disease agents in wild rodents in central coastal California.

A survey of wild rodents was performed in the Morro Bay area of central coastal California to determine serological and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum Dumler, Barbet, Bekker, Dasch, Palmer, Ray, Rikihisa, and Rurangirwa, Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmidt, Hyde, Steigerwalt, and Brenner, Francisella tularensis McCoy, and Yersinia pestis Yersin; to describe the ectoparasitic fauna on important vector-borne disease hosts; and to determine whether pathogen exposure was associated with infestation by ectoparasites. We trapped 411 rodents from 10 species in 2004 and 2005. Anaplasma phagocytophilum exposure was detected in 11% of all wild rodents tested, with seropositive animals in eight species.

Outdoor fecal deposition by free-roaming cats and attitudes of cat owners and nonowners toward stray pets, wildlife, and water pollution.

Objective: To estimate cat population size, management, and outside fecal deposition and evaluate attitudes of cat owners and nonowners to stray animal control, water pollution, and wildlife protection.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Sample Population: 294 adult residents of Cayucos, Los Osos, and Morro Bay, Calif.