Spotted fever group rickettsiae in black rats, pets, and humans in Zungarococha community, A rural area in the surroundings of Iquitos, Peru.

Rickettsiae are a family of ectoparasite-borne bacteria that can produce high morbidity and mortality among humans. There are scarce data on rickettsial ecology in rural areas of the Peruvian Amazon basin, where seroprevalence has not been determined, and the identities of animals acting as reservoirs of these bacteria are not known. We conducted a cross-sectional study in Zungarococha (between 2019 and 2021), a rural community located approximately 20 km away from Iquitos city.

Reservoir displacement by an invasive rodent reduces Lassa virus zoonotic spillover risk.

The black rat (Rattus rattus) is a globally invasive species that has been widely introduced across Africa. Within its invasive range in West Africa, R. rattus may compete with the native rodent Mastomys natalensis, the primary reservoir host of Lassa virus, a zoonotic pathogen that kills thousands annually.

Diversity and prevalence of zoonotic infections at the animal-human interface of primate trafficking in Peru.

Wildlife trafficking creates favorable scenarios for intra- and inter-specific interactions that can lead to parasite spread and disease emergence. Among the fauna affected by this activity, primates are relevant due to their potential to acquire and share zoonoses - infections caused by parasites that can spread between humans and other animals. Though it is known that most primate parasites can affect multiple hosts and that many are zoonotic, comparative studies across different contexts for animal-human interactions are scarce.

Spatio-temporal spread of Lassa virus and a new rodent host in the Mano River Union area, West Africa.

The spread of Lassa virus (LASV) in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which together are named the Mano River Union (MRU) area, was examined phylogeographically. To provide a reliable evolutionary scenario, new rodent-derived, whole LASV sequences were included. These were generated by metatranscriptomic next-generation sequencing from rodents sampled between 2003 and 2020 in 21 localities of Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Predicting the fine-scale spatial distribution of zoonotic reservoirs using computer vision.

Zoonotic diseases threaten human health worldwide and are often associated with anthropogenic disturbance. Predicting how disturbance influences spillover risk is critical for effective disease intervention but difficult to achieve at fine spatial scales. Here, we develop a method that learns the spatial distribution of a reservoir species from aerial imagery.

Identifying the genetic basis of viral spillover using Lassa virus as a test case.

The rate at which zoonotic viruses spill over into the human population varies significantly over space and time. Remarkably, we do not yet know how much of this variation is attributable to genetic variation within viral populations. This gap in understanding arises because we lack methods of genetic analysis that can be easily applied to zoonotic viruses, where the number of available viral sequences is often limited, and opportunistic sampling introduces significant population stratification.

Correction: Diversity, distribution and natural Leishmania infection of sand flies from communities along the Interoceanic Highway in the Southeastern Peruvian Amazon.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.

Genome Sequences of Five Arenaviruses from Pygmy Mice (Mus minutoides) in Sierra Leone.

The genome sequences of five strains of a mammarenavirus were assembled from metagenomic data from pygmy mice (Mus minutoides) captured in Sierra Leone. The nearest fully sequenced relatives of this virus, which was named Seli virus, are lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, Lunk virus, and Ryukyu virus.

Bridging the gap: Using reservoir ecology and human serosurveys to estimate Lassa virus spillover in West Africa.

Forecasting the risk of pathogen spillover from reservoir populations of wild or domestic animals is essential for the effective deployment of interventions such as wildlife vaccination or culling. Due to the sporadic nature of spillover events and limited availability of data, developing and validating robust, spatially explicit, predictions is challenging. Recent efforts have begun to make progress in this direction by capitalizing on machine learning methodologies.

Diversity, distribution and natural Leishmania infection of sand flies from communities along the Interoceanic Highway in the Southeastern Peruvian Amazon.

The Peruvian-Brazilian border is a highly endemic tegumentary leishmaniasis region in South America. The interoceanic highway is a commercial route that connects Peru and Brazil through Madre de Dios and has raised concerns about its impact on previously undisturbed areas. In order to assess leishmaniasis transmission risk along this highway, we conducted a surveillance study of the sand fly populations in this area.

In the heart of the city: Trypanosoma cruzi infection prevalence in rodents across New Orleans.

Background: Trypanosoma cruzi - the causative agent of Chagas disease - is known to circulate in commensal pests, but its occurrence in urban environments is not well understood. We addressed this deficit by determining the distribution and prevalence of T. cruzi infection in urban populations of commensal and wild rodents across New Orleans (Louisiana, USA).

Amplification of pathogenic Leptospira infection with greater abundance and co-occurrence of rodent hosts across a counter-urbanizing landscape.

Land use change can elevate disease risk by creating conditions beneficial to species that carry zoonotic pathogens. Observations of concordant global trends in increased pathogen prevalence or disease incidence and landscape change have generated concerns that urbanization could increase transmission risk of some pathogens. Yet host-pathogen relationships underlying transmission risk have not been well characterized within cities, even where contact between humans and species capable of transmitting pathogens of concern occurs.

The Expectations and Challenges of Wildlife Disease Research in the Era of Genomics: Forecasting with a Horizon Scan-like Exercise.

The outbreak and transmission of disease-causing pathogens are contributing to the unprecedented rate of biodiversity decline. Recent advances in genomics have coalesced into powerful tools to monitor, detect, and reconstruct the role of pathogens impacting wildlife populations. Wildlife researchers are thus uniquely positioned to merge ecological and evolutionary studies with genomic technologies to exploit unprecedented "Big Data" tools in disease research; however, many researchers lack the training and expertise required to use these computationally intensive methodologies.

Urban rat races: spatial population genomics of brown rats () compared across multiple cities.

Urbanization often substantially influences animal movement and gene flow. However, few studies to date have examined gene flow of the same species across multiple cities. In this study, we examine brown rats () to test hypotheses about the repeatability of neutral evolution across four cities: Salvador, Brazil; New Orleans, USA; Vancouver, Canada; and New York City, USA.

Rodent-Borne Bartonella Infection Varies According to Host Species Within and Among Cities.

It is becoming increasingly likely that rodents will drive future disease epidemics with the continued expansion of cities worldwide. Though transmission risk is a growing concern, relatively little is known about pathogens carried by urban rats. Here, we assess whether the diversity and prevalence of Bartonella bacteria differ according to the (co)occurrence of rat hosts across New Orleans, LA (NO), where both Norway (Rattus norvegicus) and roof rats (Rattus rattus) are found, relative to New York City (NYC) which only harbors Norway rats.

The Genetic Diversity of Influenza A Viruses in Wild Birds in Peru.

Our understanding of the global ecology of avian influenza A viruses (AIVs) is impeded by historically low levels of viral surveillance in Latin America. Through sampling and whole-genome sequencing of 31 AIVs from wild birds in Peru, we identified 10 HA subtypes (H1-H4, H6-H7, H10-H13) and 8 NA subtypes (N1-N3, N5-N9). The majority of Peruvian AIVs were closely related to AIVs found in North America.

Wide distribution and ancient evolutionary history of simian foamy viruses in New World primates.

Background: Although simian foamy viruses (SFV) are the only exogenous retroviruses to infect New World monkeys (NWMs), little is known about their evolutionary history and epidemiology. Previous reports show distinct SFVs among NWMs but were limited to small numbers of captive or wild monkeys from five (Cebus, Saimiri, Ateles, Alouatta, and Callithrix) of the 15 NWM genera. Other studies also used only PCR testing or serological assays with limited validation and may have missed infection in some species.

[Data validity in a French diagnosis-related group information program].

Background: Long-term intratracheal ventilated patients need continuous artificial ventilation support. After the acute periods, these patients may benefit from dedicated follow-up in rehabilitation care centers. In this paper, we aimed to study the validity of the data provided by a French diagnosis-related group (DRG) information system.

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex in New World Monkeys in Peru.

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex causes tuberculosis in humans and nonhuman primates and is a global public health concern. Standard diagnostics rely upon host immune responses to detect infection in nonhuman primates and lack sensitivity and specificity across the spectrum of mycobacterial infection in these species. We have previously shown that the Oral Swab PCR (OSP) assay, a direct pathogen detection method, can identify the presence of M.

Native rodent species are unlikely sources of infection for Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis along the Transoceanic Highway in Madre de Dios, Peru.

An estimated 2.3 million disability-adjusted life years are lost globally from leishmaniasis. In Peru's Amazon region, the department of Madre de Dios (MDD) rises above the rest of the country in terms of the annual incidence rates of human leishmaniasis.

Andes hantavirus variant in rodents, southern Amazon Basin, Peru.

We investigated hantaviruses in rodents in the southern Amazon Basin of Peru and identified an Andes virus variant from Neacomys spinosus mice. This finding extends the known range of this virus in South America and the range of recognized hantaviruses in Peru. Further studies of the epizoology of hantaviruses in this region are warranted.

Avian Influenza infections in nonmigrant land birds in Andean Peru.

As part of ongoing surveillance for avian influenza viruses (AIV) in Peruvian birds, in June 2008, we sampled 600 land birds of 177 species, using real-time reverse-transcription PCR. We addressed the assumption that AIV prevalence is low or nil among land birds, a hypodiesis that was not supported by the results-rather, we found AIV infections at relatively high prevalences in birds of the orders Apodiformes (hummingbirds) and Passeriformes (songbirds). Surveillance programs for monitoring spread and identification of AIV should thus not focus solely on water birds.

Isolation of low-pathogenic H7N3 avian influenza from wild birds in Peru.

Wild birds serve as natural reservoirs and sometimes harbor low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses. However, mutation of the virus can result in highly pathogenic strains, often more common among H5 and H7 genotypes. We report the isolation of a low-pathogenic H7N3 avian influenza in a Peruvian wetland.

Avian influenza in wild birds, central coast of Peru.

To determine genotypes of avian influenza virus circulating among wild birds in South America, we collected and tested environmental fecal samples from birds along the coast of Peru, June 2006-December 2007. The 9 isolates recovered represented 4 low-pathogenicity avian influenza strains: subtypes H3N8, H4N5, H10N9, and H13N2.