Surveillance of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Triatomine vectors, feral dogs and cats, and wild animals in and around El Paso county, Texas, and New Mexico.

The causative agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, is transmitted by triatomine vectors. The insect is endemic in the Americas, including the United States, where epidemiological studies are limited, particularly in the Southwestern region. Here, we have determined the prevalence of T.

Control and Prevention of Anthrax, Texas, USA, 2019.

The zoonotic disease anthrax is endemic to most continents. It is a disease of herbivores that incidentally infects humans through contact with animals that are ill or have died from anthrax or through contact with Bacillus anthracis-contaminated byproducts. In the United States, human risk is primarily associated with handling carcasses of hoofstock that have died of anthrax; the primary risk for herbivores is ingestion of B.

Rickettsia parkeri (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) in the Sky Islands of West Texas.

Rickettsia parkeri, a tick-borne pathogen distributed throughout several countries of the Americas, causes a mild to moderately severe, eschar-associated spotted fever rickettsiosis. Although most U.S.

Trypanosome species, including Trypanosoma cruzi, in sylvatic and peridomestic bats of Texas, USA.

In contrast to other mammalian reservoirs, many bat species migrate long-distances and have the potential to introduce exotic pathogens to new areas. Bats have long been associated with blood-borne protozoal trypanosomes of the Schizotrypanum subgenus, which includes the zoonotic parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, agent of Chagas disease. Another member of the subgenus, Trypanosoma dionisii, infects bats of Europe and South America, and genetic similarities between strains from the two continents suggest transcontinental movement of this parasite via bats.

Genetic evidence of enzootic leishmaniasis in a stray canine and Texas mouse from sites in west and central Texas.

We detected Leishmania mexicana in skin biopsies taken from a stray canine (Canis familiaris) and Texas mouse (Peromyscus attwateri) at two ecologically disparate sites in west and central Texas using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A single PCR-positive dog was identified from a sample of 96 stray canines and was collected in a peri-urban area in El Paso County, Texas. The PCR-positive P.

Use of serology and bacterial culture to determine prevalence of Brucella spp. In feral Swine (sus scrofa) in proximity to a beef cattle herd positive for Brucella suis and Brucella abortus.

Using serology and bacterial culture, we determined the prevalence of Brucella spp. and the antibody to Brucella spp. in a feral swine (Sus scrofa) population in proximity to a cattle herd that was culture positive for Brucella abortus and Brucella suis in north-central Texas, USA.

Maintaining a vigilance for foreign animal diseases.

The incursion of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) into the United Kingdom in February 2001 served as a wakeup call for North American agriculture. As the livestock health crisis in the United Kingdom progressed, it became increasingly evident that the United States, Canada, and Mexico were also susceptible to an incursion of a foreign animal disease. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax mailings reaffirmed the fact that the United States is vulnerable to an infectious assault, regardless of whether it is intentional or accidental.