Assessing methods for detecting Alexandrium catenella (Dinophyceae) and paralytic shellfish toxins in Southeast Alaska.

Blooms of Alexandrium catenella threaten to disrupt subsistence, recreational, and commercial shellfish harvest in Alaska, as the paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) produced pose a serious public health risk and can lead to costly shutdowns for shellfish farmers. Current methods of PST detection in the region range from monitoring programs utilizing net tows to detect A. catenella to direct shellfish tissue testing via mouse bioassay (MBA) for commercial aquaculture harvest, as well as various optional testing methods for subsistence and recreational harvesters.

infection in mammals in Florida: New insight into the transmission of in the southeastern United States.

In Latin America, synanthropic mammalian reservoirs maintain , a parasitic protozoan, where they facilitate the transmission of the parasite to humans and other reservoir hosts in peridomestic settings. In the United States, raccoons () and Virginia opossums () are known synanthropic reservoir hosts; however, the role these species have in the peridomestic transmission cycle in the US is not well understood. This study aimed to identify the suite of mammalian reservoirs of in Florida.

Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in Recreational Greenspaces in North Central Florida, USA.

Tick-borne infections are an increasing medical and veterinary concern in the southeastern United States, but there is limited understanding of how recreational greenspaces influence the hazard of pathogen transmission. This study aimed to estimate the potential human and companion animal encounter risk with different questing tick species, and the bacterial or protozoal agents they carry in recreational greenspaces. We collected ticks bimonthly along trails and designated recreational areas in 17 publicly accessible greenspaces, in and around Gainesville, Florida, USA.

SARS-CoV-2 control on a large urban college campus without mass testing.

Objective: A small percentage of universities and colleges conducted mass SARS-CoV-2 testing. However, universal testing is resource-intensive, strains national testing capacity, and false negative tests can encourage unsafe behaviors.

Participants: A large urban university campus.

Entomological risk of African tick-bite fever (Rickettsia africae infection) in Eswatini.

Background: Rickettsia africae is a tick-borne bacterium that causes African tick-bite fever (ATBF) in humans. In southern Africa, the tick Amblyomma hebraeum serves as the primary vector and reservoir for R. africae and transmits the bacterium during any life stage.

Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini.

Ticks are widespread parasites of vertebrates and major vectors of pathogens to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. In southern Africa, numerous tick species transmit diseases of economic and health importance. This study aimed to describe the occurrence of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in multiple land-use types and the possible role of ticks in the transmission of pathogen species.

A Qualitative Analysis of Career Advice Given to Women Leaders in an Academic Medical Center.

Importance: Women in academic medicine continue to face systemic obstacles on their paths to leadership. In addition to improving recruitment and advancement opportunities, academic medical centers must facilitate a cultural shift that ensures sustained leadership pathways for women.

Objective: To better understand, from the perspective of women leaders, the workplace and cultural changes that need to take place in academic medicine to increase inclusivity and gender equity.

Multi-scale patterns of tick occupancy and abundance across an agricultural landscape in southern Africa.

Land use influences the prevalence and distribution of ticks due to the intimate relationship of ticks with their environment. This relationship occurs because land use alters two essential tick requirements: vertebrate hosts for blood meals and a suitable microclimate when off-host. Given the risks to human and animal health associated with pathogens transmitted by ticks, there is an ongoing need to understand the impact of environmental drivers on tick distributions.