In the Western Hemisphere, bat-associated rabies viruses (RABVs) have established independent transmission cycles in multiple mammal hosts, forming genetically distinct lineages. In New Mexico, USA, skunks, bats, and gray foxes are rabies reservoir hosts and represent a public health risk because of encounters with humans. During 2015 and 2019, two previously undescribed RABVs were detected in 2 gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To characterize the epidemiology, clinical signs, and treatment of dogs with infection in New Mexico.
Animals: 87 dogs in which 88 cases of tularemia (1 dog had 2 distinct cases) were confirmed by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory Division from 2014 through 2016 and for which medical records were available.
Procedures: Dogs were confirmed to have tularemia if they had a 4-fold or greater increase in anti- antibody titer between acute and convalescent serum samples or had been isolated from a clinical or necropsy specimen.
Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) is a disease caused by species of . The disease is endemic to arid regions of the Southwestern US and while most common in CA and AZ is also present in NM. We present the first genetic analysis of clinical isolates from NM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mosquitoes (L.) and . Skuse are the major vectors of dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are vectors of a variety of emerging viral pathogens, including yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus. This species has established endemic populations in all cities across southern New Mexico sampled to date. Presently, control of Aedes-borne viruses relies on deployment of insecticides to suppress mosquito populations, but the evolution of insecticide resistance threatens the success of vector control programs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlague is a zoonotic disease (transmitted mainly by fleas and maintained in nature by rodents) that causes severe acute illness in humans. We present a human plague case who became infected by the bite of a wild Gunnison's prairie dog, and a good practical example of the One Health approach that resulted in a rapid public health response. The exposure occurred while the animal was being transported for relocation to a wildlife refuge after being trapped in a plague enzootic area.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The cesarean section (CS) rate has increased over recent decades with poor guideline adherence as a possible cause. The objective of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators for delivering optimal care as described in clinical practice guidelines.
Methods: Key recommendations from evidence-based guidelines were used as a base to explore barriers and facilitators for delivering optimal CS care in The Netherlands.
Introduction: Large practice variation exists in mode of delivery after cesarean section, suggesting variation in implementation of contemporary guidelines. We aim to evaluate this practice variation and to what extent this can be explained by risk factors at patient level.
Material And Methods: This retrospective cohort study was performed among 17 Dutch hospitals in 2010.
Background: There is an ongoing discussion on the rising CS rate worldwide. Suboptimal guideline adherence may be an important contributor to this rise. Before improvement of care can be established, optimal CS care in different settings has to be defined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe the epidemiology, clinical signs, and treatment practices in dogs with Yersinia pestis infection in New Mexico.
Design: Retrospective case series.
Animals: 62 dogs with plague in New Mexico.
Objective: To externally validate two models from the USA (entry-to-care [ETC] and close-to-delivery [CTD]) that predict successful intended vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) for the Dutch population.
Design: A nationwide registration-based cohort study.
Setting: Seventeen hospitals in the Netherlands.
Objective: To develop a patient decision aid (PtDA) for mode of delivery after caesarean section that integrates personalised prediction of vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) with the elicitation of patient preferences and evidence-based information.
Design: A PtDA was developed and pilot tested using the International Patients Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) criteria.
Setting: Obstetric health care in the Netherlands.
Objective: To develop and internally validate a model that predicts the outcome of an intended vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) for a Western European population that can be used to personalise counselling for deliveries at term.
Design: Registration-based retrospective cohort study.
Setting: Five university teaching hospitals, seven non-university teaching hospitals, and five non-university non-teaching hospitals in the Netherlands.
Vacuolar ATPases (V-ATPases) are important for many cellular processes, as they regulate pH by pumping cytosolic protons into intracellular organelles. The cytoplasm is acidified when V-ATPase is inhibited; thus we conducted a high-throughput screen of a chemical library to search for compounds that acidify the yeast cytosol in vivo using pHluorin-based flow cytometry. Two inhibitors, alexidine dihydrochloride (EC(50) = 39 μM) and thonzonium bromide (EC(50) = 69 μM), prevented ATP-dependent proton transport in purified vacuolar membranes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFluorescence intensity of the pH-sensitive carboxyfluorescein derivative 2,7-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) was monitored by high-throughput flow cytometry in living yeast cells. We measured fluorescence intensity of BCECF trapped in yeast vacuoles, acidic compartments equivalent to lysosomes where vacuolar proton-translocating ATPases (V-ATPases) are abundant. Because V-ATPases maintain a low pH in the vacuolar lumen, V-ATPase inhibition by concanamycin A alkalinized the vacuole and increased BCECF fluorescence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The near exclusive use of praziquantel (PZQ) for treatment of human schistosomiasis has raised concerns about the possible emergence of drug-resistant schistosomes.
Methodology/principal Findings: We measured susceptibility to PZQ of isolates of Schistosoma mansoni obtained from patients from Kisumu, Kenya continuously exposed to infection as a consequence of their occupations as car washers or sand harvesters. We used a) an in vitro assay with miracidia, b) an in vivo assay targeting adult worms in mice and c) an in vitro assay targeting adult schistosomes perfused from mice.
V-ATPases are molecular motors that reversibly disassemble in vivo. Anchored in the membrane is subunit a. Subunit a has a movable N terminus that switches positions during disassembly and reassembly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe opossum major histocompatibility complex (MHC) shares a similar organization with that of non-mammals while containing a diverse set of class I genes more like that of eutherian (placental) mammals. There are 11 class I loci in the opossum MHC region, seven of which are known to be transcribed. The previously described Monodelphis domestica (Modo)-UA1 and Modo-UG display characteristics consistent with their being classical and non-classical class I genes, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Biochem Parasitol
March 2009
Although praziquantel (PZQ) has been used to treat schistosomiasis for over 20 years its mechanism of action remains unknown. We have developed an assay based on the transcriptional response of Schistosoma mansoni PR-1 to heat shock to confirm that while 6-week post-infection (p.i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe first sequenced marsupial genome promises to reveal unparalleled insights into mammalian evolution. We have used the Monodelphis domestica (gray short-tailed opossum) sequence to construct the first map of a marsupial major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The MHC is the most gene-dense region of the mammalian genome and is critical to immunity and reproductive success.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite its reduced benefit for a single recipient, the transplantation of two single-lung allografts as opposed to one bilateral lung transplant has the indisputable advantage of maximizing the number of patients that benefit from a single donor.
Methods: In the period 1997 to 1999, 90 paired single-lung transplants (SLTx) from 45 donors were performed in 16 lung centers in Eurotransplant, with a complete follow-up of 1 year.
Results: No significant differences between left- and right-lung allograft recipients were observed regarding age, sex, primary disease, number of human leukocyte antigen mismatches, cold ischemic time, and donor-to-recipient cytomegalovirus match.
Clin Pediatr (Phila)
January 2000
Objective: To assess parents' (or caretakers') willingness to allow multiple immunization injections at a single visit.
Design: A survey of parental demographics and a medical record review to determine immunization status.
Setting: An inner-city pediatric clinic in Philadelphia, Pa.