The private well water climate impact index: Characterization of community-level climate-related hazards and vulnerability in the continental United States.

Background: Private wells use groundwater as their source and their drinking water quality is unregulated in the United States at the federal level. Due to the lack of water quality regulations, those reliant on private wells have the responsibility of ensuring that the water is safe to drink. Where extreme weather is projected to increase with climate change, contamination due to climate-related hazards adds further layers of complexity for those relying on private wells.

Factors Associated with Detection in the Water Systems of National Lodging Organization Facilities with Water Management Programs in the United States.

A better understanding of risk factors and the predictive capability of water management program (WMP) data in detecting are needed to inform the efforts aimed at reducing growth and preventing outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease. Using WMPs and testing data from a national lodging organization in the United States, we aimed to (1) identify factors associated with detection and (2) assess the ability of WMP disinfectant and temperature metrics to predict detection. We conducted a logistic regression analysis to identify WMP metrics associated with serogroup 1 (SG1) detection.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Water Management Program Performance across a United States Lodging Organization.

, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease, can grow and spread in building water systems and devices. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted building water systems through reductions in water usage. growth risk factors can be mitigated through control measures, such as flushing, to address stagnation, as part of a water management program (WMP).

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptability Among Clients and Staff of Homeless Shelters in Detroit, Michigan, February 2021.

Understanding COVID-19 vaccine acceptability among clients and staff of homeless shelters can inform public health efforts focused on communicating with and educating this population about COVID-19 vaccines and thus improve vaccine uptake. The objective of this study was to assess COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and uptake among people in homeless shelters in Detroit, Michigan. A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 9 to 23, 2021.

Mapping eastern equine encephalitis virus risk for white-tailed deer in Michigan.

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is often fatal to humans and horses. Some species including white-tailed deer and passerine birds can survive infection with the EEE virus (EEEV) and develop antibodies that can be detected using laboratory techniques. In this way, collected serum samples from free ranging white-tailed deer can be used to monitor the presence of the virus in ecosystems.

A risk index model for predicting eastern equine encephalitis virus transmission to horses in Florida.

A GIS-based risk index model was developed to quantify EEEV transmission risk to horses in the State of Florida. EEEV is a highly pathogenic arbovirus that is endemic along the east coast of the United States, and it is generally fatal to both horses and humans. The model evaluates EEEV transmission risk at individual raster cells in map on a continuous scale of 0 to 1.

Risk of exposure to eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus increases with the density of northern cardinals.

For a variety of infectious diseases, the richness of the community of potential host species has emerged as an important factor in pathogen transmission, whereby a higher richness of host species is associated with a lowered disease risk. The proposed mechanism driving this pattern is an increased likelihood in species-rich communities that infectious individuals will encounter dead-end hosts. Mosquito-borne pathogen systems potentially are exceptions to such "dilution effects" because mosquitoes vary their rates of use of vertebrate host species as bloodmeal sources relative to host availabilities.

Spatial epidemiology of eastern equine encephalitis in Florida.

Background: Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) is an alphavirus with high pathogenicity in both humans and horses. Florida continues to have the highest occurrence of human cases in the USA, with four fatalities recorded in 2010. Unlike other states, Florida supports year-round EEEV transmission.

Analysis of transcriptional regulation of tetracycline responsive genes in Brugia malayi.

The Wolbachia endosymbiont of the human filarial parasites is necessary for parasite reproduction, making it an attractive chemotherapeutic target. Previous studies have demonstrated that mRNA levels of several nuclearly encoded genes are altered as a result of exposure to antibiotics that eliminate the endosymbiont, suggesting that they may be involved in maintaining the parasite-endosymbiont relationship. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the increase in mRNA levels of certain nuclearly encoded genes of Brugia malayi in response to tetracycline treatment involved specific regulatory elements present in the promoters of these genes.