Distribution of Triatoma dimidiata sensu lato (Reduviidae: Triatominae) and Risk Factors Associated with Household Invasion in Northern Belize, Central America.

To date, Triatoma dimidiata sensu lato [Reduviidae: Triatominae (Latreille 1811)] remains the sole vector species associated with Chagas disease transmission reported from Belize. Human infection data are limited for Belize and the disease transmission dynamics have not been thoroughly investigated, yet the likelihood of autochthonous transmission is supported by the widespread collection of infected vectors from within local households. Here, we report updated infection rates of the vector population and infestation rates for villages in north and central Belize.

Geographic distribution and modeling of ticks in the Republic of Korea and the application of tick models towards understanding the distribution of associated pathogenic agents.

Encounters with ticks harboring pathogenic agents have demonstrated increasing public health implications. Tick surveillance in the Republic of Korea (ROK) is essential for determining tick distributions and the potential regions where tick-borne pathogens may be found. Extensive tick collections (tick drags and tick flagging) were previously performed by Force Health Protection & Preventive Medicine (FHP&PM), Medical Activity-Korea (MEDDAC-K)/65 Medical Brigade (MED BDE) personnel, in collaboration with the Public Health Activity-Korea in the ROK.

Predicting Risk of Imported Disease with Demographics: Geospatial Analysis of Imported Malaria in Minnesota, 2010-2014.

Although immigrants who visit friends and relatives (VFRs) account for most of the travel-acquired malaria cases in the United States, there is limited evidence on community-level risk factors and best practices for prevention appropriate for various VFR groups. Using 2010-2014 malaria case reports, sociodemographic census data, and health services data, we explored and mapped community-level characteristics to understand who is at risk and where imported malaria infections occur in Minnesota. We examined associations with malaria incidence using Poisson and negative binomial regression.

A cross-sectional study of malaria endemicity and health system readiness to deliver services in Kenya, Namibia and Senegal.

Despite good progress towards elimination, malaria continues to contribute substantially to the sub-Saharan African disease burden. Sustaining previous gains requires continued readiness to deliver malaria services in response to actual disease burden, which in turn contributes to health systems strengthening. This study investigates a health system innovation.

Outbreak Investigation of Malaria in a Region of Guatemala Targeted for Malaria Elimination.

AbstractThe Department of Santa Rosa, Guatemala, is targeted for malaria elimination. However, compared with 2011, a 13-fold increase in cases was reported in 2012. To describe the epidemiology of malaria in Santa Rosa in the setting of the apparent outbreak, demographic and microscopic data from 2008 to 2013 were analyzed.

Prevalence, Distribution, and Development of an Ecological Niche Model of Dermacentor variabilis Ticks Positive for Rickettsia montanensis.

Rickettsia montanensis has long been considered a nonpathogenic member of the spotted fever group rickettsiae. However, the infection potential of R. montanensis is being revisited in light of its recent association with a case of human infection in the United States and the possibility that additional cases may have been misdiagnosed as Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Environmental Factors Related to Fungal Wound Contamination after Combat Trauma in Afghanistan, 2009-2011.

During the recent war in Afghanistan (2001-2014), invasive fungal wound infections (IFIs) among US combat casualties were associated with risk factors related to the mechanism and pattern of injury. Although previous studies recognized that IFI patients primarily sustained injuries in southern Afghanistan, environmental data were not examined. We compared environmental conditions of this region with those of an area in eastern Afghanistan that was not associated with observed IFIs after injury.

Identifying the effective concentration for spatial repellency of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti.

Background: Current efforts are underway to quantify the chemical concentration in a treated air space that elicits a spatial repellent (deterrent) response in a vector population. Such information will facilitate identifying the optimum active ingredient (AI) dosage and intervention coverage important for the development of spatial repellent tools--one of several novel strategies being evaluated for vector-borne disease control. This study reports initial findings from air sampling experiments conducted under field conditions to describe the relationship between air concentrations of repellent AIs and deterrent behavior in the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti.

Ecological niche modeling to estimate the distribution of Japanese encephalitis virus in Asia.

Background: Culex tritaeniorhynchus is the primary vector of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a leading cause of encephalitis in Asia. JEV is transmitted in an enzootic cycle involving large wading birds as the reservoirs and swine as amplifying hosts. The development of a JEV vaccine reduced the number of JE cases in regions with comprehensive childhood vaccination programs, such as in Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Japanese encephalitis virus in culicine mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) collected at Daeseongdong, a village in the demilitarized zone of the Republic of Korea.

In total, 22,846 (17,793 culicines and 5,053 Anopheles spp.) female mosquitoes were captured by a Mosquito Magnet trap at Daeseongdong, a small village adjacent to the military demarcation line (center of the demilitarized zone) in northern Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea (ROK). Culicine mosquitoes were identified to species, placed in pools of up to 30 mosquitoes each, and screened for flavivirus using a SYBR Green I-based real-time polymerase chain reaction.

A local, regional, and national assessment of pediatric malaria in the United States.

Background: Imported malaria remains a public health concern in the United States, but the health impact on children and the financial costs to society have not been well defined.

Methods: Inpatient and outpatient malaria cases diagnosed at Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington, DC over an 8-year period are retrospectively reviewed. Cases are mapped against Census Bureau population data.

The AFHSC-Division of GEIS Operations Predictive Surveillance Program: a multidisciplinary approach for the early detection and response to disease outbreaks.

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Division of Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System Operations (AFHSC-GEIS) initiated a coordinated, multidisciplinary program to link data sets and information derived from eco-climatic remote sensing activities, ecologic niche modeling, arthropod vector, animal disease-host/reservoir, and human disease surveillance for febrile illnesses, into a predictive surveillance program that generates advisories and alerts on emerging infectious disease outbreaks. The program's ultimate goal is pro-active public health practice through pre-event preparedness, prevention and control, and response decision-making and prioritization. This multidisciplinary program is rooted in over 10 years experience in predictive surveillance for Rift Valley fever outbreaks in Eastern Africa.

Modeling the distribution of Culex tritaeniorhynchus to predict Japanese encephalitis distribution in the Republic of Korea.

Over 35,000 cases of Japanese encephalitis (JE) are reported worldwide each year. Culex tritaeniorhynchus is the primary vector of the JE virus, while wading birds are natural reservoirs and swine amplifying hosts. As part of a JE risk analysis, the ecological niche modeling programme, Maxent, was used to develop a predictive model for the distribution of Cx.

Geographic distribution modeling and spatial cluster analysis for equine piroplasms in Greece.

Maximum entropy ecological niche modeling and spatial scan statistic were utilized to predict the geographic range and to investigate clusters of infections for equine piroplasms in Greece, using the Maxent and SaTScan programs, respectively. The eastern half of the country represented the culminating area with high probabilities (p>0.75) of presence of equine piroplasms and encompassed most regions with high concentration of equid host populations.

Genetic diversity of equine piroplasms in Greece with a note on speciation within Theileria genotypes (T. equi and T. equi-like).

Equine piroplasms in Greece were studied using the reverse line blot hybridization (RLB) assay. Three genotypes consisting of two Theileria (T. equi and T.

The relationship between mosquito abundance and rice field density in the Republic of Korea.

Background: Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), the causative agent of Japanese encephalitis (JE), is endemic to the Republic of Korea (ROK) where unvaccinated United States (U.S.) military Service members, civilians and family members are stationed.

Ecological niche model of Phlebotomus alexandri and P. papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the Middle East.

Background: The purpose of this study is to create distribution models of two sand fly species, Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) and P. alexandri (Sinton), across the Middle East. Phlebotomus alexandri is a vector of visceral leishmaniasis, while P.

Predicted geographic ranges for North American sylvatic Trichinella species.

Because of a lack of comprehensive surveys, the geographic distributions of the North American species of encapsulating Trichinella (T. nativa and its variant T6, T. murrelli, and T.

Habitat analysis of North American sand flies near veterans returning from leishmania-endemic war zones.

Background: Nearly 1300 cases of leishmaniasis have been identified in American military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The symptoms of this disease can range from a mild, self-limiting cutaneous infection to a deadly visceral infection and are not prevented by chemoprophylaxis or immunization. Effective treatments, however, are available.

Swine trichinella infection and geographic information system tools.

Pastured pigs are vulnerable to Trichinella spiralis infection through exposure to wild reservoir hosts. To evaluate the potential impact of the expanding production of pork from pasture-raised pigs, we mapped locations of T. spiralis occurrence and pastured-pig farms in the United States.

Distribution of Anopheles albimanus, Anopheles vestitipennis, and Anopheles crucians associated with land use in northern Belize.

Anthropogenic land use changes often alter natural patterns of disease transmission. The goal of this study was to determine whether phosphorus input from sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum L., cultivation in northern Belize could pose a significant environmental impact on malaria transmission by changing vegetation structure and composition of wetlands and associated larval habitats.

Use of remote sensing and geographic information systems to predict locations of Anopheles darlingi-positive breeding sites within the Sibun River in Belize, Central America.

Previous studies have identified several anopheline species integral to the transmission of malaria in Belize. The highly efficient vector, Anopheles darlingi Root, is currently considered the most important. The preferred larval habitat of An.

Plasmodium-infected Anopheles mosquitoes collected in Virginia and Maryland following local transmission of Plasmodium vivax malaria in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Two recent outbreaks of locally acquired, mosquito-transmitted malaria in Virginia in 1998 and 2002 demonstrate the continued risk of endemic mosquito-transmitted malaria in heavily populated areas of the eastern United States. Increasing immigration, growth in global travel, and the presence of competent anopheline vectors throughout the eastern United States contribute to the increasing risk of malaria importation and transmission. On August 23 and 25, 2002, Plasmodium vivax malaria was diagnosed in 2 teenagers in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Spatial correlations of mapped malaria rates with environmental factors in Belize, Central America.

BACKGROUND: The purposes of this study were to map overall malaria incidence rates from 1989 through 1999 for villages in Belize; to assess the seasonal distribution of malaria incidence by region; and to correlate malaria incidence rates with vegetation cover and rivers in villages, using geographic information system technology.Malaria information on 156 villages was obtained from an electronic database maintained by the Belize National Malaria Control Program. Average annual malaria incidence rates per 1000 population over 10 years were calculated for villages using the 1991 population census as a denominator.

A cost comparison of two malaria control methods in Kyunggi Province, Republic of Korea, using remote sensing and geographic information systems.

A cost-comparison of two methods for the control of malaria in the Republic of Korea was performed. The cost of larviciding with methoprene granules was estimated at $93.48/hectare.