Functional Diversity as a New Framework for Understanding the Ecology of an Emerging Generalist Pathogen.

Emerging infectious disease outbreaks are increasingly suspected to be a consequence of human pressures exerted on natural ecosystems. Previously, host taxonomic communities have been used as indicators of infectious disease emergence, and the loss of their diversity has been implicated as a driver of increased presence. The mechanistic details in how such pathogen-host systems function, however, may not always be explained by taxonomic variation or loss.

Mycobacterium ulcerans fails to infect through skin abrasions in a guinea pig infection model: implications for transmission.

Transmission of M. ulcerans, the etiological agent of Buruli ulcer, from the environment to humans remains an enigma despite decades of research. Major transmission hypotheses propose 1) that M.

Aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages of Ghana, West Africa: understanding the ecology of a neglected tropical disease.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is an emerging, but neglected tropical disease, where there has been a reported association with disturbed aquatic habitats and proposed aquatic macroinvertebrate vectors such as biting Hemiptera. An initial step in understanding the potential role of macroinvertebrates in the ecology of BU is to better understand the entire community, not just one or two taxa, in relation to the pathogen, Mycobacterium ulcerans, at a large spatial scale. For the first time at a country-wide scale this research documents that M.

Fish and amphibians as potential reservoirs of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer disease.

Background: Buruli ulcer is a skin disease often associated with proximity to certain water bodies in Africa. Much remains unknown about the reservoir and transmission of this disease. Previous studies have suggested that fish may concentrate Mycobacterium ulcerans, the etiological agent of the disease, in their gills and intestines and serve as passive reservoirs of the bacterium.

A molecular approach to identifying the natural prey of the African creeping water bug Naucoris, a potential reservoir of Mycobacterium ulcerans.

The extra-oral digestion of creeping water bugs (Naucoridae: Hemiptera) hinders the study of their diet using the standard method of identifying prey body parts in the gut. Genetic methods are available, but rely on PCR tests or similar diagnostics to confirm suspected prey. Where the potential prey is unknown and a broad search for all possible prey is desirable, methods that can potentially capture any prey item are required.

Spatial and temporal variability of macroinvertebrates in spawning and non-spawning habitats during a salmon run in Southeast Alaska.

Spawning salmon create patches of disturbance through redd digging which can reduce macroinvertebrate abundance and biomass in spawning habitat. We asked whether displaced invertebrates use non-spawning habitats as refugia in streams. Our study explored how the spatial and temporal distribution of macroinvertebrates changed during a pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) spawning run and compared macroinvertebrates in spawning (riffle) and non-spawning (refugia) habitats in an Alaskan stream.

Detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans in the environment predicts prevalence of Buruli ulcer in Benin.

Background: Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer (BU). In West Africa there is an association between BU and residence in low-lying rural villages where aquatic sources are plentiful. Infection occurs through unknown environmental exposure; human-to-human infection is rare.

Effectiveness of wound cleansing treatments on maggot (Diptera, Calliphoridae) mortality.

Myiasis is defined as an infestation of the organs and/or tissues of human and other animals by fly maggots. Fly species that normally breed in meat or carrion (Diptera: Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae) may become involved in cutaneous myiasis by colonizing preexisting wounds. Reports of human wound myiasis contracted in hospitals and nursing homes, especially when patients are chronically ill or bed-ridden, are not uncommon across North America and often result in cases of neglect and civil litigation.

Ecology and transmission of Buruli ulcer disease: a systematic review.

Buruli ulcer is a neglected emerging disease that has recently been reported in some countries as the second most frequent mycobacterial disease in humans after tuberculosis. Cases have been reported from at least 32 countries in Africa (mainly west), Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Central and South America, and the Western Pacific. Large lesions often result in scarring, contractual deformities, amputations, and disabilities, and in Africa, most cases of the disease occur in children between the ages of 4-15 years.

Interaction of Mycobacterium ulcerans with mosquito species: implications for transmission and trophic relationships.

Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, a severe necrotizing skin disease that causes significant morbidity in Africa and Australia. Person-to-person transmission of Buruli ulcer is rare. Throughout Africa and Australia infection is associated with residence near slow-moving or stagnant water bodies.

Examination of nocturnal blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) oviposition on pig carcasses in mid-Michigan.

The most common application of forensic entomology involves estimating a portion of the postmortem interval (PMI), which usually assumes that blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) do not oviposit nocturnally. Research objectives were to (1) investigate blow fly nocturnal oviposition in relation to sunrise and sunset in Michigan; (2) evaluate abiotic variables postulated to affect blow fly oviposition; and (3) conduct laboratory experiments testing blow fly activity under complete darkness. In 2006, nocturnal oviposition was evaluated in relation to sunset by exposing pigs to fly colonization at 1-h intervals, beginning 2 h before and ending 2 h after sunset.

Persistent association of Mycobacterium ulcerans with West African predaceous insects of the family belostomatidae.

A number of studies have suggested that Mycobacterium ulcerans, the etiological agent of Buruli ulcer, may be transmitted to humans by insect bites. M. ulcerans has been isolated from a predaceous aquatic insect, and PCR detection of M.

Cutaneous myiasis arising in an eccrine adnexal neoplasm.

Myiasis is the infestation of human tissue by fly maggots. Although it is most often reported in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world and in travelers returning from these areas, cases do occur in the United States. We report here a case of cutaneous myiasis observed in the setting of an eccrine adnexal neoplasm in an otherwise healthy host.

Aquatic invertebrates as unlikely vectors of Buruli ulcer disease.

Buruli ulcer is a necrotizing skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans and associated with exposure to aquatic habitats. To assess possible transmission of M. ulcerans by aquatic biting insects, we conducted a field examination of biting water bugs (Hemiptera: Naucoridae, Belostomatidae, Nepidae) in 15 disease-endemic and 12 non-disease-endemic areas of Ghana, Africa.

A Landscape-based model for predicting Mycobacterium ulcerans infection (Buruli Ulcer disease) presence in Benin, West Africa.

Mycobacterium ulcerans infection (Buruli ulcer [BU] disease) is an emerging tropical disease that causes severe morbidity in many communities, especially those in close proximity to aquatic environments. Research and control efforts are severely hampered by the paucity of data regarding the ecology of this disease; for example, the vectors and modes of transmission remain unknown. It is hypothesized that BU presence is associated with altered landscapes that perturb aquatic ecosystems; however, this has yet to be quantified over large spatial scales.

Distribution of Mycobacterium ulcerans in buruli ulcer endemic and non-endemic aquatic sites in Ghana.

Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, is an emerging environmental bacterium in Australia and West Africa. The primary risk factor associated with Buruli ulcer is proximity to slow moving water. Environmental constraints for disease are shown by the absence of infection in arid regions of infected countries.

Caddisflies assist with homicide case: determining a postmortem submersion interval using aquatic insects.

Although few indicators of time since death for corpses found in aquatic ecosystems are comparable in precision to the insect indicators used in terrestrial cases, there are observations that can be useful in suggesting or ruling out an approximate PMSI (postmortem submersion interval). For example, the time intervals required for certain growth phases of aquatic insects, such as caddisflies, that may attach themselves to the submerged remains can be used to estimate a minimum PMSI. Approximately 8 of the 13 orders of insects containing species with aquatic or semi-aquatic stages are likely to be associated with carrion or corpses in aquatic habitats.

Collembola of the grave: a cold case history involving arthropods 28 years after death.

This report describes a cold case in which a cadaver of a 28-year-old female was exhumed in February 2005 from a cemetery in Battle Creek, Michigan. She had sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was found dead in her home on November 15, 1977. The body of the victim was subsequently embalmed and then buried at a depth of 1.

Habitat assessment of non-wadeable rivers in Michigan.

Habitat evaluation of wadeable streams based on accepted protocols provides a rapid and widely used adjunct to biological assessment. However, little effort has been devoted to habitat evaluation in non-wadeable rivers, where it is likely that protocols will differ and field logistics will be more challenging. We developed and tested a non-wadeable habitat index (NWHI) for rivers of Michigan, where non-wadeable rivers were defined as those of order >or=5, drainage area >or=1600 km2, mainstem lengths >or=100 km, and mean annual discharge >or=15 m3/s.

Lack of effects of Bacillus sphaericus (Vectolex) on nontarget organisms in a mosquito-control program in southeastern Wisconsin: a 3-year study.

A 3-year study (2000-2002) in southeastern Wisconsin was conducted to assess the effects of Bacillus sphaericus applied for mosquito control on nontarget wetland invertebrates. The experimental design consisted of control and treatment sites (that were applied by helicopter with Vectolex CG), each in 2 vegetation habitat types: reed canary grass marsh (Phalaris arundinacea) and cattail marsh (Typha spp.).

Buruli ulcer (M. ulcerans infection): new insights, new hope for disease control.

Buruli ulcer is a disease of skin and soft tissue caused by It can leave affected people scarred and disabled. What are the prospects for disease control?

Diel feeding periodicity of larval anopheline mosquitoes on microorganisms and microinvertebrates: a spatial and temporal comparison of Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Diptera: Culicidae) diets in a Michigan pond.

Diel feeding activity of third and fourth instars of Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say were studied in a Michigan permanent pond. This field study examined the consumption of microbial and microinvertebrate food resources over a diel (24-h) period between two habitats (open water and vegetated areas). A fluorochromatic stain (4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) was used to quantify microbial dietary components within larval guts and habitats.

Aquatic snails, passive hosts of Mycobacterium ulcerans.

Accumulative indirect evidence of the epidemiology of Mycobacterium ulcerans infections causing chronic skin ulcers (i.e., Buruli ulcer disease) suggests that the development of this pathogen and its transmission to humans are related predominantly to aquatic environments.

Pig decomposition in lotic aquatic systems: the potential use of algal growth in establishing a postmortem submersion interval (PMSI).

While algal community composition has been examined as a qualitative indicator of postmortem submersion interval (PMSI), there have been no quantitative studies on using algal growth rates as PMSI estimators. The present study was undertaken to examine pig decomposition in streams and to develop a more quantitative approach to estimate a PMSI. Pigs and ceramic tiles were completely submerged and regularly sampled for periphyton growth.

The effect of an industrial effluent on an urban stream benthic community: water quality vs habitat quality.

We studied the effect of an industrial effluent on the water quality, habitat quality, and benthic macroinvertebrates of an urban stream in southwestern Michigan (USA). The effluent affected water quality by raising in-stream temperatures 13-18 degree C during colder months and carrying high amounts of iron (> 20 x higher than ambient) that covered the streambed. The effluent also affected habitat conditions by increasing total stream discharge by 50-150%, causing a significant change in substrate and flow conditions.