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.

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.

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.

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.