Metagenomic Detection of Bacterial Zoonotic Pathogens among Febrile Patients, Tanzania, 2007-2009.

Bacterial zoonoses are established causes of severe febrile illness in East Africa. Within a fever etiology study, we applied a high-throughput 16S rRNA metagenomic assay validated for detecting bacterial zoonotic pathogens. We enrolled febrile patients admitted to 2 referral hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania, during September 2007-April 2009.

Development and validation of a real-time PCR test to detect Bartonella quintana in clinical samples.

This study reports on the validation of a real-time polymerase chain reaction test targeting the vomp region of Bartonella quintana. The assay displayed 100% sensitivity and specificity for the 52 bloods and 159 cultures tested. Molecular diagnosis of Bartonella quintana can aid clinical treatment during acute infection.

Household Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Alpha Variant-United States, 2021.

Background: In Spring 2021, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.1.

Simultaneous Detection and Differentiation of Clinically Relevant Relapsing Fever with Semimultiplex Real-Time PCR.

Bacterial vector-borne diseases, including species, present a significant diagnostic, clinical, and public health challenge due to their overlapping symptoms and the breadth of causative agents and arthropod vectors. The relapsing fever (RF) borreliae encompass both established and emerging pathogens and are transmitted to humans by soft ticks, hard ticks, or lice. We developed a real-time semimultiplex PCR assay that detects multiple RF borreliae causing human illness and classifies them into one of three groups.

A molecular algorithm to detect and differentiate human pathogens infecting Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae).

The incidence and geographic range of tick-borne illness associated with Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus have dramatically increased in recent decades. Anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Borrelia spirochete infections, including Lyme borreliosis, account for tens of thousands of reported cases of tick-borne disease every year. Assays that reliably detect pathogens in ticks allow investigators and public health agencies to estimate the geographic distribution of human pathogens, assess geographic variation in their prevalence, and evaluate the effectiveness of prevention strategies.

Transmission efficiency of Francisella tularensis by adult american dog ticks (Acari: Ixodidae).

The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (Acari: Ixodidae), has been implicated as a potential bridging vector to humans of Francisella tularensis, the etiological agent of tularemia. Since the initial studies evaluating vector competency of D. variabilis were conducted, F.

Transmission dynamics of Francisella tularensis subspecies and clades by nymphal Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae).

In the United States, the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say) is considered an important biological vector of Francisella tularensis, the etiologic agent of tularemia. In this study, we evaluated the vector efficiency of nymphal D. variabilis infected as larvae with differing clades and subspecies (A1b, A2, and type B) of F.

Virulence differences among Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis clades in mice.

Francisella tularensis subspecies tularensis (type A) and holarctica (type B) are of clinical importance in causing tularemia. Molecular typing methods have further separated type A strains into three genetically distinct clades, A1a, A1b and A2. Epidemiological analyses of human infections in the United States suggest that A1b infections are associated with a significantly higher mortality rate as compared to infections caused by A1a, A2 and type B.