Publications by authors named "Stephanie Cinkovich"
The Global Emerging Infections Surveillance (GEIS) program is the only Department of Defense (DoD) organization that coordinates global surveillance for emerging infectious diseases that affect US military forces operating in the United States or foreign locations. Since 1997, the GEIS program has focused on surveilling pathogens likely to affect military operations and the health of service members. The foundation of the GEIS program is the long-standing, mutually beneficial relationships between the DoD overseas laboratories and their host-country partners and militaries.
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- The West Nile virus (WNV) Koutango lineage (WN-KOUTV) has been isolated from phlebotomine sandflies in Kenya, expanding understanding of this virus found primarily in mosquitoes.
- This study involved sampling sandflies, identifying species, isolating the virus, and analyzing its genetic sequences to understand its evolutionary relationships and variations.
- Results indicated WN-KOUTV shows unique genetic traits and replicated effectively in both mammalian and mosquito cell lines, which could imply the sandflies might play a role as potential vectors for the virus.
Phleboviruses are an emerging threat to public health. Recent surveillance efforts in Kenya have unveiled novel phleboviruses. Despite these efforts, there remain knowledge gaps.
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- Ticks are significant ectoparasites that transmit various human diseases, including Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, making them the second most important vector after mosquitoes.
- This study analyzed the bacterial content of ticks collected from different regions in Kenya, using advanced genomic techniques to classify the bacterial species present.
- Key findings included the dominance of Rickettsia and Coxiella species in the tick samples, along with the identification of bacteria linked to several human infections, highlighting the need for further research on tick-borne diseases in Kenya.
We report the sequencing of two viruses, Phasi Charoen-like phasivirus (PCLV) and Fako virus (FAKV), which were detected in a pool of from Kenya. Analysis showed a high similarity of PCLV to publicly available PCLV genomes from Kenya. FAKV showed a high genetic divergence from publicly available FAKV genomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMosquito-borne pathogens are a threat to US troops stationed in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Insecticide resistance has been reported in mosquito vectors in the ROK, highlighting the need for a sustained ROK-wide resistance surveillance program. To address this need from April 2022 until October 2022, larvae and pupae of Aedes albopictus, Ae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2015 and 2016, Zika virus (ZIKV) swept through dengue virus (DENV) endemic areas of Latin America. These viruses are of the same family, share a vector and may interact competitively or synergistically through human immune responses. We examine dengue incidence from Brazil and Colombia before, during, and after the Zika epidemic.
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- Unprotected sexual intercourse in areas with Zika virus can lead to infection, highlighting a significant risk factor for those traveling from such regions.* -
- In a study, macaques were infected with Zika virus either intravaginally or intrarectally; 50% showed virus presence after vaginal infection, while 100% showed it after rectal infection.* -
- The findings suggest that sexual transmission of Zika virus could sustain its presence in regions without mosquito transmission, potentially facilitating its spread.*
Habitat heterogeneity influences pathogen ecology by affecting vector abundance and the reservoir host communities. We investigated spatial patterns of disease risk for two human pathogens in the Borrelia genus-B. burgdorferi and B.
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