The sensitive varicella-zoster fluorescent antibody to membrane antigen (V-Z FAMA) test was used in a seroepidemiologic survey of two outbreaks of varicella involving 30 children. The attack rate of varicella based on clinical observations alone was 60%. The attack rate based on clinical and serological observations lay between 78% and 82%, after excluding those children who had detectable antibody at the time of exposure. No subclinical varicella infection was observed in this small series of patients. No boost in antibody response was observed in immunes who were exposed to varicella. No patients with detectable V-Z antibody by FAMA at the time of exposure developed clinical varicella. The V-Z FAMA test provided helpful information about the immune status of persons exposed to varicella.
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One Health
December 2024
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
An incursion and outbreak of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) was reported in Australia in 2021 and 2022, respectively. There was speculation that JEV may have been circulating in Australia unknowingly prior to the detection. In this study, we determined sero-prevalence and transmission of West Nile virus (WNV), Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) and JEV, prior to and post JEV incursion in a sentinel equine population in south-east Queensland (SEQ), Australia, using blocking ELISAs (screening test) and virus neutralisation test (confirmatory).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough the highlands of East Africa lack the geo-ecological landmarks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) disease hotspots to participate in cyclic RVF epidemics, they have recently reported growing numbers of small RVF clusters. Here, we investigated whether RVF cycling occurred among livestock and humans in the central highlands of Kenya during inter-epidemic periods. A 2-year prospective hospital-based study among febrile patients (March 2022-February 2024) in Murang'a County of Kenya was followed by a cross-sectional human-animal survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogens
December 2024
Centro di Referenza Nazionale per Anaplasma, Babesia Rickettsia, e Theileria (C.R.A.Ba.R.T.), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia "A. Mirri", 90129 Palermo, Italy.
Vector-borne diseases represent a serious threat to human and animal health, especially where environmental conditions favor pathogen-carrying vectors. Dogs serve as natural hosts for two tick-borne pathogens: , which causes canine monocytic ehrlichiosis, and spotted fever group (SFG) spp., a zoonotic threat in the Mediterranean region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogens
December 2024
Institute of Microbiology, Department for Environment Constructions and Design, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), 6850 Mendrisio, Switzerland.
Although Switzerland is currently not endemic for canine leishmaniosis (CanL), imported cases of this emerging zoonosis are regularly detected. Also, phlebotomine sand flies, vectors of the causative agent , are present in the southern part of the country, in Canton Ticino, and endemic foci of CanL have been recently described in neighboring Italian municipalities. In 2022 and 2023, we evaluated the distribution of phlebotomine sand flies and the presence of antibodies against in domestic dogs and cats in Ticino and Mesolcina (Canton of Grisons).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogens
December 2024
Institute of Pest Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro 67101, Tanzania.
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