Last data update: Jan 27, 2025. (Total: 48650 publications since 2009)
Records 1-7 (of 7 Records) |
Query Trace: Brophy M[original query] |
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Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Mexico: A call to action
Álvarez-Hernández G , López-Ridaura R , Cortés-Alcalá R , García Rodríguez G , Calleja-López JRT , Rivera-Rosas CN , Alomía-Zegarra JL , Brophy M , Brito-Lorán CB , Del Carmen Candia-Plata M , Ceballos-Liceaga SE , Correa-Morales F , Dzul-Rosado KR , Foley J , Galván-Moroyoqui JM , Ganta R , Gutiérrez-Cedillo V , Hernández-Milán NS , López-Pérez AM , López-Soto LF , Martínez-Soto JM , Mata-Pineda AL , Paddock CD , Ruiz-González ILJ , Salinas-Aguirre JE , Salzer JS , Sánchez-Montes S , Soto-Guzmán A , Tamez-Rivera Ó , Wagner DM , Walker DH . Am J Trop Med Hyg 2024 111 (5) 1070-1077 Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is an ongoing public health crisis in Mexico, particularly in states bordering the United States. The national highest incidence and mortality of RMSF occur in this region, resulting in a case-fatality rate that ranges annually between 10% and 50%, primarily affecting vulnerable groups such as children, elderly adults, and persons living in poverty. Multiple biological, environmental, and social determinants can explain its growing presence throughout the country and how it challenges the health system and society. It is necessary to integrate resources and capacities from health authorities, research centers, and society to succeed in dealing with this problem. Through a scientific symposium, a group of academicians, U.S. health officials, and Mexican health authorities met on November 8-10, 2023, in Hermosillo, Mexico, to discuss the current situation of RMSF across the country and the challenges associated with its occurrence. An urgent call for action to improve national capacity against RMSF in the aspects of epidemiological and acarological surveillance, diagnosis, medical care, case and outbreak prevention, health promotion, and research was urged by the experts. The One Health approach is a proven multidisciplinary strategy to integrate policies and interventions to mitigate and prevent the burden of cases, deaths, and suffering caused by RMSF in Mexico. |
Conceptual framework for community-based prevention of brown dog tick-associated Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Brophy MK , Weis E , Drexler NA , Paddock CD , Nicholson WL , Kersh GJ , Salzer JS . Emerg Infect Dis 2024 30 (11) 2231-2240 Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a severe tickborne disease that can reach epidemic proportions in communities with certain social and ecologic risk factors. In some areas, the case-fatality rate of brown dog tick-associated RMSF is up to 50%. Because of the spread of brown dog tick-associated RMSF in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, the disease has the potential to emerge and become endemic in other communities that have large populations of free-roaming dogs, brown dog ticks, limited resources, and low provider awareness of the disease. By using a One Health approach, interdisciplinary teams can identify communities at risk and prevent severe or fatal RMSF in humans before cases occur. We have developed a conceptual framework for RMSF prevention to enable communities to identify their RMSF risk level and implement prevention and control strategies. |
A mutation associated with resistance to synthetic pyrethroids is widespread in US populations of the tropical lineage of Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l
Stone NE , Ballard R , Bourgeois RM , Pemberton GL , McDonough RF , Ruby MC , Backus LH , López-Pérez AM , Lemmer D , Koch Z , Brophy M , Paddock CD , Kersh GJ , Nicholson WL , Sahl JW , Busch JD , Salzer JS , Foley JE , Wagner DM . Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2024 15 (4) 102344 ![]() ![]() The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.), is an important vector for Rickettsia rickettsii, causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Current public health prevention and control efforts to protect people involve preventing tick infestations on domestic animals and in and around houses. Primary prevention tools rely on acaricides, often synthetic pyrethroids (SPs); resistance to this chemical class is widespread in ticks and other arthropods. Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. is a complex that likely contains multiple unique species and although the distribution of this complex is global, there are differences in morphology, ecology, and perhaps vector competence among these major lineages. Two major lineages within Rh. sanguineus s.l., commonly referred to as temperate and tropical, have been documented from multiple locations in North America, but are thought to occupy different ecological niches. To evaluate potential acaricide resistance and better define the distributions of the tropical and temperate lineages throughout the US and in northern Mexico, we employed a highly multiplexed amplicon sequencing approach to characterize sequence diversity at: 1) three loci within the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene, which contains numerous genetic mutations associated with resistance to SPs; 2) a region of the gamma-aminobutyric acid-gated chloride channel gene (GABA-Cl) containing several mutations associated with dieldrin/fipronil resistance in other species; and 3) three mitochondrial genes (COI, 12S, and 16S). We utilized a geographically diverse set of Rh sanguineus s.l. collected from domestic pets in the US in 2013 and a smaller set of ticks collected from canines in Baja California, Mexico in 2021. We determined that a single nucleotide polymorphism (T2134C) in domain III segment 6 of the VGSC, which has previously been associated with SP resistance in Rh. sanguineus s.l., was widespread and abundant in tropical lineage ticks (>50 %) but absent from the temperate lineage, suggesting that resistance to SPs may be common in the tropical lineage. We found evidence of multiple copies of GABA-Cl in ticks from both lineages, with some copies containing mutations associated with fipronil resistance in other species, but the effects of these patterns on fipronil resistance in Rh. sanguineus s.l. are currently unknown. The tropical lineage was abundant and geographically widespread, accounting for 79 % of analyzed ticks and present at 13/14 collection sites. The temperate and tropical lineages co-occurred in four US states, and as far north as New York. None of the ticks we examined were positive for Rickettsia rickettsii or Rickettsia massiliae. |
Consumer education needed on norovirus prevention and control: findings from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults
Cates SC , Kosa KM , Brophy JE , Hall AJ , Fraser A . J Food Prot 2015 78 (3) 484-490 Noroviruses (NoVs) are the leading cause of foodborne disease in the United States; however, little is known about consumers' knowledge of NoV infection and their understanding of how to prevent and control associated illness. A nationally representative Web-enabled panel survey of U.S. adults (n = 1,051) was conducted to collect information on consumers' awareness and knowledge of NoVs. Respondents who had heard of NoVs were asked 22 true-and-false questions on the transmission, prevention, and control of NoVs. Forty-seven percent of respondents reported awareness of NoVs, and 85% of respondents had heard of the terms "cruise ship virus," "the stomach bug," or "the stomach flu," which are commonly used to describe NoVs. Of those respondents who had previously heard of NoV or other terms used by consumers to describe NoV (n = 948), 36% correctly answered 11 or more of the 22 true-and-false questions, suggesting that consumers have limited knowledge on how to prevent and control NoV infection. Most consumers do not understand that the primary mode of transmission for NoV infection is fecal to oral, and many have the misperception that meat and poultry are sources of NoV infection. There is the need to educate consumers about how to prevent and control NoV infection. Although there is a proliferation of food safety education materials available, most focus on foodborne bacteria rather than viruses. The survey results will be used to revise existing consumer food safety educational materials to include information on NoV prevention and control. |
Gaps in food safety professionals' knowledge about noroviruses
Kosa KM , Cates SC , Hall AJ , Brophy JE , Fraser A . J Food Prot 2014 77 (8) 1336-41 Noroviruses (NoVs) are the most common etiologic agents of endemic and epidemic foodborne disease in the United States. Food safety professionals play an important role in protecting the public from foodborne illness. A survey of food safety professionals (n = 314) was conducted to characterize their knowledge of NoVs and to identify gaps in this knowledge. To recruit individuals, 25 professional organizations promoted the survey via their Web sites, newsletters, and/or e-mail distribution lists. The survey used true or false and open-ended questions to assess knowledge about NoVs, including attribution, transmission, and prevention and control strategies, including food handling practices. The online survey was available from mid-October 2012 to mid-January 2013. Of the 314 respondents, 66.2% correctly identified NoVs as one of the three most common causes of foodborne disease in the United States. Only 5.4% of respondents correctly identified the three most common settings for NoV infections, and 65.0% of respondents had the misperception that cruise ships are one of the three most common settings. Seventeen respondents (5.4%) answered all 20 true-or-false questions correctly, 33 respondents (10.5%) answered at least 19 of the 20 questions correctly, and 186 respondents (65.0%) answered at least 15 of the 20 questions correctly (i.e., a score of 75% or higher). The content domain in which respondents had the most incorrect answers was food handling practices. Thirty-eight percent of respondents incorrectly responded that it is safe for restaurant workers infected with NoVs to handle packaged food, food equipment, and utensils. About half of respondents did not know the recommended sanitizing solution for eliminating NoVs from a contaminated surface. The survey findings identified several important gaps in food safety professionals' knowledge of NoVs. The study results will inform the development of a Web-based educational module on NoVs to improve efforts to prevent the spread of NoVs in retail and institutional food establishments. |
Knowledge of norovirus prevention and control among infection preventionists
Kosa KM , Cates SC , Hall AJ , Brophy JE , Frasier A . Am J Infect Control 2014 42 (6) 676-8 A Web-based survey was administered to infection preventionists (IPs) (N = 941) to characterize awareness and knowledge of norovirus (NoV). Only 44% of respondents correctly identified NoV as one of the 3 most common foodborne pathogens in the United States, and 5% correctly identified the 3 most common settings for NoV outbreaks. Several gaps in IPs' knowledge of NoV were identified; specifically, IPs could benefit from learning more about the natural history of NoV, modes of transmission, and cleaning and disinfection processes. |
Breast cancer risk in relation to occupations with exposure to carcinogens and endocrine disruptors: a Canadian case-control study
Brophy JT , Keith MM , Watterson A , Park R , Gilbertson M , Maticka-Tyndale E , Beck M , Abu-Zahra H , Schneider K , Reinhartz A , Dematteo R , Luginaah I . Environ Health 2012 11 87 BACKGROUND: Endocrine disrupting chemicals and carcinogens, some of which may not yet have been classified as such, are present in many occupational environments and could increase breast cancer risk. Prior research has identified associations with breast cancer and work in agricultural and industrial settings. The purpose of this study was to further characterize possible links between breast cancer risk and occupation, particularly in farming and manufacturing, as well as to examine the impacts of early agricultural exposures, and exposure effects that are specific to the endocrine receptor status of tumours. METHODS: 1005 breast cancer cases referred by a regional cancer center and 1146 randomly-selected community controls provided detailed data including occupational and reproductive histories. All reported jobs were industry- and occupation-coded for the construction of cumulative exposure metrics representing likely exposure to carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. In a frequency-matched case-control design, exposure effects were estimated using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Across all sectors, women in jobs with potentially high exposures to carcinogens and endocrine disruptors had elevated breast cancer risk (OR = 1.42; 95% CI, 1.18-1.73, for 10 years exposure duration). Specific sectors with elevated risk included: agriculture (OR = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.01-1.82); bars-gambling (OR = 2.28; 95% CI, 0.94-5.53); automotive plastics manufacturing (OR = 2.68; 95% CI, 1.47-4.88), food canning (OR = 2.35; 95% CI, 1.00-5.53), and metalworking (OR = 1.73; 95% CI, 1.02-2.92). Estrogen receptor status of tumors with elevated risk differed by occupational grouping. Premenopausal breast cancer risk was highest for automotive plastics (OR = 4.76; 95% CI, 1.58-14.4) and food canning (OR = 5.70; 95% CI, 1.03-31.5). CONCLUSIONS: These observations support hypotheses linking breast cancer risk and exposures likely to include carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, and demonstrate the value of detailed work histories in environmental and occupational epidemiology. |
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