Last data update: May 06, 2024. (Total: 46732 publications since 2009)
Records 1-6 (of 6 Records) |
Query Trace: Rizzo MF[original query] |
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Using next generation sequencing for molecular detection and differentiation of Anaplasma phagocytophilum variants from host seeking Ixodes scapularis ticks in the United States.
Hojgaard A , Osikowicz LM , Rizzo MF , Ayres BN , Nicholson WL , Eisen RJ . Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2022 13 (6) 102041 Anaplasmosis is increasingly common in the United States, with cases being reported over an expanding geographic area. To monitor for changes in risk of human infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitors the distribution and abundance of host-seeking vector ticks (Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus) and their infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum. While several variants of A. phagocytophilum circulate in I. scapularis, only the human-active variant (Ap-ha) appears to be pathogenic in humans. Failure to differentiate between human and non-human variants may artificially inflate estimates of the risk of human infection. Efforts to differentiate the Ap-ha variant from the deer variant (Ap-V1) in ticks typically rely on traditional PCR assays coupled with sequencing of PCR products. However, laboratories are increasingly turning to Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to increase testing efficiency, retain high sensitivity, and increase specificity compared with traditional PCR assays. We describe a new NGS assay with novel targets that accurately segregate the Ap-ha variant from other non-human variants and further identify unique clades within the human and non-human variants. Recognizing that not all investigators have access to NGS technology, we also developed a PCR assay based on one of the novel targets so that variants can be visualized using agarose gel electrophoresis without the need for subsequent sequencing. Such an assay may be used to improve estimates of human risk of developing anaplasmosis in North America. |
Identification of Bartonella rochalimae in Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) and fleas collected from rural Peruvian households
Rizzo MF , Osikowicz L , Caceres AG , LunaCaipo VD , Suarez-Puyen SM , Bai Y , Kosoy M . Am J Trop Med Hyg 2019 101 (6) 1276-1281 In the present study, we tested 391 fleas collected from guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) (241 Pulex species, 110 Ctenocephalides felis, and 40 Tiamastus cavicola) and 194 fleas collected from human bedding and clothing (142 Pulex species, 43 C. felis, five T. cavicola, and four Ctenocephalides canis) for the presence of Bartonella DNA. We also tested 83 blood spots collected on FTA cards from guinea pigs inhabiting 338 Peruvian households. Bartonella DNA was detected in 81 (20.7%) of 391 guinea pig fleas, in five (2.6%) of 194 human fleas, and in 16 (19.3%) of 83 guinea pig blood spots. Among identified Bartonella species, B. rochalimae was the most prevalent in fleas (89.5%) and the only species found in the blood spots from guinea pigs. Other Bartonella species detected in fleas included B. henselae (3.5%), B. clarridgeiae (2.3%), and an undescribed Bartonella species (4.7%). Our results demonstrated a high prevalence of zoonotic B. rochalimae in households in rural areas where the research was conducted and suggested a potential role of guinea pigs as a reservoir of this bacterium. |
Failure of the Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, to serve as an experimental vector of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto
Breuner NE , Ford SL , Hojgaard A , Osikowicz LM , Parise CM , Rosales Rizzo MF , Bai Y , Levin ML , Eisen RJ , Eisen L . Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2019 11 (1) 101311 The invasive, human-biting Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, was detected in New Jersey in the eastern United States in August of 2017 and by November of 2018 this tick had been recorded from 45 counties across 9 states, primarily along the Eastern Seaboard. The establishment of H. longicornis in the United States has raised the questions of how commonly it will bite humans and which native pathogens may naturally infect this tick. There also is a need for experimental vector competence studies with native pathogens to determine if H. longicornis can acquire a given pathogen while feeding, pass it transstadially, and then transmit the pathogen in the next life stage. In this experimental study, we evaluated the vector competence of a population of H. longicornis originating from the United States (New York) for a native isolate (B31) of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.). In agreement with a previous experimental study on the vector competence of H. longicornis for Borrelia garinii, we found that uninfected H. longicornis larvae could acquire B. burgdorferi s.s. while feeding on infected Mus musculus mice (infection prevalence >50% in freshly fed larvae) but that the infection was lost during the molt to the nymphal stage. None of 520 tested molted nymphs were found to be infected, indicating that transstadial passage of B. burgdorferi s.s. is absent or rare in H. longicornis; and based on the potential error associated with the number of nymphs testing negative in this study, we estimate that the upper 95% limit for infection prevalence was 0.73%. An Ixodes scapularis process control showed both effective acquisition of B. burgdorferi s.s. from infected mice by uninfected larvae and transstadial passage to the nymphal stage (infection prevalence of 80-82% for both freshly fed larvae and molted nymphs). We also observed that although H. longicornis larvae could be compelled to feed on mice by placing the ticks within feeding capsules, attachment and feeding success was minimal (<0.5%) when larvae were placed freely on the fur of the mice. We conclude that H. longicornis is unlikely to contribute more than minimally, if at all, to transmission of Lyme disease spirochetes in the United States. |
Distribution and diversity of Bartonella washoensis strains in ground squirrels from California and their potential link to human cases
Osikowicz LM , Billeter SA , Rizzo MF , Rood MP , Freeman AN , Burns JE , Hu R , Juieng P , Loparev V , Kosoy M . Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2016 16 (11) 683-690 We investigated the prevalence of Bartonella washoensis in California ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi) and their fleas from parks and campgrounds located in seven counties of California. Ninety-seven of 140 (69.3%) ground squirrels were culture positive and the infection prevalence by location ranged from 25% to 100%. In fleas, 60 of 194 (30.9%) Oropsylla montana were found to harbor Bartonella spp. when screened using citrate synthase (gltA) specific primers, whereas Bartonella DNA was not found in two other flea species, Hoplopsyllus anomalus (n = 86) and Echidnophaga gallinacea (n = 6). The prevalence of B. washoensis in O. montana by location ranged from 0% to 58.8%. A majority of the gltA sequences (92.0%) recovered from ground squirrels and fleas were closely related (similarity 99.4-100%) to one of two previously described strains isolated from human patients, B. washoensis NVH1 (myocarditis case in Nevada) and B. washoensis 08S-0475 (meningitis case in California). The results from this study support the supposition that O. beecheyi and the flea, O. montana, serve as a vertebrate reservoir and a vector, respectively, of zoonotic B. washoensis in California. |
Coexistence of Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae in populations of cats and their fleas in Guatemala.
Bai Y , Rizzo MF , Alvarez D , Moran D , Peruski LF , Kosoy M . J Vector Ecol 2015 40 (2) 327-32 Cats and their fleas collected in Guatemala were investigated for the presence of Bartonella infections. Bartonella bacteria were cultured from 8.2% (13/159) of cats, and all cultures were identified as B. henselae. Molecular analysis allowed detection of Bartonella DNA in 33.8% (48/142) of cats and in 22.4% (34/152) of cat fleas using gltA, nuoG, and 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer targets. Two Bartonella species, B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae, were identified in cats and cat fleas by molecular analysis, with B. henselae being more common than B. clarridgeiae in the cats (68.1%; 32/47 vs 31.9%; 15/47). The nuoG was found to be less sensitive for detecting B. clarridgeiae compared with other molecular targets and could detect only two of the 15 B. clarridgeiae-infected cats. No significant differences were observed for prevalence between male and female cats and between different age groups. No evident association was observed between the presence of Bartonella species in cats and in their fleas. |
Fleas and flea-associated bartonella species in dogs and cats from Peru
Rizzo MF , Billeter SA , Osikowicz L , Luna-Caipo DV , Caceres AG , Kosoy M . J Med Entomol 2015 52 (6) 1374-7 In the present study, we investigated 238 fleas collected from cats and dogs in three regions of Peru (Ancash, Cajamarca, and Lima) for the presence of Bartonella DNA. Bartonella spp. were detected by amplification of the citrate synthase gene (16.4%) and the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region (20.6%). Bartonella rochalimae was the most common species detected followed by Bartonella clarridgeiae and Bartonella henselae. Our results demonstrate that dogs and cats in Peru are infested with fleas harboring zoonotic Bartonella spp. and these infected fleas could pose a disease risk for humans. |
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