Babesia microti, upstate New York.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kogut SJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3298254 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The epidemiology of infective endocarditis (IE) depends on a number of host factors whose prevalence can vary globally. The usual patient population affected by IE is sicker and older, often with many comorbid conditions. The risk is growing in younger populations due to the emerging epidemic of intravenous (IV) drug use. We have performed a temporal trend analysis of various factors of IE in the rural counties covering a major part of central Upstate New York.We performed a retrospective analysis of electronic medical records of patients who were admitted in a tertiary care hospital in rural Upstate New York and diagnosed with IE from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016. Forty-five patients were identified with definite IE and nine with possible IE.Total incidence of IE was 3.5 cases per 100,000 person years in the total population and 4.4 if we consider total population ≥ 18 years in the denominator. A significant (P = 0.022) increase in incidence of IE from 2011 to 2016 was seen by univariate analysis. Incidence was higher in males (P = 0.029) and for those aged 65 or older (P = 0.0003). IV drug use among cases is noted to be more prevalent in 2015 and 2016 compared to previous years.In this study of patients in a rural region of New York, an increase in the incidence of IE was seen over the study period with changes in patient characteristics and etiology over this time. We speculate that an increase in IV drug use could be a leading factor in the recent and future increased incidence of IE in the area.
| S-EPMC5544479 | biostudies-other
Project description:Babesia microti Genome sequencing and assembly
| PRJNA906578 | ENA
Project description:Babesia microti Genome sequencing and assembly
| PRJNA302223 | ENA
Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate the factors associated with resilience among medical professionals.Data sources/study settingAdministrative information from a rural health care network (1 academic medical center, 6 hospitals, 31 clinics, and 20 school health centers) was triangulated with self-report data from 308 respondents (response rate = 65.1 percent) to a 9/2013-1/2014 survey among practitioners serving a nine-county 5,600-square-mile area.Study designA cross-sectional questionnaire survey comprising valid measures of resilience, practice meaningfulness, satisfaction, and risk/uncertainty intolerance, nested within a prospective, community-based project.Data collection/extraction methodsThe sampling frame included practitioners on institutional payroll, excluding voluntary/involuntary attritions and advisory board/research team members. In multivariable mixed-effects models, we regressed full-range and high-/low-resilience scores on demographics, professional satisfaction, workplace needs, risk/uncertainty intolerance, and service unit characteristics.Principal findingsRelational needs, uncertainty intolerance, satisfaction ≥75 percent of the time, number of practitioners on a unit, and workload were significantly associated with resilience. Higher scores were most strongly associated with uncertainty tolerance, satisfaction, and practitioner numbers. Practitioner/unit demographics were mostly nonsignificant.ConclusionsMore resilient practitioners experienced frequent satisfaction, relational needs gratification, better uncertainty tolerance, lighter workloads, and practiced on units with more colleagues. Further studies should investigate well-being interventions based on these mutable factors.
| S-EPMC5034205 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Parasites from diverse hosts morphologically identified as Babesia microti have previously been shown to belong to a paraphyletic species complex. With a growing number of reports of B. microti-like parasites from across the world, this paper seeks to report on the current knowledge of the diversity of this species complex. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA sequences obtained from GenBank shows that the diversity of the B. microti species complex has markedly increased and now encompasses at least five distinct clades. This cryptic diversity calls into question much of our current knowledge of the life cycle of these parasites, as many biological studies were conducted before DNA sequencing technology was available. In many cases, it is uncertain which B. microti-like parasite was studied because parasites from different clades may occur sympatrically and even share the same host. Progress can only be made if future studies are conducted with careful attention to parasite identification and PCR primer specificity.
| S-EPMC8467215 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human babesiosis, which is caused by infection with the intraerythrocytic malarialike protozoan Babesia microti, has recently been diagnosed with increasing frequency in residents of New England. Diagnosis is difficult because of the small size of the parasite and the sparse parasitemia that is characteristic of most infections with this pathogen. We generated B. microti-specific DNA sequence information by universal primer amplification of a portion of the eukaryotic 16S-like gene; this was followed by direct DNA sequence analysis. Specific primers were synthesized on the basis of this sequence information for use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR-based system demonstrates a strong bias for detection of B. microti as opposed to Babesia gibsoni and does not amplify vertebrate DNA. The analytical sensitivity of the system is approximately three merozoites. Blood specimens from 12 patients with clinically diagnosed and parasitologically confirmed babesiosis from Nantucket Island, Mass., were PCR positive in a blinded test of this procedure. Thus, DNA amplification may provide an adjunct to conventional methods for the diagnosis of human babesiosis and may provide a new means of monitoring therapy or enhancing epidemiological surveillance for this emerging pathogen.
| S-EPMC265450 | biostudies-other
Project description:IntroductionCOVID-19 acutely shocked both socio-economic and food systems in 2020. We investigated the impact of COVID-19 on production and consumption of gardened produce, backyard poultry, wild game and fish, and foraged mushrooms, berries, and other plants in New York State, aiming to understand crisis influenced food choice and motivations, including food security.MethodsWe conducted an online, cross-sectional survey in October-December 2020 with a convenience sample of participants (n = 505) with an interest in gardening, poultry rearing, foraging, hunting, and/or fishing from six counties in upstate New York. We recruited through the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and other relevant email and social media pages.ResultsAcross the wild and backyard food production strategies, 4.0-14.3% of respondents reported engaging for the first time and 39.6-45.7% reported increased production (a little or a lot more), and 31.6-42.7% of respondents' production was the same as the previous year. Consumption of foods produced was widespread, including fruit and vegetables (97.6% of producers also consumed), backyard eggs (92.7%), and foraged foods (93.8%). For meats, a majority consumed backyard poultry meat (51.2%), wild-caught fish (69.7%), and wild game they hunted (80.1%). The frequency of consumption of fruit and vegetables (average of 13.5 times/month) and eggs (16.4 times/month) was very high, while average consumption of poultry meat, foraged foods, fish, and wild game ranged from 3.1 to 5.8 times/month. The number of respondents who reported "have more control over food availability" as motivation to produce all wild and backyard foods increased from 2019 to 2020 (p < 0.05 - p < 0.001). There was also a significant relationship between experiences of COVID-19 related hardship (i.e., food insecurity, income loss) with gardening and poultry-rearing (p ≤ 0.05), but not with other production methods or with consumption of wild and backyard foods.DiscussionOur findings help to locate wild and backyard foods within COVID-19 impacted food environments, and describe food security as a particularly relevant motivation, among others, reported by respondents in 2020. Given this, New York State service providers can use these findings to tailor current future support for households exerting control over their own food environments with wild and backyard foods, allowing the state to be better prepared for future crises.
| S-EPMC10507697 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe Babesia microti-like parasite is an emerging tick-borne piroplasm that has been detected in a range of hosts worldwide. Babesia vulpes, which is found in dogs and foxes, has been reclassified from B. microti-like parasites. The relationships among these B. microti-like parasites and B. vulpes with respect to host range and geographical origin have not been elucidated.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 27 raccoon dogs in South Korea and used to screen for B. microti-like parasites based on a PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia. For comparative purposes, in addition to 18S rRNA sequences from nine raccoon dogs, we also analyzed 18S rRNA sequences from B. microti-like parasites infecting hosts in different geographical regions worldwide obtained from the GenBank database, giving 123 sequences in total. The genetic variation and evolutionary relationships among these sequences were examined based on analyses using DnaSP, MEGA, Arlequine, and BEAST software.ResultsBabesia microti-like parasites were identified in nine raccoon dogs and found to be related to B. vulpes obtained from Spanish dogs. Among the 123 sequences from 14 countries and various hosts, we identified 43 haplotypes with high genetic variance. Based on the genetic variance and phylogenetic analyses, we established that the B. microti-like parasites isolated in different geographical regions and from hosts belonging to five orders showed higher among-population variation than within-population variation. Babesia vulpes parasites infecting carnivore hosts, including raccoon dogs, foxes, skunks and dogs, appear to be genetically distinct from B. microti-like parasites infecting hosts belonging to the other orders.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated the genetic variation and evolutionary relationships among 18S rRNA sequences obtained from blood samples collected from various hosts and different geographical regions. Babesia vulpes was identified from raccoon dogs in South Korea. In addition, higher genetic variations were observed among populations of different hosts and geographical origins and, in particular, low connectivity was observed among host populations in the order Carnivora and those in other orders. These results suggest the B. vulpes, a piroplasmid species pathogenic in domestic dogs and wild canines, is genetically and evolutionarily different from B. microti-like parasites.
| S-EPMC9635067 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Babesia microti, an emerging human pathogen, is primarily transmitted through a bite of an infected tick and blood transfusions in human. Stable transfection technique has been reported in many protozoan parasites over the past few years. However, in vivo transient and stable transfection method has not been established for Babesia microti. Here, for the first time, we present a method of transient as well as stable transfection of the Babesia microti (B. microti) in the in vivo conditions. We have identified a novel promoter of B. microti. We also demonstrated that Plasmodium berghei DHFR promoter is recognized and functional in B. microti. We show that BM-CTQ41297 promoter control the expression of two genes, which are present on either side and thus represents a bi-functional promoter in B. microti. The predicted promoter activity values using Promoter 2.0 program is higher for BM- CTQ41297 promoter than strong promoters such as ?-actin, ef-1?, and many other promoters. Furthermore, we discovered a non-essential locus for the genetic manipulation of the parasite, allowing us to stably integrate foreign genes; GFP, mCherry, into the B. microti. The transfection using an electroporation method and genetic manipulation of B. microti is now achievable and it is possible to obtain transfected viable parasites under in vivo growing conditions. The growth curve analysis of transfected and WT B. microti are similar indicating no defects in the transgenic parasites. This study will enable other researchers in understanding the B. microti biology, host modulation and diverse parasite developmental stages using reverse genetics and holds great potential to identify novel drug targets and vaccine development.
| S-EPMC7515924 | biostudies-literature