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Pathogenic Landscape of Transboundary Zoonotic Diseases in the Mexico-US Border Along the Rio Grande.

ABSTRACT: Transboundary zoonotic diseases, several of which are vector borne, can maintain a dynamic focus and have pathogens circulating in geographic regions encircling multiple geopolitical boundaries. Global change is intensifying transboundary problems, including the spatial variation of the risk and incidence of zoonotic diseases. The complexity of these challenges can be greater in areas where rivers delineate international boundaries and encompass transitions between ecozones. The Rio Grande serves as a natural border between the US State of Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Not only do millions of people live in this transboundary region, but also a substantial amount of goods and people pass through it everyday. Moreover, it occurs over a region that functions as a corridor for animal migrations, and thus links the Neotropic and Nearctic biogeographic zones, with the latter being a known foci of zoonotic diseases. However, the pathogenic landscape of important zoonotic diseases in the south Texas-Mexico transboundary region remains to be fully understood. An international perspective on the interplay between disease systems, ecosystem processes, land use, and human behaviors is applied here to analyze landscape and spatial features of Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Hantavirus disease, Lyme Borreliosis, Leptospirosis, Bartonellosis, Chagas disease, human Babesiosis, and Leishmaniasis. Surveillance systems following the One Health approach with a regional perspective will help identifying opportunities to mitigate the health burden of those diseases on human and animal populations. It is proposed that the Mexico-US border along the Rio Grande region be viewed as a continuum landscape where zoonotic pathogens circulate regardless of national borders.

SUBMITTER: Esteve-Gassent MD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4233934 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe worldwide emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria has become a health crisis, as fewer or sometimes no antimicrobial agents are effective against these bacteria. The Rio Grande River is the natural boundary between the United States (US) and Mexico. It spans a border region between Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Underserved populations on the Mexican side use the river for recreational purposes, while on the US side, the river is used for irrigation and as a source of drinking water.ObjectivesThe purpose of the present study was to evaluate the concentration of antibiotic residues, to determine the presence of genetic elements conferring antibiotic resistance and to characterize multi-drug resistant bacteria in the waters of the Rio Grande River.MethodsWater samples were obtained from the Rio Grande River. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted from both isolated bacteria and directly from the water. Amplification of selected genetic elements was accomplished by polymerase chain reaction. Identification and isolation of bacteria was performed through MicroScan autoSCAN-4. Fecal contamination was assessed by IDEXX Colilert. Antibiotic residues were determined by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.ResultsAntibiotics were found in 92% of both water and sediment samples. Antibiotic concentrations ranged from 0.38 ng/L - 742.73 ng/L and 0.39 ng/l - 66.3 ng/g dry weight in water and sediment samples, respectively. Genetic elements conferring resistance were recovered from all collection sites. Of the isolated bacteria, 91 (64.08%) were resistant to at least two synergistic antibiotic combinations and 11 (14.79%) were found to be resistant to 20 or more individual antibiotics. Fecal contamination was higher during the months of April and July.ConclusionsThe 26 km segment of the Rio Grande River from Sunland Park NM to El Paso, TX and Juarez, Mexico is an area of concern due to poor water quality. The presence of multidrug resistant bacteria, antibiotics and mobile genetic elements may be a health hazard for the surrounding populations of this binational border region. Policies need to be developed for the appropriate management of the environmental natural resources in this border region.Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing financial interests.

Project description:BackgroundHLA genes are the most polymorphic of the human genome and have distinct allelic frequencies in populations of different geographical regions of the world, serving as genetic markers in ancestry studies. In addition, specific HLA alleles may be associated with various autoimmune and infectious diseases. The bone marrow donor registry in Brazil is the third largest in the world, and it counts with genetic typing of HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1. Since 1991 Brazil has maintained the DATASUS database, a system fed with epidemiological and health data from compulsory registration throughout the country.MethodsIn this work, we perform spatial analysis and georeferencing of HLA genetic data from more than 86,000 bone marrow donors from Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and data of hospitalization for rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease in RS, comprising the period from 1995 to 2016 obtained through the DATASUS system. The allele frequencies were georeferenced using Empirical Bayesian Kriging; the diseases prevalence were georeferenced using Inverse Distance Weighted and cluster analysis for both allele and disease were performed using Getis-Ord Gi* method. Spearman's test was used to test the correlation between each allele and disease.ResultsThe results indicate a HLA genetic structure compatible with the history of RS colonization, where it is possible to observe differentiation between regions that underwent different colonization processes. Spatial analyzes of autoimmune disease hospitalization data were performed revealing clusters for different regions of the state for each disease analyzed. The correlation test between allelic frequency and the occurrence of autoimmune diseases indicated a significant correlation between the HLA-B*08 allele and rheumatoid arthritis.ConclusionsGenetic mapping of populations and the spatial analyzes such as those performed in this work have great economic relevance and can be very useful in the formulation of public health campaigns and policies, contributing to the planning and adjustment of clinical actions, as well as informing and educating professionals and the population.

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Pathogenic Landscape of Transboundary Zoonotic Diseases in the Mexico-US Border Along the Rio Grande.

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