Low risk of seroconversion or clinical disease in humans after a bite by an Anaplasma phagocytophilum-infected tick

Autumn is traditionally a time when most horses are de-wormed with one or more products that are effective against tapeworms and both adult and larval roundworms. However, the increasing prevalence of resistance and availability of diagnostics should prompt scrutiny of whether blanket de-worming at this time of year is appropriate. If management is good and horses are at low-risk of clinical disease, then there may be no need to use anthelmintics. Serology provides a means of assessing exposure to both cyathostomins and tapeworms, but it has its limitations and does not provide a validated means of assessing the risk of parasitic disease. The results of serology, results of faecal worm egg counts performed in the population through the preceding grazing season, and knowledge of management practices in the population should all be considered when assessing whether the risk of the disease to the individual is such that it must take priority over the ever-increasing threat of resistance in the equine population.

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Anaplasma phagocytophilumandAnaplasma marginaleElicit Different Gene Expression Responses in Cultured Tick Cells

Comparative and Functional Genomics ◽

10.1155/2009/705034 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 2009 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Zorica Zivkovic ◽

Edmour F. Blouin ◽

Raúl Manzano-Roman ◽

Consuelo Almazán ◽

Victoria Naranjo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Gene Expression Profile ◽

Expression Profile ◽

Anaplasma Phagocytophilum ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Host Cells ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Infected Tick ◽

Tick Survival

The genusAnaplasma(Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) includes obligate tick-transmitted intracellular organisms,Anaplasma phagocytophilumandAnaplasma marginalethat multiply in both vertebrate and tick host cells. Recently, we showed thatA. marginaleaffects the expression of tick genes that are involved in tick survival and pathogen infection and multiplication. However, the gene expression profile inA. phagocytophilum-infected tick cells is currently poorly characterized. The objectives of this study were to characterize tick gene expression profile inIxodes scapularisticks and cultured ISE6 cells in response to infection withA. phagocypthilumand to compare tick gene expression responses inA. phagocytophilum- andA. marginale-infected tick cells by microarray and real-time RT-PCR analyses. The results of these studies demonstrated modulation of tick gene expression byA. phagocytophilumand provided evidence of different gene expression responses in tick cells infected withA. phagocytophilumandA. marginale. These differences inAnaplasma-tick interactions may reflect differences in pathogen life cycle in the tick cells.

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CLINICAL DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH ANAPLASMA PHAGOCYTOPHILUM INFECTION IN CAPTIVE PRZEWALSKI'S HORSES (EQUUS FERUS PRZEWALSKII)

Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine ◽

10.1638/2016-0247r.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 497-505 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Richard R. Sim ◽

Priscilla H. Joyner ◽

Luis R. Padilla ◽

Paul Anikis ◽

Copper Aitken-Palmer

Keyword(s):

Anaplasma Phagocytophilum ◽

Clinical Disease

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Exploring the Validity and Operational Impact of Using Allied Health Assistants to Conduct Dysphagia Screening for Low-Risk Patients Within the Acute Hospital Setting

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00060 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 1944-1955 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Schwarz ◽

Elizabeth C. Ward ◽

Petrea Cornwell ◽

Anne Coccetti ◽

Pamela D'Netto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Allied Health ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Hospital Setting ◽

Low Risk ◽

False Negatives ◽

Exact Agreement ◽

Risk Patients ◽

Impact Phase ◽

Operational Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the agreement between allied health assistants (AHAs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) when completing dysphagia screening for low-risk referrals and at-risk patients under a delegation model and (b) the operational impact of this delegation model. Method All AHAs worked in the adult acute inpatient settings across three hospitals and completed training and competency evaluation prior to conducting independent screening. Screening (pass/fail) was based on results from pre-screening exclusionary questions in combination with a water swallow test and the Eating Assessment Tool. To examine the agreement of AHAs' decision making with SLPs, AHAs ( n = 7) and SLPs ( n = 8) conducted an independent, simultaneous dysphagia screening on 51 adult inpatients classified as low-risk/at-risk referrals. To examine operational impact, AHAs independently completed screening on 48 low-risk/at-risk patients, with subsequent clinical swallow evaluation conducted by an SLP with patients who failed screening. Results Exact agreement between AHAs and SLPs on overall pass/fail screening criteria for the first 51 patients was 100%. Exact agreement for the two tools was 100% for the Eating Assessment Tool and 96% for the water swallow test. In the operational impact phase ( n = 48), 58% of patients failed AHA screening, with only 10% false positives on subjective SLP assessment and nil identified false negatives. Conclusion AHAs demonstrated the ability to reliably conduct dysphagia screening on a cohort of low-risk patients, with a low rate of false negatives. Data support high level of agreement and positive operational impact of using trained AHAs to perform dysphagia screening in low-risk patients.

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