Corrigendum to “Prevalence of single and coinfections of human pathogens in Ixodes ticks from five geographical regions in the United States, 2013-2019” [Ticks Tick-Borne Dis. 12 (2021) 101637]

Babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by intraerythrocytic protozoa that are primarily transmitted by hard-bodied (Ixodid) ticks and rarely through blood transfusion, perinatally, and organ transplantation. More than 100 Babesia species infect a wide spectrum of wild and domestic animals worldwide and six have been identified as human pathogens. Babesia microti is the predominant species that infects humans, is found throughout the world, and causes endemic disease in the United States and China. Babesia venatorum and Babesia crassa-like agent also cause endemic disease in China. Babesia divergens is the predominant species in Europe where fulminant cases have been reported sporadically. The number of B. microti infections has been increasing globally in recent decades. In the United States, more than 2000 cases are reported each year, although the actual number is thought to be much higher. In this review of the epidemiology of human babesiosis, we discuss epidemiologic tools used to monitor disease location and frequency; demographics and modes of transmission; the location of human babesiosis; the causative Babesia species in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia; the primary clinical characteristics associated with each of these infections; and the increasing global health burden of this disease.

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Genomic Variation and Evolution of Vibrio parahaemolyticus ST36 over the Course of a Transcontinental Epidemic Expansion

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.01425-17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Jaime Martinez-Urtaza ◽

Ronny van Aerle ◽

Michel Abanto ◽

Julie Haendiges ◽

Robert A. Myers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Pacific Northwest ◽

Vibrio Parahaemolyticus ◽

Evolutionary Process ◽

The United States ◽

Sequence Type ◽

Evolutionary Divergence ◽

Human Pathogens ◽

The Pacific ◽

Northeast Coast

ABSTRACT Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of seafood-related infections with illnesses undergoing a geographic expansion. In this process of expansion, the most fundamental change has been the transition from infections caused by local strains to the surge of pandemic clonal types. Pandemic clone sequence type 3 (ST3) was the only example of transcontinental spreading until 2012, when ST36 was detected outside the region where it is endemic in the U.S. Pacific Northwest causing infections along the U.S. northeast coast and Spain. Here, we used genome-wide analyses to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the V. parahaemolyticus ST36 clone over the course of its geographic expansion during the previous 25 years. The origin of this lineage was estimated to be in ~1985. By 1995, a new variant emerged in the region and quickly replaced the old clone, which has not been detected since 2000. The new Pacific Northwest (PNW) lineage was responsible for the first cases associated with this clone outside the Pacific Northwest region. After several introductions into the northeast coast, the new PNW clone differentiated into a highly dynamic group that continues to cause illness on the northeast coast of the United States. Surprisingly, the strains detected in Europe in 2012 diverged from this ancestral group around 2000 and have conserved genetic features present only in the old PNW lineage. Recombination was identified as the major driver of diversification, with some preliminary observations suggesting a trend toward a more specialized lifestyle, which may represent a critical element in the expansion of epidemics under scenarios of coastal warming. IMPORTANCE Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae represent the only two instances of pandemic expansions of human pathogens originating in the marine environment. However, while the current pandemic of V. cholerae emerged more than 50 years ago, the global expansion of V. parahaemolyticus is a recent phenomenon. These modern expansions provide an exceptional opportunity to study the evolutionary process of these pathogens at first hand and gain an understanding of the mechanisms shaping the epidemic dynamics of these diseases, in particular, the emergence, dispersal, and successful introduction in new regions facilitating global spreading of infections. In this study, we used genomic analysis to examine the evolutionary divergence that has occurred over the course of the most recent transcontinental expansion of a pathogenic Vibrio, the spreading of the V. parahaemolyticus sequence type 36 clone from the region where it is endemic on the Pacific coast of North America to the east coast of the United States and finally to the west coast of Europe. IMPORTANCE Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae represent the only two instances of pandemic expansions of human pathogens originating in the marine environment. However, while the current pandemic of V. cholerae emerged more than 50 years ago, the global expansion of V. parahaemolyticus is a recent phenomenon. These modern expansions provide an exceptional opportunity to study the evolutionary process of these pathogens at first hand and gain an understanding of the mechanisms shaping the epidemic dynamics of these diseases, in particular, the emergence, dispersal, and successful introduction in new regions facilitating global spreading of infections. In this study, we used genomic analysis to examine the evolutionary divergence that has occurred over the course of the most recent transcontinental expansion of a pathogenic Vibrio, the spreading of the V. parahaemolyticus sequence type 36 clone from the region where it is endemic on the Pacific coast of North America to the east coast of the United States and finally to the west coast of Europe.

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Epidemiology of Escherichia coli O157 in Feedlot Cattle

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x-60.5.462 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 60 (5) ◽

pp. 462-465 ◽

Cited By ~ 102

Author(s):

DALE D. HANCOCK ◽

DANIEL H. RICE ◽

LEE ANN THOMAS ◽

DAVID A. DARGATZ ◽

THOMAS E. BESSER

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Escherichia Coli ◽

The United States ◽

Feedlot Cattle ◽

Escherichia Coli O157 ◽

Fecal Samples ◽

E Coli ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

Flagellar Antigen ◽

Low Prevalence

Fecal samples from cattle in 100 feedlots in 13 states were bacteriologically cultured for Escherichia coli O157 that did not ferment sorbitol, lacked beta-glucuronidase, and possessed genes coding for Shiga-like toxin. In each feedlot 30 fresh fecal-pat samples were collected from each of four pens: with the cattle shortest on feed, with cattle longest on feed, and with cattle in two randomly selected pens. E. coli O157 was isolated from 210 (1.8%) of 11,881 fecal samples. One or more samples were positive for E. coli O157 in 63 of the 100 feedlots tested. E. coli O157 was found at roughly equal prevalence in all the geographical regions sampled. The prevalence of E. coli O157 in the pens with cattle shortest on feed was approximately threefold higher than for randomly selected and longest on feed pens. Of the E. coli O157 isolates found in this study, 89.52% expressed the H7 flagellar antigen. E. coli O157 was found to be widely distributed among feedlot cattle, but at a low prevalence, in the United States.

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Cryptic Wolbachia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) Detection and Prevalence in Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Midge Populations in the United States

Journal of Medical Entomology ◽

10.1093/jme/tjaa003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 1262-1269 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hunter Covey ◽

Rafe H Hall ◽

Alyssa Krafsur ◽

Megan L Matthews ◽

Phillip T Shults ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Vector Control ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

The United States ◽

Hemorrhagic Disease ◽

Human Pathogens ◽

Control Approach ◽

16S Gene ◽

Culicoides Sonorensis

Abstract Culicoides midges vector numerous veterinary and human pathogens. Many of these diseases lack effective therapeutic treatments or vaccines to limit transmission. The only effective approach to limit disease transmission is vector control. However, current vector control for Culicoides midges is complicated by the biology of many Culicoides species and is not always effective at reducing midge populations and impacting disease transmission. The endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis Hertig may offer an alternative control approach to limit disease transmission and affect Culicoides populations. Here the detection of Wolbachia infections in nine species of Culicoides midges is reported. Infections were detected at low densities using qPCR. Wolbachia infections were confirmed with the sequencing of a partial region of the 16S gene. Fluorescence in situ hybridization of Culicoides sonorensis Wirth and Jones adults and dissected ovaries confirm the presence of Wolbachia infections in an important vector of Bluetongue and Epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses. The presence of Wolbachia in Culicoides populations in the United States suggests the need for further investigation of Wolbachia as a strategy to limit transmission of diseases vectored by Culicoides midges.

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Genetic Diversity of Sclerotinia homoeocarpa Isolates from Turfgrasses from Various Regions in North America

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis.2004.88.11.1269 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 88 (11) ◽

pp. 1269-1276 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

G. Viji ◽

W. Uddin ◽

N. R. O'Neill ◽

S. Mischke ◽

J. A. Saunders

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Creeping Bentgrass ◽

The United States ◽

Vegetative Compatibility ◽

Major Group ◽

Golf Courses ◽

Sclerotinia Homoeocarpa ◽

Dollar Spot ◽

Geographical Regions

Sixty-seven isolates of Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, causing dollar spot disease in creeping bentgrass, annual bluegrass, Bermudagrass, and perennial ryegrass turf, collected from 23 golf courses in various geographical regions of the United States and Canada between 1972 and 2001, were characterized by vegetative compatibility, genetic diversity, and pathogenicity. Eleven vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs A to K) were identified among the isolates tested in this study, and five of them (VCGs G to K) were new. VCG B was the most predominant group, typifying 33 isolates (51%) tested. S. homoeocarpa isolates collected from golf courses in Pennsylvania belonged to seven VCGs (A, B, E, F, G, I, and K), whereas three groups were observed in those collected from New York (B, E, and G) and New Jersey (E, H, and I). Two isolates, one each from Pennsylvania and Canada, were incompatible when paired with the tester isolates in all possible combinations, and did not fall into any known VCG. An isolate collected from Canada was compatible with tester isolates from two VCGs (C and D). Genetic analyses using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) showed the presence of two genetically distinct groups, designated as major group and the minor group. The major group included 36 isolates collected from various golf courses in the United States and Canada. Two isolates collected from bermudagrass in Florida formed a separate cluster, the minor group. Isolates that belonged to the major group were further divided into two subgroups (1 and 2). Subgroup 1 consisted of all the isolates that belonged to VCGs A, E, G, H, and I. Three of the four isolates that belonged to VCG K also were clustered with isolates of subgroup 1. Subgroup 2 consisted of all the isolates from VCG B, and one each from VCGs F and K. Pathogenicity assays on Penncross creeping bentgrass showed significant differences (P = 0.05) in virulence among the isolates. Overall, a relationship between virulence and VCGs was observed, in which certain virulence groups corresponded to specific VCGs; however, such a relationship was not observed between virulence and AFLPs. Close similarity among isolates of S. homoeocarpa collected from different locations in the United States and Canada suggests that isolates of the same genotype could be involved in outbreaks of dollar spot epidemics at multiple locations.

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The North American Lightning Detection Network (NALDN)—Analysis of Flash Data: 2001–09

Monthly Weather Review ◽

10.1175/2010mwr3452.1 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 139 (5) ◽

pp. 1305-1322 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Richard E. Orville ◽

Gary R. Huffines ◽

William R. Burrows ◽

Kenneth L. Cummins

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

North America ◽

North American ◽

The United States ◽

The North ◽

Lightning Detection ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

Positive Peak ◽

The U.S ◽

Cg Lightning

Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning data have been analyzed for the years 2001–09 for North America, which includes Alaska, Canada, and the lower 48 U.S. states. Flashes recorded within the North American Lightning Detection Network (NALDN) are examined. No corrections for detection efficiency variability are made over the 9 yr of the dataset or over the large geographical area comprising North America. There were network changes in the NALDN during the 9 yr, but these changes have not been corrected for nor have the recorded data been altered in any way with the exception that all positive lightning reports with peak currents less than 15 kA have been deleted. Thus, the reader should be aware that secular changes are not just climatological in nature. All data were analyzed with a spatial resolution of 20 km. The analyses presented in this work provide a synoptic view of the interannual variability of lightning observations in North America, including the impacts of physical changes in the network during the 9 yr of study. These data complement and extend previous analyses that evaluate the U.S. NLDN during periods of upgrade. The total (negative and positive) flashes for ground flash density, the percentage of positive lightning, and the positive flash density have been analyzed. Furthermore, the negative and positive first stroke peak currents and the flash multiplicity have been examined. The highest flash densities in Canada are along the U.S.–Canadian border (1–2 flashes per square kilometer) and in the United States along the Gulf of Mexico coast from Texas through Florida (exceeding 14 flashes per square kilometer in Florida). The Gulf Stream is “outlined” by higher flash densities off the east coast of the United States. Maximum annual positive flash densities in Canada range primarily from 0.01 to 0.3 flashes per square kilometer, and in the United States to over 0.5 flashes per square kilometer in the Midwest and in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The annual percentage of positive lightning to ground varies from less than 2% over Florida to values exceeding 25% off the West Coast, Alaska, and the Yukon. A localized maximum in the percentage of positive lightning in the NALDN occurs in Manitoba and western Ontario, just north of North Dakota and Minnesota. When averaged over North America, first stroke negative median peak currents range from 19.8 kA in 2001 to 16.0 kA in 2009 and for all years, average 16.1 kA. First stroke positive median peak currents range from a high of 29.0 kA in 2008 and 2009 to a low of 23.3 kA in 2003 with a median of 25.7 kA for all years. There is a relatively sharp transition from low to high median negative peak currents along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States. No sharp transitions are observed for the median positive peak currents. Relatively lower positive peak currents occur throughout the southeastern United States. The highest values of mean negative multiplicity exceed 3.0 strokes per flash in the NALDN with some variation over the 9 yr. Lower values of mean negative multiplicity occur in the western United States. Positive flash mean multiplicity is slightly higher than 1.1, with the highest values of 1.7 observed in the southwestern states. As has been noted in prior research, CG lightning has significant variations from storm to storm as well as between geographical regions and/or seasons and, consequently, a single distribution for any lightning parameter, such as multiplicity or peak current, may not be sufficient to represent or describe the parameter.

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Long-Term Exposure to Antibiotics Has Caused Accumulation of Resistance Determinants in the Gut Microbiota of Honeybees

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.00377-12 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 92

Author(s):

Baoyu Tian ◽

Nibal H. Fadhil ◽

J. Elijah Powell ◽

Waldan K. Kwong ◽

Nancy A. Moran

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Gut Microbiota ◽

Resistance Genes ◽

Tetracycline Resistance ◽

The United States ◽

Term Treatment ◽

Gut Bacteria ◽

Human Pathogens ◽

Long Term Treatment

ABSTRACT Antibiotic treatment can impact nontarget microbes, enriching the pool of resistance genes available to pathogens and altering community profiles of microbes beneficial to hosts. The gut microbiota of adult honeybees, a distinctive community dominated by eight bacterial species, provides an opportunity to examine evolutionary responses to long-term treatment with a single antibiotic. For decades, American beekeepers have routinely treated colonies with oxytetracycline for control of larval pathogens. Using a functional metagenomic screen of bacteria from Maryland bees, we detected a high incidence of tetracycline/oxytetracycline resistance. This resistance is attributable to known resistance loci for which nucleotide sequences and flanking mobility genes were nearly identical to those from human pathogens and from bacteria associated with farm animals. Surveys using diagnostic PCR and sequencing revealed that gut bacteria of honeybees from diverse localities in the United States harbor eight tetracycline resistance loci, including efflux pump genes (tetB, tetC, tetD, tetH, tetL, and tetY) and ribosome protection genes (tetM and tetW), often at high frequencies. Isolates of gut bacteria from Connecticut bees display high levels of tetracycline resistance. Resistance genes were ubiquitous in American samples, though rare in colonies unexposed for 25 years. In contrast, only three resistance loci, at low frequencies, occurred in samples from countries not using antibiotics in beekeeping and samples from wild bumblebees. Thus, long-term antibiotic treatment has caused the bee gut microbiota to accumulate resistance genes, drawn from a widespread pool of highly mobile loci characterized from pathogens and agricultural sites. IMPORTANCE We found that 50 years of using antibiotics in beekeeping in the United States has resulted in extensive tetracycline resistance in the gut microbiota. These bacteria, which form a distinctive community present in healthy honeybees worldwide, may function in protecting bees from disease and in providing nutrition. In countries that do not use antibiotics in beekeeping, bee gut bacteria contained far fewer resistance genes. The tetracycline resistance that we observed in American samples reflects the capture of mobile resistance genes closely related to those known from human pathogens and agricultural sites. Thus, long-term treatment to control a specific pathogen resulted in the accumulation of a stockpile of resistance capabilities in the microbiota of a healthy gut. This stockpile can, in turn, provide a source of resistance genes for pathogens themselves. The use of novel antibiotics in beekeeping may disrupt bee health, adding to the threats faced by these pollinators.

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A Regional Difference in Perception of the Tritone Paradox within the United States

Music Perception An Interdisciplinary Journal ◽

10.2307/40285652 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 213-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Frank Ragozzine ◽

Diana Deutsch

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Regional Differences ◽

Regional Difference ◽

The United States ◽

Striking Difference ◽

The South ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Tritone Paradox ◽

English Group

A previous study (Deutsch, 1991) demonstrated a striking difference in perception of the tritone paradox between subjects who had grown up in two different geographical regions. Specifically, a group of subjects who had grown up in California were compared with a group who had grown up in the South of England. When the Californian group tended to hear the pattern as ascending, the English group tended to hear it as descending, and vice versa. This raises the question of whether regional differences also exist within the United States in the way this pattern is perceived. The present study examined the percepts of subjects who had grown up in Mahoning and/or Trumbull counties in Ohio. Two groups were compared: those whose parents had also grown up in this area and those for whom this was not the case. A highly significant difference between these two groups of subjects was obtained, with those in the latter group producing a distribution of percepts similar to that found among Californians and those in the former group producing a different distribution. From this and other analyses of the data, it is concluded that regional differences in perception of the tritone paradox do indeed exist within the United States and that there is in addition an effect of familial background.

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Watershed-Scale Response to Climate Change through the Twenty-First Century for Selected Basins across the United States

Earth Interactions ◽

10.1175/2010ei370.1 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 15 (17) ◽

pp. 1-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Lauren E. Hay ◽

Steven L. Markstrom ◽

Christian Ward-Garrison

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

United States ◽

Coupled Model ◽

The United States ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

First Century ◽

Emission Scenarios ◽

Watershed Model ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

Twenty First Century

Abstract The hydrologic response of different climate-change emission scenarios for the twenty-first century were evaluated in 14 basins from different hydroclimatic regions across the United States using the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), a process-based, distributed-parameter watershed model. This study involves four major steps: 1) setup and calibration of the PRMS model in 14 basins across the United States by local U.S. Geological Survey personnel; 2) statistical downscaling of the World Climate Research Programme’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 climate-change emission scenarios to create PRMS input files that reflect these emission scenarios; 3) run PRMS for the climate-change emission scenarios for the 14 basins; and 4) evaluation of the PRMS output. This paper presents an overview of this project, details of the methodology, results from the 14 basin simulations, and interpretation of these results. A key finding is that the hydrological response of the different geographical regions of the United States to potential climate change may be very different, depending on the dominant physical processes of that particular region. Also considered is the tremendous amount of uncertainty present in the climate emission scenarios and how this uncertainty propagates through the hydrologic simulations. This paper concludes with a discussion of the lessons learned and potential for future work.

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