Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis in Michigan: Historical Review of Equine, Human, and Wildlife Involvement, Epidemiology, Vector Associations, and Factors Contributing to Endemicity

Abstract Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is an emerging public health concern in the state of Michigan. Although Michigan has one of the highest incidence rates of EEE in the United States, much of the information known about cases in humans, equines, and other animals residing in Michigan is unpublished. This article summarizes such information and explores spatial trends in the historic distribution of EEE in Michigan. Outbreaks in Michigan have occurred over an 80-yr interval, involving only horses in 1942–1943 and 1973–1976, and then episodically from 1980 to 2020, and involving horses, humans, and wild and domestic animals. An estimated 1,036 equine cases (confirmed and suspected) and 36 confirmed human cases have occurred, including 10 in 2019 (6 deaths) and 4 in 2020 (2 deaths). Human cases ranged in age from 1 to 81 yr; 70% were male, and fatality rate of 34.3%. Equine and human cases occurred from July to October, peaked in August, and cluster in space in southwestern and southeastern lower Michigan. Cases occurred in glacial outwash and ice-contact landscapes in glacial interlobate zones. EEE virus (EEEV) was recovered from Culiseta melanura, Coquillettidia perturbans, five species of Aedes, and other mosquito species near horse and human case sites. Virus isolations or presence of neutralizing antibodies in several passerine species of birds suggest broad EEEV–bird associations. White-tailed deer and other wildlife were also affected. Geographic spread to northern areas of the state suggests expansion of this disease system into new and unsuspected foci.

Download Full-text

Falling Short: The State’s Role in Workplace Safety and Health

NEW SOLUTIONS A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy ◽

10.1177/1048291120903116 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 27-41

Author(s):

Michael B. Lax

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

Historical Review ◽

Workplace Safety ◽

The United States ◽

The State ◽

Occupational Safety And Health ◽

Public Health Action ◽

Capitalist System ◽

Safety And Health

The state plays a major role in occupational safety and health in the United States, impacting all aspects including resources, training, research, standard setting, and enforcement. Howard Waitzkin has challenged public health activists to rethink their understanding of the State and to replace the dominant pluralist view with a conception that serves as the theory for more effective public health action to improve the health of working people. This paper is a response to Waitzkin’s challenge utilizing a framework that views the State as a reflection of the relationship and power dynamics between capital and labor, within the confines of institutions, policies, and laws organized to protect and maintain the capitalist system. A historical review of safety and health since the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 in the context of the capitalist state serves as the basis for suggestions as to how this might shape safety and health advocates’ strategy.

Download Full-text

Improving sexually transmitted infection screening, testing, and treatment among people with HIV: A mixed method needs assessment to inform a multi-site, multi-level intervention and evaluation plan

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0261824 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. e0261824

Author(s):

Kathleen Cullinen ◽

Macsu Hill ◽

Taylor Anderson ◽

Veronica Jones ◽

John Nelson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Needs Assessment ◽

Mixed Method ◽

Health Resources ◽

The United States ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Health Concern ◽

Transmitted Infection ◽

Sexually Transmitted ◽

Sti Testing ◽

Multi Level

Bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to be a worsening public health concern in the United States (US). Though the national incidence of HIV infection has decreased over recent years, that of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis have not. Despite national recommendations on prevention, screening, and treatment of these STIs, these practices have not been standardized. Nine Health Resources and Services Administration Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funded clinics across 3 US jurisdictions (Florida, Louisiana, and Washington, DC), were selected as clinical demonstration sites to be evaluated in this mixed method needs assessment to inform a multi-site, multi-level intervention to evaluate evidence-based interventions to improve STI screening and testing of bacterial STIs among people with or at risk for HIV. These 3 US jurisdictions were selected due to having higher than national average incidence rates of HIV and bacterial STIs. Descriptive statistics and deductive analysis were used to assess quantitative and qualitative needs assessment data. Results indicate the following needs across participating sites: inconsistent and irregular comprehensive sexual behavior history taking within and among sites, limited routine bacterial STI testing (once/year and if symptomatic) not in accordance with CDC recommendations, limited extragenital site gonorrhea/chlamydia testing, limited annual training on STI-related topics including LGBTQ health and adolescent/young adult sexual health, and limited efforts for making high-STI incidence individuals feel welcome in the clinic (primarily LGBTQ individuals and adolescents/young adults). These findings were used to identify interventions to be used to increase routine screenings and testing for bacterial STIs.

Download Full-text

Host-Environment Interplay Shapes Fungal Diversity in Mosquitoes

mSphere ◽

10.1128/msphere.00646-21 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Patil Tawidian ◽

Kerri L. Coon ◽

Ari Jumpponen ◽

Lee W. Cohnstaedt ◽

Kristin Michel

Keyword(s):

Mosquito Control ◽

Mosquito Species ◽

The United States ◽

Health Concern ◽

Asian Tiger Mosquito ◽

Biological Control Agents ◽

Public Health Concern ◽

Content Type ◽

Asian Tiger ◽

Fungal Entomopathogens

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus , is the dominant mosquito species in the United States and an important vector of arboviruses of major public health concern. One aspect of mosquito control to curb mosquito-borne diseases has been the use of biological control agents such as fungal entomopathogens.

Download Full-text

The Increase of HIV-1 Infection, Neurocognitive Impairment, and Type 2 Diabetes in The Rio Grande Valley

Current HIV Research ◽

10.2174/1570162x17666191029162235 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 377-387

Author(s):

Roberto De La Garza ◽

Hansapani Rodrigo ◽

Francisco Fernandez ◽

Upal Roy

Keyword(s):

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Rio Grande Valley ◽

Rio Grande ◽

The United States ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

The State ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

The People ◽

Hiv 1

: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) infection remains a persistent predicament for the State of Texas, ranking seventh among the most documented HIV cases in the United States. In this regard, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in South Texas is considered as one of the least investigated areas of the state with respect to HIV infection and HIV associated comorbidities. Considering the 115% increase in average HIV incidence rates per 100,000 within the RGV from 2007-2015, it is worth characterizing this population with respect to their HIV-1 infection, HIV-1 Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND), and the association of treatment with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). Moreover, the increased rate of Type-2 Diabetes (T2D) in the RGV population is intertwined with that of HIV-1 infection facing challenges due to the lack of knowledge about prevention to inadequate access to healthcare. Hence, the role of T2D in the development of HAND among the people living with HIV (PLWH) in the RGV will be reviewed to establish a closer link between T2D and HAND in cART-treated patients of the RGV.

Download Full-text

Invasion, establishment, and spread of invasive mosquitoes from the Culex coronator complex in urban areas of Miami-Dade County, Florida

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-94202-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

André B. B. Wilke ◽

Chalmers Vasquez ◽

Gabriel Cardenas ◽

Augusto Carvajal ◽

Johana Medina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Repeated Measures ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Mosquito Species ◽

The United States ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Health Concern ◽

Dade County ◽

Saint Louis ◽

Vector Mosquito ◽

Bg Sentinel

AbstractSpecies from the Culex coronator complex are Neotropical species and potential vectors of Saint Louis and West Nile viruses. Culex coronator was first described in Trinidad and Tobago in the early twentieth century and since then it has invaded and has been reported established in most countries of the Americas. Species from the Culex coronator complex were first detected in the United States in the state of Louisiana in 2004 and were subsequently detected in Florida in 2005, reaching Miami-Dade County in 2008. We hypothesize that species from the Cx. coronator complex are adapting to urban environments in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and are becoming more present and abundant in these areas. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the patterns of the presence and abundance of species from the Cx. coronator complex in the urban areas of Miami-Dade County. Here we used weekly data comprised of 32 CDC traps from 2012 to 2020 and 150 BG-Sentinel traps from 2016 to 2020. A total of 34,146 female mosquitoes from the Cx. coronator complex were collected, 26,138 by CDC traps and 8008 by BG-Sentinel traps. While the number of CDC traps that were positive was relatively constant at 26–30 positive traps per year, the number of positive BG-Sentinel traps varied substantially from 50 to 87 positive traps per year. Furthermore, the heat map and logistic general linear model for repeated measures analyses showed a significant increase in both the distribution and abundance of mosquitoes from the Cx. coronator complex, indicating that these species are becoming more common in anthropized habitats being able to thrive in highly urbanized areas. The increase in the distribution and abundance of species from the Cx. coronator complex is a major public health concern. The ability of species from the Cx. coronator complex to benefit from urbanization highlights the need to better understand the mechanisms of how invasive vector mosquito species are adapting and exploiting urban habitats.

Download Full-text

Epidemiological Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Dynamics in the State of Odisha, India: A Yearlong Exploratory Data Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182111203 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (21) ◽

pp. 11203

Author(s):

Sourya Subhra Nasker ◽

Ananya Nanda ◽

Balamurugan Ramadass ◽

Sasmita Nayak

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Viral Transmission ◽

The State ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

Health Concern ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Indian State ◽

And Gender

COVID-19 remains a matter of global public health concern. Previous research suggested the association between local environmental factors and viral transmission. We present a multivariate observational analysis of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the state of Odisha, India, hinting at a seasonal activity. We aim to investigate the demographic characteristics of COVID-19 in the Indian state of Odisha for two specific timelines in 2020 and 2021. For a comparative outlook, we chose similar datasets from the state of New York, USA. Further, we present a critical analysis pertaining to the effects of environmental factors and the emergence of variants on SARS-CoV-2 transmission and persistence. We assessed the datasets for confirmed cases, death, age, and gender for 29 February 2020 to 31 May 2020, and 1 March 2021 to 31 May 2021. We determined the case fatalities, crude death rates, sex ratio, and incidence rates for both states along with monthly average temperature analysis. A yearlong epi-curve analysis was conducted to depict the coronavirus infection spread pattern in the respective states. The Indian state of Odisha reported a massive 436,455 confirmed cases and 875 deaths during the 2021 timeline as compared to a mere 2223 cases and 7 deaths during the 2020 timeline. We further discuss the demographic and temperature association of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during early 2020 and additionally comment on the variant-associated massive rise in cases during 2021. Along with the rapid rise of variants, the high population density and population behavior seem to be leading causes for the 2021 pandemic, whereas factors such as age group, gender, and average local temperature were prominent during the 2020 spread. A seasonal occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is also observed from the yearlong epidemiological plot. The recent second wave of COVID-19 is a lesson that emphasizes the significance of continuous epidemiological surveillance to predict the relative risk of viral transmission for a specific region.

Download Full-text

The cholera risk assessment in Kano State, Nigeria: A historical review, mapping of hotspots and evaluation of contextual factors

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽

10.1371/journal.pntd.0009046 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. e0009046

Author(s):

Moise Chi Ngwa ◽

Chikwe Ihekweazu ◽

Tochi Okwor ◽

Sebastian Yennan ◽

Nanpring Williams ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Relative Risk ◽

Disease Control ◽

Task Force ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Case Fatality ◽

Historical Review ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Space Time ◽

The State ◽

Annual Incidence

Nigeria is endemic for cholera since 1970, and Kano State report outbreaks annually with high case fatality ratios ranging from 4.98%/2010 to 5.10%/2018 over the last decade. However, interventions focused on cholera prevention and control have been hampered by a lack of understanding of hotspot Local Government Areas (LGAs) that trigger and sustain yearly outbreaks. The goal of this study was to identify and categorize cholera hotspots in Kano State to inform a national plan for disease control and elimination in the State. We obtained LGA level confirmed and suspected cholera data from 2010 to 2019 from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Kano State Ministry of Health. Data on inland waterbodies and population numbers were obtained from online sources and NCDC, respectively. Clusters (hotspots) were identified using SaTScan through a retrospective analysis of the data for the ten-year period using a Poisson discrete space-time scan statistic. We also used a method newly proposed by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) to identify and rank hotspots based on two epidemiological indicators including mean annual incidence per 100 000 population of reported cases and the persistence of cholera for the study period. In the ten-year period, 16,461 cholera cases were reported with a case fatality ratio of 3.32% and a mean annual incidence rate of 13.4 cases per 100 000 population. Between 2010 and 2019, the most severe cholera exacerbations occurred in 2014 and 2018 with annual incidence rates of 58.01 and 21.52 cases per 100 000 inhabitants, respectively. Compared to 2017, reported cases and deaths increased by 214.56% and 406.67% in 2018. The geographic distribution of outbreaks revealed considerable spatial heterogeneity with the widest in 2014. Space-time clustering analysis identified 18 out of 44 LGAs as high risk for cholera (hotspots) involving both urban and rural LGAs. Cholera clustered around water bodies, and the relative risk of having cholera inside the hotspot LGA were 1.02 to 3.30 times higher than elsewhere in the State. A total of 4,894,144 inhabitants were in these hotspots LGAs. Of these, six LGAs with a total population of 1.665 million had a relative risk greater than 2 compared to the state as a whole. The SaTScan (statistical) and GTFCC methods were in agreement in hotspots identification. This study identified cholera hotspots LGAs in Kano State from 2010–2019. Hotspots appeared in both urban and rural settings. Focusing control strategies on these hotspots will facilitate control and eliminate cholera from the State.

Download Full-text

Exemption of behind-the-wheel driving test for novice young drivers: A serious public health concern

Journal of Road Safety ◽

10.33492/jrs-d-20-00252 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 59-61

Author(s):

Imran Bari ◽

Nino Paichadze ◽

Adnan Hyder

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

World Health Organization ◽

Road Safety ◽

Road Traffic ◽

The United States ◽

The State ◽

World Health ◽

Health Concern ◽

The World ◽

Health Organization

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) continue to emerge as a serious public health issue across the world; according to the World Health Organization, every year, almost 1.35 million individuals lose their lives, and approximately 25 million injuries are caused by road traffic crashes (World Health Organization, 2018). These RTIs are the leading cause of death for children and young adults between 5-29 years of age (World Health Organization, 2018). Under the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic, there have been reports suggesting a profound decline in RTIs because of reduced traffic on the world’s roads (Job, 2020); however, amid this pandemic, some states in the United Sates have proposed controversial road traffic policies that can jeopardize road safety. The Governor of the State of Georgia, the United States, recently, through an executive order, waived the behind-the-wheel road test requirement for novice drivers who had held a driving permit for a year (The State of Georgia Government, 2020). Through this wavier, almost 20,000 teenagers were granted full driving privileges last month (Taylor, 2020). While the decision was made to address the backlog of driving tests created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and also to practice social distancing (Taylor, 2020), many public health experts are now concerned that this decision will have catastrophic consequences on road safety.

Download Full-text