scholarly journals A Review of Zoonotic Babesiosis as an Emerging Public Health Threat in Asia

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Sabir Hussain ◽  
Abrar Hussain ◽  
Muhammad Umair Aziz ◽  
Baolin Song ◽  
Jehan Zeb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Human Case ◽  
Wild Animal ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Babesia Microti ◽  
Babesia Species ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Prevalent Species ◽  
Human Babesiosis

Zoonotic babesiosis poses a serious health risk in many parts of the world. Its emergence in Asia is thus a cause for significant concern, demanding that appropriate control measures are implemented to suppress its spread in this region. This study focuses on zoonotic Babesia species reported in Asia, offering an extensive review of those species reported in animals and humans. We reported 11 studies finding zoonotic Babesia species in animals and 16 in humans. In China, the most prevalent species was found to be Babesia microti, reported in both humans (n = 10) and wild and domesticated animals (n = 4). In Korea, only two studies reported human babesiosis, with a further two studies reporting Babesia microti in wild animals. Babesia microti was also reported in wild animal populations in Thailand and Japan, with evidence of human case reports also found in Singapore, Mongolia and India. This is the first review to report zoonotic babesiosis in humans and animals in Asia, highlighting concerns for future public health in this region. Further investigations of zoonotic species of Babesia in animal populations are required to confirm the actual zoonotic threat of babesiosis in Asia, as well as its possible transmission routes.

scholarly journals The Global Emergence of Human Babesiosis

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1447
Author(s):  
Abhinav Kumar ◽  
Jane O'Bryan ◽  
Peter J. Krause
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ixodid Ticks ◽  
Babesia Microti ◽  
Babesia Species ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Endemic Disease ◽  
Predominant Species ◽  
Human Babesiosis

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.

scholarly journals Technologies for Detection of Babesia microti: Advances and Challenges

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1563
Author(s):  
Scott Meredith ◽  
Miranda Oakley ◽  
Sanjai Kumar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Parasite Burden ◽  
The United States ◽  
Babesia Microti ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Babesia Species ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Human Babesiosis

The biology of intraerythrocytic Babesia parasites presents unique challenges for the diagnosis of human babesiosis. Antibody-based assays are highly sensitive but fail to detect early stage Babesia infections prior to seroconversion (window period) and cannot distinguish between an active infection and a previously resolved infection. On the other hand, nucleic acid-based tests (NAT) may lack the sensitivity to detect window cases when parasite burden is below detection limits and asymptomatic low-grade infections. Recent technological advances have improved the sensitivity, specificity and high throughput of NAT and the antibody-based detection of Babesia. Some of these advances include genomics approaches for the identification of novel high-copy-number targets for NAT and immunodominant antigens for superior antigen and antibody-based assays for Babesia. Future advances would also rely on next generation sequencing and CRISPR technology to improve Babesia detection. This review article will discuss the historical perspective and current status of technologies for the detection of Babesia microti, the most common Babesia species causing human babesiosis in the United States, and their implications for early diagnosis of acute babesiosis, blood safety and surveillance studies to monitor areas of expansion and emergence and spread of Babesia species and their genetic variants in the United States and globally.

scholarly journals Detection and Transstadial Passage of Babesia Species and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in Ticks Collected from Avian and Mammalian Hosts in Canada

Healthcare ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Scott ◽  
Kerry L. Clark ◽  
Nikki M. Coble ◽  
Taylor R. Ballantyne
Keyword(s):  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Babesia Microti ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Lato ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Babesia Species ◽  
House Wren ◽  
Human Babesiosis

Lyme disease and human babesiosis are the most common tick-borne zoonoses in the Temperate Zone of North America. The number of infected patients has continued to rise globally, and these zoonoses pose a major healthcare threat. This tick-host-pathogen study was conducted to test for infectious microbes associated with Lyme disease and human babesiosis in Canada. Using the flagellin (flaB) gene, three members of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) complex were detected, namely a Borrelia lanei-like spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bbss), and a distinct strain that may represent a separate Bbsl genospecies. This novel Bbsl strain was detected in a mouse tick, Ixodes muris, collected from a House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, in Quebec during the southward fall migration. The presence of Bbsl in bird-feeding larvae of I. muris suggests reservoir competency in three passerines (i.e., Common Yellowthroat, House Wren, Magnolia Warbler). Based on the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, three Babesia species (i.e., Babesia divergens-like, Babesia microti, Babesia odocoilei) were detected in field-collected ticks. Not only was B. odocoilei found in songbird-derived ticks, this piroplasm was apparent in adult questing blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, in southern Canada. By allowing live, engorged ticks to molt, we confirm the transstadial passage of Bbsl in I. muris and B. odocoilei in I. scapularis. Bbss and Babesia microti were detected concurrently in a groundhog tick, Ixodes cookei, in Western Ontario. In Alberta, a winter tick, Dermacentor albipictus, which was collected from a moose, Alces alces, tested positive for Bbss. Notably, a B. divergens-like piroplasm was detected in a rabbit tick, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, collected from an eastern cottontail in southern Manitoba; this Babesia species is a first-time discovery in Canada. This rabbit tick was also co-infected with Borrelia lanei-like spirochetes, which constitutes a first in Canada. Overall, five ticks were concurrently infected with Babesia and Bbsl pathogens and, after the molt, could potentially co-infect humans. Notably, we provide the first authentic report of I. scapularis ticks co-infected with Bbsl and B. odocoilei in Canada. The full extent of infectious microorganisms transmitted to humans by ticks is not fully elucidated, and clinicians need to be aware of the complexity of these tick-transmitted enzootic agents on human health. Diagnosis and treatment must be administered by those with accredited medical training in tick-borne zoonosis.

Filarial worms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of diversity in animals from Iran with emphasis on human cases

Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (9) ◽  
pp. 909-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezatollah Ghasemi ◽  
Sadegh Shamsinia ◽  
Ali Taghipour ◽  
Davood Anvari ◽  
Saeed Bahadory ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Random Effect Model ◽  
Human Case ◽  
Forest Plot ◽  
Khuzestan Province ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
The Right

AbstractCurrent systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrate the prevalence reports of filariasis in animals in Iran along with human cases. Studies were screened, relevant papers were selected and the random-effect model was used by forest plot with 95% confidence interval (CI). Of 17 records of human case-reports, particularly from Khuzestan province (5 cases), Dirofilaria repens was the most detected parasite (10 cases) with higher involvement of the right eye (7 cases) than other organs. Eleven animal species were reported to be parasitised by filarioids in Iran. The prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis in canids was 14.69% (95% CI: 10.33–19.67), with highest rates (20.92%; 95% CI: 13.84–29.03) in free-ranging dogs. Male (10.07%; 95% CI: 5.10–16.47) and more than 1-year old (20.77%; 95% CI: 8.66–36.42) dogs were more likely to be found infected. The frequency of other filarioids of zoonotic interest was: Acanthocheilonema reconditum in dogs 2.15% (95% CI: 0.71–4.33), Dipetalonema evansi in camels 10.16% (95% CI: 4.73–17.34), Onchocerca cervicalis in horses 3.63% (95% CI: 1.44–6.75%) and Onchocerca fasciata 16.57% (95% CI: 10.12–24.24%) in camels. Still, our knowledge on parasitic filariae in Iran is limited and more investigation is needed in both human and animal populations.

scholarly journals Circulation of Babesia Species and Their Exposure to Humans through Ixodes Ricinus

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 386
Author(s):  
Tal Azagi ◽  
Ryanne I. Jaarsma ◽  
Arieke Docters van Leeuwen ◽  
Manoj Fonville ◽  
Miriam Maas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Infection Rate ◽  
18S Rdna ◽  
Babesia Microti ◽  
Babesia Species ◽  
Specific Pcr ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Reservoir Hosts ◽  
Human Babesiosis

Human babesiosis in Europe has been attributed to infection with Babesia divergens and, to a lesser extent, with Babesia venatorum and Babesia microti, which are all transmitted to humans through a bite of Ixodes ricinus. These Babesia species circulate in the Netherlands, but autochthonous human babesiosis cases have not been reported so far. To gain more insight into the natural sources of these Babesia species, their presence in reservoir hosts and in I. ricinus was examined. Moreover, part of the ticks were tested for co-infections with other tick borne pathogens. In a cross-sectional study, qPCR-detection was used to determine the presence of Babesia species in 4611 tissue samples from 27 mammalian species and 13 bird species. Reverse line blotting (RLB) and qPCR detection of Babesia species were used to test 25,849 questing I. ricinus. Fragments of the 18S rDNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene from PCR-positive isolates were sequenced for confirmation and species identification and species-specific PCR reactions were performed on samples with suspected mixed infections. Babesia microti was found in two widespread rodent species: Myodes glareolus and Apodemus sylvaticus, whereas B. divergens was detected in the geographically restricted Cervus elaphus and Bison bonasus, and occasionally in free-ranging Ovis aries. B. venatorum was detected in the ubiquitous Capreolus capreolus, and occasionally in free-ranging O. aries. Species-specific PCR revealed co-infections in C. capreolus and C. elaphus, resulting in higher prevalence of B. venatorum and B. divergens than disclosed by qPCR detection, followed by 18S rDNA and COI sequencing. The non-zoonotic Babesia species found were Babesia capreoli, Babesia vulpes, Babesia sp. deer clade, and badger-associated Babesia species. The infection rate of zoonotic Babesia species in questing I. ricinus ticks was higher for Babesia clade I (2.6%) than Babesia clade X (1.9%). Co-infection of B. microti with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Neoehrlichia mikurensis in questing nymphs occurred more than expected, which reflects their mutual reservoir hosts, and suggests the possibility of co-transmission of these three pathogens to humans during a tick bite. The ubiquitous spread and abundance of B. microti and B. venatorum in their reservoir hosts and questing ticks imply some level of human exposure through tick bites. The restricted distribution of the wild reservoir hosts for B. divergens and its low infection rate in ticks might contribute to the absence of reported autochthonous cases of human babesiosis in the Netherlands.

scholarly journals Real-time estimation of R0 for supporting public-health policies against COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastián Contreras ◽  
H. Andrés Villavicencio ◽  
David Medina-Ortiz ◽  
Claudia P. Saavedra ◽  
Álvaro Olivera-Nappa
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Mathematical Formulation ◽  
Time Estimation ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Consensus Protocol ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Viral Spread

AbstractBackgroundIn the absence of a consensus protocol to slow down the current SARS-CoV2 spread, policy makers are in need of real-time indicators to support decisions in public health matters. The Basic Reproduction Number (R0) represents viral spread rate and can be dramatically modified by the application of effective public control measures. However, current methodologies to calculate R0 from data remain cumbersome and unusable during an outbreak.ObjectiveTo provide a simple mathematical formulation for obtaining R0 in Real-Time, and apply it to assess the effectiveness of public-health policies in different iconic countries.Study designBy modifying the equations describing the spread of the virus, we derived a real-time R0 estimator that can be readily calculated from daily official case reports.ResultsWe show the application of a time trend analysis of the R0 estimator to assess the efficacy and promptness of public health measures that impacted on the development of the COVID-19 epidemic in iconic countries.ConclusionsWe propose our simple estimator and method as useful tools to follow and assess in real time the effectiveness of public health policies on COVID-19 evolution.

scholarly journals Health monitoring of wild bears in the Nature Park Skakavac, Canton Sarajevo

2021 ◽  
Vol 854 (1) ◽  
pp. 012084
Author(s):  
J Omeragic ◽  
V Skapur ◽  
T Goletic ◽  
N Kapo ◽  
S Seric-Haracic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Wild Animal ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Genetic Lineage ◽  
Wildlife Diseases ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Nature Park

Abstract Many wild animal populations are considered endangered due to anthropogenic activities. Wildlife and nature habitat preservation requires holistic and science based approaches supported by adequate regulations. One of the means for wildlife preservation is undoubtedly heath monitoring and investigation of infectious diseases of the wild animal populations, particularly if spillover effects are considered. Even though the theoretical background is well researched, implementation of disease prevention and control measures in wildlife populations entails more challenges than in domestic animal populations. Immediate signs of health disorders in wildlife often become evident when the infectious agent is well established in an area. Additionally, due to unrestricted and often long-range movement of wildlife, diseases are easily spread across borders. Brown bears, indigenous in Europe, are classified by EU regulations as endangered, almost extinct and rare. The wild bear population in Bosnia and Herzegovina shares a genetic lineage with bear populations of neighbouring Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and is one of the few remaining fragments of bear populations in Europe. The aim of this paper is to describe implemented activities for health and telemetric monitoring of wild bears in the Nature Park Skakavac, Canton Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

scholarly journals A systematic review of historical and current trends in Chagas disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 204993612110337
Author(s):  
Diego-Abelardo Álvarez-Hernández ◽  
Rodolfo García-Rodríguez-Arana ◽  
Alejandro Ortiz-Hernández ◽  
Mariana Álvarez-Sánchez ◽  
Meng Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Human Case ◽  
Acute Stage ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Chronic Stage ◽  
Pubmed Database ◽  
Trypanocidal Drugs

Introduction: Chagas disease (CD) is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. When acquired, the disease develops in stages. For diagnosis, laboratory confirmation is required, and an extensive assessment of the patient’s health should be performed. Treatment consists of the administration of trypanocidal drugs, which may cause severe adverse effects. The objective of our systematic review was to analyze data contained in the CD published case reports to understand the challenges that patients and clinicians face worldwide. Materials and methods: We performed a systematic review following the PRISMA guidance. PubMed database was explored using the terms ‘American trypanosomiasis’ or ‘Chagas disease’. Results were limited to human case reports written in English or Spanish. A total of 258 reports (322 patients) were included in the analysis. Metadata was obtained from each article. Following this, it was analyzed to obtain descriptive measures. Results: From the sample, 56.2% were males and 43.8% were females. Most cases were from endemic countries (85.4%). The most common clinical manifestations were fever during the acute stage (70.0%), dyspnea during the chronic stage in its cardiac form (53.7%), and constipation during the chronic stage in its digestive form (73.7%). Most patients were diagnosed in the chronic stage (72.0%). Treatment was administered in 56.2% of cases. The mortality rate for the acute stage cases was 24.4%, while for the chronic stage this was 28.4%. Discussion: CD is a parasitic disease endemic to Latin America, with increasing importance due to human and vector migration. In this review, we report reasons for delays in diagnosis and treatment, and trends in medical practices. Community awareness must be increased to improve CD’s diagnoses; health professionals should be appropriately trained to detect and treat infected individuals. Furthermore, public health policies are needed to increase the availability of screening and diagnostic tools, trypanocidal drugs, and, eventually, vaccines.

scholarly journals Implementing Personalized Medicine in COVID-19 in Andalusia: An Opportunity to Transform the Healthcare System

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 475
Author(s):  
Joaquín Dopazo ◽  
Douglas Maya-Miles ◽  
Federico García ◽  
Nicola Lorusso ◽  
Miguel Ángel Calleja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Personalized Medicine ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Response To Therapy ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Specific Patient

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented opportunity to exploit the advantages of personalized medicine for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance and management of a new challenge in public health. COVID-19 infection is highly variable, ranging from asymptomatic infections to severe, life-threatening manifestations. Personalized medicine can play a key role in elucidating individual susceptibility to the infection as well as inter-individual variability in clinical course, prognosis and response to treatment. Integrating personalized medicine into clinical practice can also transform health care by enabling the design of preventive and therapeutic strategies tailored to individual profiles, improving the detection of outbreaks or defining transmission patterns at an increasingly local level. SARS-CoV2 genome sequencing, together with the assessment of specific patient genetic variants, will support clinical decision-makers and ultimately better ways to fight this disease. Additionally, it would facilitate a better stratification and selection of patients for clinical trials, thus increasing the likelihood of obtaining positive results. Lastly, defining a national strategy to implement in clinical practice all available tools of personalized medicine in COVID-19 could be challenging but linked to a positive transformation of the health care system. In this review, we provide an update of the achievements, promises, and challenges of personalized medicine in the fight against COVID-19 from susceptibility to natural history and response to therapy, as well as from surveillance to control measures and vaccination. We also discuss strategies to facilitate the adoption of this new paradigm for medical and public health measures during and after the pandemic in health care systems.

scholarly journals Monitoring the patterns of submission and presence of tick-borne pathogens in Ixodes scapularis collected from humans and companion animals in Ontario, Canada (2011–2017)

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Nelder ◽  
Curtis B. Russell ◽  
Antonia Dibernardo ◽  
Katie M. Clow ◽  
Steven Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Babesia Microti ◽  
Blacklegged Tick ◽  
Host Type ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Pathogen Prevalence

Abstract Background The universal nature of the human–companion animal relationship and their shared ticks and tick-borne pathogens offers an opportunity for improving public and veterinary health surveillance. With this in mind, we describe the spatiotemporal trends for blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) submissions from humans and companion animals in Ontario, along with pathogen prevalence. Methods We tested tick samples submitted through passive surveillance (2011–2017) from humans and companion animals for Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti. We describe pathogen prevalence in ticks from humans and from companion animals and constructed univariable Poisson and negative binomial regression models to explore the spatiotemporal relationship between the rates of tick submissions by host type. Results During the study, there were 17,230 blacklegged tick samples submitted from humans and 4375 from companion animals. Tick submission rates from companion animals were higher than expected in several public health units (PHUs) lacking established tick populations, potentially indicating newly emerging populations. Pathogen prevalence in ticks was higher in PHUs where established blacklegged tick populations exist. Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence was higher in ticks collected from humans (maximum likelihood estimate, MLE = 17.5%; 95% confidence interval, CI 16.97–18.09%) than from companion animals (9.9%, 95% CI 9.15–10.78%). There was no difference in pathogen prevalence in ticks by host type for the remaining pathogens, which were found in less than 1% of tested ticks. The most common co-infection B. burgdorferi + B. miyamotoi occurred in 0.11% of blacklegged ticks from humans and animals combined. Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence was higher in unengorged (21.9%, 95% CI 21.12–22.65%) than engorged ticks (10.0%, 95% CI 9.45–10.56%). There were no consistent and significant spatiotemporal relationships detected via regression models between the annual rates of submission of each host type. Conclusions While B. burgdorferi has been present in blacklegged ticks in Ontario for several decades, other tick-borne pathogens are also present at low prevalence. Blacklegged tick and pathogen surveillance data can be used to monitor risk in human and companion animal populations, and efforts are under consideration to unite surveillance efforts for the different target populations. Graphic Abstract

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