Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Clin Microbiol 2021 Apr 28. Epub 2021 Apr 28.

Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Bacterial vector-borne diseases, including species, present a significant diagnostic, clinical, and public health challenge due to their overlapping symptoms and the breadth of causative agents and arthropod vectors. The relapsing fever (RF) borreliae encompass both established and emerging pathogens and are transmitted to humans by soft ticks, hard ticks, or lice. We developed a real-time semi-multiplex PCR assay that detects multiple RF borreliae causing human illness and classifies them into one of three groups. Read More

Appl Environ Microbiol 2021 Jun 11;87(13):e0031921. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.

Tick-borne diseases in California include Lyme disease (caused by Borrelia burgdorferi), infections with Borrelia miyamotoi, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum). We surveyed multiple sites and habitats (woodland, grassland, and coastal chaparral) in California to describe spatial patterns of tick-borne pathogen prevalence in western black-legged ticks (Ixodes pacificus). We found that several species of B. Read More

Insects 2021 Mar 5;12(3). Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.

Ticks rank high among arthropod vectors in terms of numbers of infectious agents that they transmit to humans, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, human monocytic ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Increasing temperature is suspected to affect tick biting rates and pathogen developmental rates, thereby potentially increasing risk for disease incidence. Tick distributions respond to climate change, but how their geographic ranges will shift in future decades and how those shifts may translate into changes in disease incidence remain unclear. Read More

Microorganisms 2021 Mar 23;9(3). Epub 2021 Mar 23.

Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1G6, Canada.

Tick-borne infectious diseases can affect many tissues and organs including bone, one of the most multifunctional structures in the human body. There is a scarcity of data regarding the impact of tick-borne pathogens on bone. The aim of this review was to survey existing research literature on this topic. Read More

J Public Health Manag Pract 2021 Mar 12. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Connecticut Emerging Infections Program, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut (Ms Niesobecki and Dr Niccolai); Maryland Department of Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Ms Rutz); Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado (Ms Hook and Dr Hinckley); and Maryland Department of Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Feldman).

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are increasing despite prevention recommendations. We explored whether cost is a barrier to prevention use in Connecticut and Maryland, using a cross-sectional survey. Respondents were queried regarding their willingness to pay for chemical, natural, and rodent-targeted yard pesticide treatments and permethrin-treated clothing. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2021 07 20;12(4):101688. Epub 2021 Feb 20.

Department of Parasitology, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address:

Argasid systematics remains controversial with widespread adherence to the Hoogstraal (1985) classification scheme, even though it does not reflect evolutionary relationships and results in paraphyly for the main genera of soft ticks (Argasidae), namely Argas and Ornithodoros. The alternative classification scheme, proposed by Klompen and Oliver (1993), has problems of its own: most notably paraphyly of the subgenus Pavlovskyella and the controversial grouping together of the subgenera Alectorobius, Antricola, Carios, Chiropterargas, Nothoaspis, Parantricola, Reticulinasus and Subparmatus into the genus Carios. Recent phylogenetic analyses of 18S/28S rRNA sequences and mitochondrial genomes agree with the scheme of Klompen and Oliver (1993), with regard to the paraphyly of Pavlovskyella, placement of Alveonasus, Ogadenus, Proknekalia and Secretargas in the Argasinae and placement of Carios and Chiropterargas in the Ornithodorinae (Mans et al. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2021 Apr 20;59(5). Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Division of Clinical Microbiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

Reported cases of tick-borne diseases have steadily increased for more than a decade. In the United States, a majority of tick-borne infections are caused by bacteria. Clinical diagnosis may be challenging, as tick-borne diseases can present with similar symptoms. Read More

Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2021 04 7;126(4):411-416.e1. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Background: Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is an emerging immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergy to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal). The geographic distribution and burden of AGS in the United States are unknown.

Objective: To characterize alpha-gal IgE testing patterns and describe the trends and distribution from 2010 to 2018 in the United States. Read More

PLoS One 2021 5;16(1):e0244754. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States of America.

In the twenty-first century, ticks and tick-borne diseases have expanded their ranges and impact across the US. With this spread, it has become vital to monitor vector and disease distributions, as these shifts have public health implications. Typically, tick-borne disease surveillance (e. Read More

Front Immunol 2020 18;11:606338. Epub 2020 Dec 18.

Department of Neurology and Stroke, Eberhard-Karls University, Tübingen, Germany.

Double negative (DN) (CD19CD20CD27IgD) B cells are expanded in patients with autoimmune and infectious diseases; however their role in the humoral immune response remains unclear. Using systematic flow cytometric analyses of peripheral blood B cell subsets, we observed an inflated DN B cell population in patients with variety of active inflammatory conditions: myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, meningitis/encephalitis, and rheumatic disorders. Furthermore, we were able to induce DN B cells in healthy subjects following vaccination against influenza and tick borne encephalitis virus. Read More

PLoS One 2020 28;15(12):e0243950. Epub 2020 Dec 28.

Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.

The western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus, an important vector in the western United States of two zoonotic spirochetes: Borrelia burgdorferi (also called Borreliella burgdorferi), causing Lyme disease, and Borrelia miyamotoi, causing a relapsing fever-type illness. Human cases of Lyme disease are well-documented in California, with increased risk in the north coastal areas and western slopes of the Sierra Nevada range. Despite the established presence of B. Read More

J Anim Ecol 2021 04 9;90(4):820-833. Epub 2021 Jan 9.

National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

Contact heterogeneity among hosts determines invasion and spreading dynamics of infectious disease, thus its characterization is essential for identifying effective disease control strategies. Yet, little is known about the factors shaping contact networks in many wildlife species and how wildlife management actions might affect contact networks. Wild pigs in North America are an invasive, socially structured species that pose a health concern for domestic swine given their ability to transmit numerous devastating diseases such as African swine fever (ASF). Read More

Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports 2020 12 2;22:100490. Epub 2020 Nov 2.

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.

Dermacentor albipictus, a common one-host tick of large animals in North America, is most often reported from moose (Alces alces) and is rarely implicated as a parasite of cats and dogs. From 2018 to 2020, 4 dogs and 4 cats from United States and 3 dogs from Canada were infested with D. albipictus. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2021 01;104(1):184-189

4Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a serious disease in northwest Mexico, particularly in low-income communities. This study aimed to evaluate RMSF-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices in an endemic urban area with a high burden of the disease. A cross-sectional study design using a non-probabilistic household survey was conducted with 400 residents in Hermosillo, Mexico. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 11 9;10(1):19340. Epub 2020 Nov 9.

Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, 20110, USA.

Mass spectrometry enhanced by nanotechnology can achieve previously unattainable sensitivity for characterizing urinary pathogen-derived peptides. We utilized mass spectrometry enhanced by affinity hydrogel particles (analytical sensitivity = 2.5 pg/mL) to study tick pathogen-specific proteins shed in the urine of patients with (1) erythema migrans rash and acute symptoms, (2) post treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS), and (3) clinical suspicion of tick-borne illnesses (TBI). Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 03;58(2):505-517

Colorado Tick-Borne Disease Awareness Association, Poncha Springs, CO.

We report 28 species of ticks (Acari: Ixodida) from Colorado (CO). We include the soft ticks (Argasidae) Argas (Argas) cooleyi Kohls and Hoogstraal, Argas (Persicargas) radiatus Railliet, Carios (Alectorobius) concanensis (Cooley and Kohls), Carios (Alectorobius) kelleyi (Cooley and Kohls), Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) hermsi Wheeler et al., Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) parkeri Cooley, Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) turicata (Dugès), Otobius (Otobius) lagophilus Cooley and Kohls, and Otobius (Otobius) megnini (Dugès). Read More

J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open 2020 Jun 10;1(3):238-241. Epub 2020 Apr 10.

Department of Internal Medicine St. Anthony North Health Campus Centura Health Network Westminster Colorado.

Tularemia is a rare zoonotic disease caused by . It can often present with varied clinical presentations, but meningitis is extremely rare. In this case study, we describe a patient who presented to our emergency department with a Tularemic infection coupled with acute atypical meningitis, after he was exposed to aerosolized rabbit hair from lawn mowing. Read More

Vnitr Lek 2020 ;66(4):232-235

While investigating patients with gastrointestinal (GI) and/or hepatic symptoms, tickborne diseases are only rarely considered to be the cause. However, the Czech Republic is an endemic region for several of tickborne diseases and, therefore, they should be a part of differential diagnosis of GI symptoms of unknown origin. This article describes GI and hepatic symptoms of several tickborne diseases - Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, Rocky mountain spotted fever, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, tickborne relapsing fever, Q fever and babesiosis. Read More

Trop Med Infect Dis 2020 Sep 7;5(3). Epub 2020 Sep 7.

Departments of Medicine, Neurology, and Immunology & Microbiology, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Rocky Mountain Regional VAMC, 12,700 E. 19th Avenue, B168, Denver, CO 80045, USA.

When this special. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2020 10 21;58(11). Epub 2020 Oct 21.

Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Tick-borne diseases, due to a diversity of bacterial pathogens, represent a significant and increasing public health threat throughout the Northern Hemisphere. A high-throughput 16S V1-V2 rRNA gene-based metagenomics assay was developed and evaluated using >13,000 residual samples from patients suspected of having tick-borne illness and >1,000 controls. Taxonomic predictions for tick-borne bacteria were exceptionally accurate, as independently validated by secondary testing. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2021 03;72(6):1051-1054

Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

A kidney transplant patient without known tick exposure developed encephalitis 3 weeks after transplantation. During the transplant hospitalization, the patient had received a blood transfusion from an asymptomatic donor later discovered to have been infected with Powassan virus. Here, we describe a probable instance of transfusion-transmitted Powassan virus infection. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2020 Nov 29;67(6):2564-2578. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center, Qingdao, China.

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a contagious disease of domestic and wild pigs caused by the African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV). The disease has spread globally in recent years with serious economic consequences to pork production. This report describes an ASF outbreak that occurred in a large-scale Chinese commercial pig farm. Read More

J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2020 05;42(5):644-653

Halifax, NS.

Objective: Lyme disease is an emerging infection in Canada caused by the bacterium belonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species complex, which is transmitted via the bite of an infected blacklegged tick. Populations of blacklegged ticks continue to expand and are now established in different regions in Canada. It usually takes more than 24 hours of tick attachment to transfer B. Read More

Virol J 2020 05 5;17(1):63. Epub 2020 May 5.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

Background: Tick-borne phenuivirus (TBPVs) comprise human and animal viruses that can cause a variety of clinical syndromes ranging from self-limiting febrile illness to fatal haemorrhagic fevers.

Objective: Detect Phlebovirus (Family Phenuiviridae) in ticks collected from domestic animals in Córdoba, Colombia.

Methods: We collected 2365 ticks from domestic animals in three municipalities of the Department of Cordoba, Colombia in 2016. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2020 05 4;16(5):e1008423. Epub 2020 May 4.

Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, Texas, United States of America.

Post-transcriptional regulation via small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) has been implicated in diverse regulatory processes in bacteria, including virulence. One class of sRNAs, termed trans-acting sRNAs, can affect the stability and/or the translational efficiency of regulated transcripts. In this study, we utilized a collaborative approach that employed data from infection with the Borrelia burgdorferi Tn library, coupled with Tn-seq, together with borrelial sRNA and total RNA transcriptomes, to identify an intergenic trans-acting sRNA, which we designate here as ittA for infectivity-associated and tissue-tropic sRNA locus A. Read More

Am Fam Physician 2020 05;101(9):530-540

Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton Family Medicine Residency Program, Camp Pendleton, CA, USA.

Tickborne diseases that affect patients in the United States include Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, and tickborne relapsing fever. Tickborne diseases are increasing in incidence and should be suspected in patients presenting with flulike symptoms during the spring and summer months. Prompt diagnosis and treatment can prevent complications and death. Read More

J Vet Intern Med 2020 May 8;34(3):1214-1221. Epub 2020 Apr 8.

Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Background: Concerns for recrudescence of Ehrlichia canis infection arise when immunosuppressive drugs are used to treat immune-mediated diseases in dogs previously infected with E. canis.

Objectives: Determine whether administration of prednisolone and cyclosporine would reactivate E. Read More

Clin Chem 2020 04;66(4):537-548

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Background: Tick-borne diseases are an important cause of human morbidity and mortality in the United States. The past several decades have witnessed an increase in both the number of recognized tick-borne pathogens and the number of tick-borne disease cases, whereas tick surveys have revealed substantial geographic expansions of tick populations throughout the country. Multiple laboratory testing options exist for diagnosis of tick-borne diseases, including serology, microscopy, and molecular-based methods. Read More

JAMA Netw Open 2020 03 2;3(3):e200328. Epub 2020 Mar 2.

Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Ecohealth 2020 03 6;17(1):4-12. Epub 2020 Feb 6.

Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.

Interdisciplinary approaches are merited when attempting to understand the complex and idiosyncratic processes driving the spillover of pathogens from wildlife and vector species to human populations. Public health data are often available for zoonotic pathogens but can lead to erroneous conclusions if the data have been spatially or temporally aggregated. As an illustration, we use human Lyme disease incidence data as a case study to examine correlations between mammalian biodiversity, fried chicken restaurants and obesity rates on human disease incidence. Read More