Local Economic Conditions Affect Aedes albopictus Management
AbstractInvasive mosquitoes are an emerging public health issue, as many species are competent vectors for pathogens. We assessed how multiple environmental and socio-economic factors affected the engagement of municipalities in Italy (n = 7679) in actions againstAedes albopictus, an invasive mosquito affecting human health and well-being, between 2000 and 2020. We collected information about mosquito control from official documents and municipal websites and modeled the role played by multiple environmental and socioeconomic factors characterizing each municipality through the random forest algorithm. Municipalities a...
Source: EcoHealth - April 24, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Prevalence and Molecular Analysis of Encephalomyocarditis Virus-2 in the Hazel Dormouse
In this study, we firstly investigated cause of death in seven hazel dormice found dead in England, through next-generation sequencing identifyin g a virus closely related to a wood mouse encephalomyocarditis virus-2 (EMCV-2). Subsequently, lung tissue samples from 35 out of 44 hazel dormice tested positive for EMCV-2 RNA using a reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Sanger sequencing methods developed in this study. Formalin-fixed tissues available for nine hazel dormice which tested positive for EMCV-2 RNA were examined microscopically. Three cases showed moderate interstitial pneumon...
Source: EcoHealth - April 23, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Chlamydia psittaci Screening of Animal Workers from Argentina Exposed to Carrier Birds
AbstractDifferent syndromes are involved in human psittacosis (flu-like syndrome, atypical pneumonia up to lacrimal gland lymphoma). Diagnostic methods include serology, culture, and PCR. The rate ofChlamydia psittaci (Cp) positive tests among exposed workers is still unknown. Our study aimed to assess the rate of positive tests among workers who have contact with carrier birds in natural reserves from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Secondary aims were to analyze risk factors linked to these outcomes and the occurrence of signs that suggest psittacosis. Nasopharyngeal swabs and serum pairs were collected from employees who had i...
Source: EcoHealth - April 18, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
By-degree Health and Economic Impacts of Lyme Disease, Eastern and Midwestern United States
AbstractLyme disease (LD) is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States (U.S.). This paper assesses how climate change may influence LD incidence in the eastern and upper Midwestern U.S. and the associated economic burden. We estimated futureIxodes scapularis habitat suitability and LD incidence with a by-degree approach using variables from an ensemble of multiple climate models. We then applied estimates for present-day and projected habitat suitability forI. scapularis, present-day presence ofBorrelia burgdorferi, and projected climatological variables to model reported LD incidence at the county level am...
Source: EcoHealth - March 13, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
The Brief Solastalgia Scale: A Psychometric Evaluation and Revision
AbstractWitnessing degradation and loss to one ’s home environment can cause the negative emotional experience of solastalgia. We review the psychometric properties of the 9-item Solastalgia subscale from the Environmental Distress Scale (Higginbotham et al. (EcoHealth 3:245–254, 2006)). Using data collected from three large, independent, ad ult samples (N = 4229), who were surveyed soon after the 2019/20 Australian bushfires, factor analyses confirmed the scale’s unidimensionality, while analyses derived from Item Response Theory highlighted the poor psychometric performance and redundant content of specific ite...
Source: EcoHealth - March 5, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Forest Restoration and the Zoonotic Vector Anopheles balabacensis in Sabah, Malaysia
AbstractAnthropogenic changes to forest cover have been linked to an increase in zoonotic diseases. In many areas, natural forests are being replaced with monoculture plantations, such as oil palm, which reduce biodiversity and create a mosaic of landscapes with increased forest edge habitat and an altered micro-climate. These altered conditions may be facilitating the spread of the zoonotic malaria parasitePlasmodium knowlesi in Sabah, on the island of Borneo, through changes to mosquito vector habitat. We conducted a study on mosquito abundance and diversity in four different land uses comprising restored native forest, ...
Source: EcoHealth - February 27, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Kenyan Free-Tailed Bats Demonstrate Seasonal Birth Pulse Asynchrony with Implications for Virus Maintenance
AbstractEcological information on wildlife reservoirs is fundamental for research targeting prevention of zoonotic infectious disease, yet basic information is lacking for many species in global hotspots of disease emergence. We provide the first estimates of synchronicity, magnitude, and timing of seasonal birthing inMops condylurus, a putative ebolavirus host, and a co-roosting species,Mops pumilus (formerlyChaerephon pumilus). We show that population-level synchronicity ofM. condylurus birthing is wide (~ 8.5 weeks) and even wider inM. pumilus (> 11 weeks). This is predicted to promote the likelihood of filov...
Source: EcoHealth - February 19, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the Arid and Thermally Extreme Sonoran Desert
AbstractBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the causative agent of the devastating global amphibian disease chytridiomycosis, was not projected to threaten amphibians in hot and arid regions due to its sensitivity to heat and desiccation. However,Bd is being detected more frequently than ever in hot and arid regions of Australia and the USA, challenging our current understanding of the environmental tolerances of the pathogen under natural conditions. We surveyed forBd in an extremely hot and arid portion of the Sonoran Desert, where the pathogen is not projected to occur, and related presence and prevalence of the pathog...
Source: EcoHealth - January 19, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
