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

No Evidence of Rabies Exposure in Wild Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) of Northeast Brazil
AbstractRabies transmitted by wildlife is the main source of human rabies mortality in Latin America and considered an emerging disease. The common marmosetCallithrix jacchus of Brazil is the only known primate reservoir of rabies worldwide. We tested whether alive free-rangingC. jacchus were exposed to rabies in four northeast states that have previously reported rabies-positive deadC. jacchus (Pernambuco and Bahia) or not (Para íba and Rio Grande do Norte). Our results show no evidence of rabies antibodies or infection in the sampledC. jacchus, suggesting that apparently healthy marmosets are not widely exposed to rabie...
Source: EcoHealth - January 18, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Correction: Marine Protected Area Expansion and Country-Level Age-Standardized Adult Mortality
(Source: EcoHealth)
Source: EcoHealth - January 17, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Collaborative Modeling of the Tick-Borne Disease Social-Ecological System: A Conceptual Framework
AbstractHard-bodied ticks have become a major concern in temperate regions because they transmit a variety of pathogens of medical significance. Ticks and pathogens interact with hosts in a complex social-ecological system (SES) that influences human exposure to tick-borne diseases (TBD). We argue that addressing the urgent public health threat posed by TBD requires an understanding of the integrated processes in the forest ecosystem that influence tick density and infection prevalence, transmission among ticks, animal hosts, and ultimately disease prevalence in humans. We argue that collaborative modeling of the human-tic...
Source: EcoHealth - January 12, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Cattle Farming and Plantation Forest are Associated with Bartonella Occurrence in Wild Rodents
In this study, we conducted a survey on wild populations of sigmodontine rodents,Akodon azarae andOxymycterus rufus, inhabiting the Paran á River delta region. The study involved eight grids organized in a crossed 2 × 2 design, where four of the grids were exposed to cattle while the other four were not, and four grids were located in implanted forest while the remaining four were in natural grasslands. Our objective was to exam ine whether the occurrence ofBartonella spp. in rodents was associated with silvopastoral activities (cattle raising associated with timber production) conducted in the region. Additionally, ...
Source: EcoHealth - January 9, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Comprehensive Genomic Characterization of Antibiotic Resistance, Virulence, and Clonality in Salmonella Isolates from Wild Animals in Algeria
This study investigatedSalmonella spp. in wild animals in Algeria, focusing on their prevalence, serotypes, antibiotic resistance, and virulence profiles. From fecal samples collected between May 2021 and June 2022, 1.9% showedSalmonella shedding. The identified serotypes includedS. Bredeney,S. Enteritidis,S. Altona, andS. Virchow. Except forS. Altona, all isolates were resistant to quinolones, withS. Bredeney strains, exhibiting multidrug resistance. Whole-genome sequencing revealed various resistance genes and mutations ingyrA orparC genes. Additionally, plasmids IncX1 and ColpVC were detected in several isolates. A comp...
Source: EcoHealth - January 4, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research