Risk factors for otitis media and carriage of multiple strains of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

We studied genetic diversity in Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in throat culture isolates from 38 children attending two day-care centers in Michigan. Culture specimens were collected weekly; 184 S. pneumoniae and 418 H. influenzae were isolated from the cultures. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis identified 29 patterns among the S. pneumoniae isolates and 87 among the H. influenzae isolates. Of the cultures, 5% contained multiple genetic types of S. pneumoniae, and 43% contained multiple types of H. influenzae. Carriage of multiple H. influenzae isolates, which was associated with exposure to smoking, history of allergies, and age 36 to 47 months, may increase risk for otitis media in children

Reactivity of Haemophilus influenzae type b anti-pili antibodies

The reactivity of anti-pilus antibodies to native and denatured Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib) pili was studied using rabbit serum prepared against piliated H. influenzae b strain M43 (p+) and adsorbed with its non-piliated variant, strain M42 (p-). The specificity of the adsorbed serum for Hib pili was documented by immunogold electron microscopy and by immunoprecipitation, which revealed the 24 kDa pilin band from strain M43 (p+) that was not seen on strain M42 (p-1). In immunodot assays, the anti-pilus antibodies reacted with the native pili present on the outer membrane of strain M43 (p+), but on Western blot assay using denatured outer membranes, the anti-pilus antibodies did not react with the 24 kDa pilin subunit. These data demonstrate that the anti-pilus antibodies in the adsorbed serum recognize conformational epitopes that depend on the tertiary or quaternary structure of Hib pili.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27738/1/0000130.pd

Invasive disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae in Sweden 1997–2009; evidence of increasing incidence and clinical burden of non‐type b strains

Introduction of a conjugated vaccine against encapsulated Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) has led to a dramatic reduction of invasive Hib disease. However, an increasing incidence of invasive disease by H. influenzae non‐type b has recently been reported. Non‐type b strains have been suggested to be opportunists in an invasive context, but information on clinical consequences and related medical conditions is scarce. In this retrospective study, all H. influenzae isolates ( n  =   410) from blood and cerebrospinal fluid in three metropolitan Swedish regions between 1997 and 2009 from a population of approximately 3 million individuals were identified. All available isolates were serotyped by PCR ( n  =   250). We observed a statistically significant increase in the incidence of invasive H. influenzae disease, ascribed to non‐typeable H. influenzae (NTHi) and encapsulated strains type f (Hif) in mainly individuals >60 years of age. The medical reports from a subset of 136 cases of invasive Haemophilus disease revealed that 48% of invasive NTHi cases and 59% of invasive Hif cases, respectively, met the criteria of severe sepsis or septic shock according to the ACCP/SCCM classification of sepsis grading. One‐fifth of invasive NTHi cases and more than one‐third of invasive Hif cases were admitted to intensive care units. Only 37% of patients with invasive non‐type b disease had evidence of immunocompromise, of which conditions related to impaired humoral immunity was the most common. The clinical burden of invasive non‐type b H. influenzae disease, measured as days of hospitalization/100 000 individuals at risk and year, increased significantly throughout the study period.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87052/1/j.1469-0691.2010.03417.x.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87052/2/CLM_3417_sm_FigS1.pd

Evidence for donor strand complementation in the biogenesis of Haemophilus influenzae haemagglutinating pili

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73758/1/j.1365-2958.2000.01816.x.pd

Probabilistic movement model with emigration simulates movements of deer in Nebraska, 1990–2006

Movements of deer can affect population dynamics, spatial redistribution, and transmission and spread of diseases. Our goal was to model the movement of deer in Nebraska in an attempt to predict the potential for spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) into eastern Nebraska. We collared and radio-tracked \u3e600 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in Nebraska during 1990–2006.We observed large displacements (\u3e10 km) for both species and sexes of deer, including migrations up to 100 km and dispersals up to 50 km. Average distance traveled between successive daily locations was 166m for male and 173 for female deer in eastern Nebraska, and 427m for male and 459 for female deer in western Nebraska. Average daily displacement from initial capture point was 10m for male and 14m for female deer in eastern Nebraska, and 27m for male and 28m for female deer in western Nebraska.We used these data on naturally occurring movements to create and test 6 individual-based models of movement for white-tailed deer and mule deer in Nebraska, including models that incorporated sampling from empirical distributions of movement lengths and turn angles (DIST), correlated random walks (CRW), home point fidelity (FOCUS), shifting home point (SHIFT), probabilistic movement acceptance (MOVE), and probabilistic movement with emigration (MOVEwEMI). We created models in sequence in an attempt to account for the shortcomings of the previous model(s). We used the Kolmogrov–Smirnov goodness-of-fit test to verify improvement of simulated annual displacement distributions to empirical displacement distributions. The best-fit model (D = 0.07 and 0.08 for eastern and western Nebraska, respectively) included a probabilistic-movement chance with emigration (MOVEwEMI) and resulted in an optimal daily movement length of 350m (maximum daily movement length of 2800m for emigrators) for eastern Nebraska and 370m (maximum of 2960m) for western Nebraska. The proportion of deer that moved as emigrators was 0.10 and 0.13 for eastern and western Nebraska, respectively. We propose that the observed spread of CWD may be driven by large movements of a small proportion of deer that help to establish a low prevalence of the disease in areas east of the current endemic area. Our movement models will be used in a larger individual-based simulation of movement, survival, and transmission of CWD to help determine future surveillance and management actions

White-tailed Deer Browsing and Rubbing Preferences for Trees and Shrubs That Produce Nontimber Forest Products

Nontimber forest products (food, herbal medicinals, and woody floral and handicraft products) produced in forest, agroforestry, and horticultural systems can be important sources of income to landowners. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can reduce the quality, quantity, and profitability of forest products by browsing twigs and rubbing stems, resulting in direct and indirect losses to production enterprises. We evaluated deer damage (frequency and intensity of browsing and rubbing) sustained by 26 species of trees and shrubs, the relationships among morphological features of trees and shrubs to damage levels, and the economic impacts of deer damage on the production of nontimber forest products. Levels of browsing were high (frequency \u3e93% and intensity \u3e50%) in most species of trees and shrubs, with the highest intensity (\u3e60%) occurring in chinese chestnut (Castanea mollisima) and dogwood (Cornus spp.), and the lowest (Ginkgo biloba), curly willow (Salix matsudana), ‘Scarlet Curls’ curly willow, smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), and pussy willow (Salix caprea). Species of trees or shrubs with one or a few stout stems unprotected by dense branching [e.g., american elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), smooth sumac, and curly willow] sustained the most damage by rubbing. Trees and shrubs with many small diameter stems or with dense tangled branching [e.g. redozier dogwood (Cornus sericea), forsythia (Forsythia suspensa), ‘Flame’ willow (Salix alba), and ‘Streamco’ basket willow (Salix purpurea)] were damaged the least by rubbing. Annual economic costs of deer damage to producers of nontimber forest products can range from $26/acre for pussy willow to$1595/acre for curly willow

A Stakeholder-Informed Approach to the Identification of Criteria for the Prioritization of Zoonoses in Canada

Background: Zoonotic diseases account for over 60 % of all communicable diseases causing illness in humans and 75 % of recently emerging infectious diseases. As limited resources are available for the control and prevention of zoonotic diseases, it is necessary to prioritize diseases in order to direct resources into those with the greatest needs. The selection of criteria for prioritization has traditionally been on the basis of expert opinion; however, details of the methods used to identify criteria from expert opinion often are not published and a full range of criteria may not be captured by expert opinion. Methodology/Principal Findings: This study used six focus groups to identify criteria for the prioritization of zoonotic diseases in Canada. Focus groups included people from the public, animal health professionals and human health professionals. A total of 59 criteria were identified for prioritizing zoonotic diseases. Human-related criteria accounted for the highest proportion of criteria identified (55%), followed by animal-related criteria (26%) then pathogen/disease-related criteria (19%). Similarities and differences were observed in the identification and scoring of criteria for disease prioritization between groups; the public groups were strongly influenced by the individual-level of disease burden, the responsibility of the scientific community in disease prioritization and the experiences of recent events while the professional groups were influenced by the societal- and population-level of disease burden and political and public pressure

Highly variable use of diagnostic methods for sexually transmitted infections-results of a nationwide survey, Germany 2005

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sexual transmitted infections (STIs) have increased in Germany and other countries in Europe since the mid-nineties. To obtain a better picture of diagnostic methods used in STI testing institutions in Germany, we performed a nationwide survey amongst STI specialists in order to evaluate the quality of STI reports and provide recommendations to harmonize and possibly improve STI diagnostics in Germany.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We asked sentinel physicians and randomly chosen gynaecologists, urologists and dermato-venerologists, about the diagnostic methods used in 2005 to diagnose HIV, chlamydia (CT), gonorrhoea (GO) and syphilis (SY) in a national cross-sectional survey in order to recognize potential problems and provide recommendations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 739/2287 (32%) physicians participated. Of all participants, 80% offered tests for HIV, 84% for CT, 83% for GO and 83% for SY. Of all participants who performed HIV testing, 90% requested an antibody test, 3% a rapid test and 1% a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). For CT testing, NAAT was used in 33% and rapid tests in 34% of participants. GO resistance testing was performed by 31% of the participants. SY testing was performed in 98% by serology.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Diagnostic methods for STI vary highly among the participants. Diagnostic guidelines should be reviewed and harmonised to ensure consistent use of the optimal STI diagnostic methods.</p

Design and validation of a supragenome array for determination of the genomic content of Haemophilus influenzae isolates

Abstract Background Haemophilus influenzae colonizes the human nasopharynx as a commensal, and is etiologically associated with numerous opportunistic infections of the airway; it is also less commonly associated with invasive disease. Clinical isolates of H. influenzae display extensive genomic diversity and plasticity. The development of strategies to successfully prevent, diagnose and treat H. influenzae infections depends on tools to ascertain the gene content of individual isolates. Results We describe and validate a Haemophilus influenzae supragenome hybridization (SGH) array that can be used to characterize the full genic complement of any strain within the species, as well as strains from several highly related species. The array contains 31,307 probes that collectively cover essentially all alleles of the 2890 gene clusters identified from the whole genome sequencing of 24 clinical H. influenzae strains. The finite supragenome model predicts that these data include greater than 85% of all non-rare genes (where rare genes are defined as those present in less than 10% of sequenced strains). The veracity of the array was tested by comparing the whole genome sequences of eight strains with their hybridization data obtained using the supragenome array. The array predictions were correct and reproducible for ~ 98% of the gene content of all of the sequenced strains. This technology was then applied to an investigation of the gene content of 193 geographically and clinically diverse H. influenzae clinical strains. These strains came from multiple locations from five different continents and Papua New Guinea and include isolates from: the middle ears of persons with otitis media and otorrhea; lung aspirates and sputum samples from pneumonia and COPD patients, blood specimens from patients with sepsis; cerebrospinal fluid from patients with meningitis, as well as from pharyngeal specimens from healthy persons. Conclusions These analyses provided the most comprehensive and detailed genomic/phylogenetic look at this species to date, and identified a subset of highly divergent strains that form a separate lineage within the species. This array provides a cost-effective and high-throughput tool to determine the gene content of any H. influenzae isolate or lineage. Furthermore, the method for probe selection can be applied to any species, given a group of available whole genome sequences.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112375/1/12864_2012_Article_5193.pd

Cost Structure and Economies of Scale in German Water Supply

Potable water supply in Germany is highly fragmented. A consolidation of the industry could, therefore, lead to lower cost of water supply and price savings for the customers. In this paper we estimate a total cost function for potable water supply based on a unique sample of German water utilities observed between 2004 and 2010. Newly available data allows for a detailed cost modeling approach. Capital stocks are estimated using the Perpetual Inventory Method, while capital costs are estimated using a weighted cost of capital approach. Local water suppliers are found to have strong cost advantages compared to regional suppliers. While the results indicate strong density effects, economies of scale are only found for the smallest water utilities. Thus, the results argue against a consolidation of the industry