Digital Detection for Tobacco Control: Online Reactions to the 2009 U.S. Cigarette Excise Tax Increase

The Internet is revolutionizing tobacco control, but few have harnessed the Web for surveillance. We demonstrate for the first time an approach for analyzing aggregate Internet search queries that captures precise changes in population considerations about tobacco

Rapid screening of Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg and Typhimurium using a serologically-correlative allelotyping PCR targeting the O and H antigen alleles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Classical <it>Salmonella </it>serotyping is an expensive and time consuming process that requires implementing a battery of O and H antisera to detect 2,541 different <it>Salmonella enterica </it>serovars. For these reasons, we developed a rapid multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based typing scheme to screen for the prevalent <it>S. enterica </it>serovars Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg, and Typhimurium.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By analyzing the nucleotide sequences of the genes for O-antigen biosynthesis including <it>wb</it>a operon and the central variable regions of the H1 and H2 flagellin genes in <it>Salmonella</it>, designated PCR primers for four multiplex PCR reactions were used to detect and differentiate <it>Salmonella </it>serogroups A/D1, B, C1, C2, or E1; H1 antigen types i, g, m, r or z₁₀; and H2 antigen complexes, I: 1,2; 1,5; 1,6; 1,7 or II: e,n,x; e,n,z₁₅. Through the detection of these antigen gene allele combinations, we were able to distinguish among <it>S. enterica </it>serovars Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg, and Typhimurium. The assays were useful in identifying <it>Salmonella </it>with O and H antigen gene alleles representing 43 distinct serovars. While the H2 multiplex could discriminate between unrelated H2 antigens, the PCR could not discern differences within the antigen complexes, 1,2; 1,5; 1,6; 1,7 or e,n,x; e,n,z₁₅, requiring a final confirmatory PCR test in the final serovar reporting of <it>S. enterica</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Multiplex PCR assays for detecting specific O and H antigen gene alleles can be a rapid and cost-effective alternative approach to classical serotyping for presumptive identification of <it>S. enterica </it>serovars Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg, and Typhimurium.</p

US consumer interest in non-cigarette tobacco products spikes around the 2009 federal tobacco tax increase

This quasi-experimental longitudinal study monitored aggregate Google search queries as a proxy for consumer interest in non-cigarette tobacco products (NTP) around the time of the 2009 US federal tobacco tax increase

Dana Cole, Georgia Division of Public Health, Notifiable Disease Section, Department of Human Resources, 2 Peachtree Free-living Canada Geese and Antimicrobial Resistance

We describe antimicrobial resistance among Escherichia coli isolated from free-living Canada Geese in Georgia and North Carolina (USA). Resistance patterns are compared to those reported by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System. Canada Geese may be vectors of antimicrobial resistance and resistance genes in agricultural environments

Free-living Canada Geese and Antimicrobial Resistance

We describe antimicrobial resistance among Escherichia coli isolated from free-living Canada Geese in Georgia and North Carolina (USA). Resistance patterns are compared to those reported by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System. Canada Geese may be vectors of antimicrobial resistance and resistance genes in agricultural environments

Diversity of Antimicrobial Resistance Phenotypes in Salmonella Isolated from Commercial Poultry Farms

Salmonella remains the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, and the dissemination of drug-resistant Salmonellae through the food chain has important implications for treatment failure of salmonellosis. We investigated the ecology of Salmonella in integrated broiler production in order to understand the flow of antibiotic susceptible and resistant strains within this system. Data were analyzed from a retrospective study focused on antimicrobial resistant Salmonella recovered from commercial broiler chicken farms conducted during the initial years of the US FDA’s foray into retail meat surveillance by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS). Sixty-three percentage of Salmonella were pan-susceptible to a panel of 19 antimicrobials used by the NARMS program. Twenty-five antimicrobial resistance phenotypes were observed in Salmonella isolated from two broiler chicken farms. However, Salmonella displaying resistance to streptomycin, alone, and in combination with other antibiotics was the most prevalent (36.3%) antimicrobial resistance phenotype observed. Resistance to streptomycin and sulfadimethoxine appeared to be linked to the transposon, Tn21. Combinations of resistance against streptomycin, gentamicin, sulfadimethoxine, trimethoprim, and tetracycline were observed for a variety of Salmonella enterica serovars and genetic types as defined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. There were within and between farm differences in the antibiotic susceptibilities of Salmonella and some of these differences were linked to specific serovars. However, farm differences were not linked to antibiotic usage. Analysis of the temporal and spatial distribution of the endemic Salmonella serovars on these farms suggests that preventing vertical transmission of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella would reduce carcass contamination with antibiotic-resistant Salmonella and subsequently human risk exposure

Digital Detection for Tobacco Control: Online Reactions to the 2009 U.S. Cigarette Excise Tax Increase

INTRODUCTION: The Internet is revolutionizing tobacco control, but few have harnessed the Web for surveillance. We demonstrate for the first time an approach for analyzing aggregate Internet search queries that captures precise changes in population considerations about tobacco. METHODS: We compared tobacco-related Google queries originating in the United States during the week of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) 2009 cigarette excise tax increase with a historic baseline. Specific queries were then ranked according to their relative increases while also considering approximations of changes in absolute search volume. RESULTS: Individual queries with the largest relative increases the week of the SCHIP tax were “cigarettes Indian reservations” 640% (95% CI, 472–918), “free cigarettes online” 557% (95% CI, 432–756), and “Indian reservations cigarettes” 542% (95% CI, 414–733), amounting to about 7,500 excess searches. By themes, the largest relative increases were tribal cigarettes 246% (95% CI, 228–265), “free” cigarettes 215% (95% CI, 191–242), and cigarette stores 176% (95% CI, 160–193), accounting for 21,000, 27,000, and 90,000 excess queries. All avoidance queries, including those aforementioned themes, relatively increased 150% (95% CI, 144–155) or 550,000 from their baseline. All cessation queries increased 46% (95% CI, 44–48), or 175,000, around SCHIP; including themes for “cold turkey” 19% (95% CI, 11–27) or 2,600, cessation products 47% (95% CI, 44–50) or 78,000, and dubious cessation approaches (e.g., hypnosis) 40% (95% CI, 33–47) or 2,300. CONCLUSIONS: The SCHIP tax motivated specific changes in population considerations. Our strategy can support evaluations that temporally link tobacco control measures with instantaneous population reactions, as well as serve as a springboard for traditional studies, for example, including survey questionnaire design