Clinical Science and Epidemiology
Editor's Pick Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyImproved Subtyping of Staphylococcus aureus Clonal Complex 8 Strains Based on Whole-Genome Phylogenetic AnalysisStaphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen worldwide in both community and health care settings. Surveillance for S. aureus strains is important to our understanding of their spread and to informing infection prevention and control. Confusion surrounding the strain nomenclature of one of the...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyConservation of Mannan Synthesis in Fungi of the Zygomycota and Ascomycota Reveals a Broad Diagnostic TargetA key question asked when faced with an infection, an infestation, or environmental damage is whether it is a fungus. Identification of fungi as the cause of the problem can lead to remediation or treatment. Zygomycetes and ascomycetes account for the vast majority of fungal causes of human, animal, and plant disease, large-scale biodiversity loss, agricultural spoilage, and contamination of water-damaged buildings. These studies...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyBeaver Fever: Whole-Genome Characterization of Waterborne Outbreak and Sporadic Isolates To Study the Zoonotic Transmission of GiardiasisGiardia duodenalis causes large numbers of gastrointestinal illness in humans. Its transmission through the contaminated surface water/wildlife intersect is significant, and the water-dwelling rodents beavers have been implicated as one important reservoir. To trace human infections to their source, we used genome techniques to characterize genetic relationships among...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyNatural History of Plasmodium odocoilei Malaria Infection in Farmed White-Tailed DeerMalaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium are known to infect a variety of vertebrate hosts, including ungulates (hoofed mammals). A recent study found that up to a quarter of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in North America are infected with the parasite Plasmodium odocoilei. In addition to occupying an important ecological niche, white-tailed...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyHuman Antibody Responses to Emerging Mayaro Virus and Cocirculating Alphavirus Infections Examined by Using Structural Proteins from Nine New and Old World LineagesMayaro, chikungunya, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses are closely related alphaviruses that are spread by mosquitos, causing diseases that produce similar influenza-like symptoms or more severe illnesses. Moreover, alphavirus infection symptoms can be similar to those of dengue or Zika disease, leading to underreporting of cases and potential misdiagnoses. New methods that can be used to detect antibody responses to multiple...
Resource Report | Clinical Science and EpidemiologySCCmecFinder, a Web-Based Tool for Typing of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec in Staphylococcus aureus Using Whole-Genome Sequence DataSCCmec in MRSA is acknowledged to be of importance not only because it contains the mecA or mecC gene but also for staphylococcal adaptation to different environments, e.g., in hospitals, the community, and livestock. Typing of SCCmec by PCR techniques has, because of its heterogeneity, been challenging, and whole-genome sequencing has only partially solved this since no good bioinformatic tools have...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyDevelopment and Validation of a Serologic Test Panel for Detection of Powassan Virus Infection in U.S. Patients Residing in Regions Where Lyme Disease Is EndemicApproximately 100 cases of POWV disease were reported in the United States over the past 10 years. Most cases have occurred in the Northeast (52) and Great Lakes (45) regions (https://www.cdc.gov/powassan/statistics.html). The prevalence of POWV in ticks and mammals is increasing, and POWV poses an increasing threat in a greater geographical range. In areas of the Northeast and...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyNovel ITS1 Fungal Primers for Characterization of the MycobiomeThe mycobiome constitutes all the fungal organisms within an environment or biological niche. The fungi are eukaryotes, are extremely heterogeneous, and include yeasts and molds that colonize humans as part of the microbiome. In addition, fungi can also infect humans and cause disease. Characterization of the bacterial component of the microbiome was revolutionized by 16S rRNA gene fragment amplification, next-generation sequencing...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyMeningococcal Antigen Typing System (MATS)-Based Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup B Coverage Prediction for the MenB-4C Vaccine in the United StatesThe meningococcal antigen typing system (MATS) is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based system that assesses the levels of expression and immune reactivity of the three recombinant MenB-4C antigens and, in conjunction with PorA variable 2 (VR2) sequencing, provides an estimate of the susceptibility of NmB isolates to killing by MenB-4C-induced antibodies. MATS assays or similar antigen phenotype analyses assume importance...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyUse of Multiplex Quantitative PCR To Evaluate the Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine on Nasopharyngeal Pneumococcal Colonization in African ChildrenThis study focused on evaluating the effect of infant vaccination with 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), using a multiplex qPCR method, on the density of serotype-specific nasopharyngeal colonization in order to delineate the relative role of serotype replacement versus unmasking as the cause for the increase in nonvaccine serotype colonization in PCV7-vaccinated children. This is pertinent in the context of the ongoing...