Tick-borne pathogens cause potent infections. These pathogens benefit from molecules contained in tick saliva that have evolved to modulate host innate and adaptive immune responses. This is called "saliva-activated transmission" and enables tick-borne pathogens to evade host immune responses. Ticks feed on their host for relatively long periods; thus, mechanisms counteracting the inflammation-...

Yersinia enterocolitica, a gram-negative coccobacillus, comprises a heterogeneous group of bacterial strains recovered from animal and environmental reservoirs. The majority of human pathogenic strains are found among distinct serogroups (e.g. O:3, O:5,27, O:8, O:9) and contain both chromosome- and plasmid (60 to 75 kb)-mediated virulence factors that are absent in "avirulent" strains. While Y....

Critical to the mitigation of parasitic vector-borne diseases is the development of accurate spatial predictions that integrate environmental conditions conducive to pathogen proliferation. Species of Plasmodium and Trypanosoma readily infect humans, and are also common in birds. Here, we develop predictive spatial models for the prevalence of these blood parasites in the olive sunbird (Cyanomi...

Understanding the determinants of efficient tick-borne microbial transmission is needed to better predict the emergence of highly transmissible pathogen strains and disease outbreaks. Although the basic developmental cycle of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia spp. within the tick has been delineated, there are marked differences in the ability of specific strains to be efficiently tick transmitted. Using...

The risk of blood-borne transmission of infectious diseases has led to an increasing awareness of the need for a safe and effective pathogen reduction technology. This study evaluated the efficacy of 2 pathogen reduction systems to inactivate dengue virus (DENV-2) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) spiked into apheresis platelets (APLT) concentrates. Double-dose APLT collections (n = 3) were split e...

Tick-borne diseases are on the rise. Lyme borreliosis is prevalent throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and the same Ixodes tick species transmitting the etiologic agents of this disease also serve as vectors of pathogens causing human babesiosis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, and tick-borne encephalitis. Recently, several novel agents of rickettsial diseases have been described. Despite an e...

Fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables are increasingly linked to food-borne illnesses, outbreaks and recalls. The trend represents a modern-day public health conundrum wherein consumers are encouraged to eat more fresh produce to help prevent chronic health problems such as obesity and heart disease, but at the same time consumption of contaminated produce can lead to potentially life-threatening a...

Emerging and re-emerging diseases transmitted by blood feeding arthropods are significant global public health problems. Ticks transmit the greatest variety of pathogenic microorganisms of any blood feeding arthropod. Infectious agents transmitted by ticks are delivered to the vertebrate host together with saliva at the bite site. Tick salivary glands produce complex cocktails of bioactive mole...

Improvements to risk assessments are needed to enhance our understanding of tick-borne disease epidemiology. We review tick vectors and duration of tick attachment required for pathogen transmission for the following pathogens/toxins and diseases: (1) Anaplasma phagocytophilum (anaplasmosis); (2) Babesia microti (babesiosis); (3) Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease); (4) Southern tick-associated...