We examined the risk of withering syndrome (WS) rickettsia-like organism (WS-RLO) infection in sentinel red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) deployed in modules at two Southern California field sites, one adjacent to an abalone farm and one adjacent to wild abalones. WS-RLO DNA was detected in seawater near modules at the wild abalone site but not near the farm (WS-RLO DNA was detected in the farm effluent). More WS-RLO DNA was detected in tissue from abalone near the farm relative to those near wild abalones (p < 0.05). However, infection prevalence and intensity based on histology were low and similar between sites (p > 0.05) and were independent of WS-RLO DNA loads in abalone tissue and seawater. More stippled (ST)-RLO than WS-RLO were observed with more ST-RLO infections near wild abalone than near the abalone farm (p < 0.05). We demonstrate the utility of caged sentinel abalone to better understand pathogen transmission patterns in the field.

BACKGROUND: Near-patient surfaces are recognized as a source for hospital-acquired infections. Such surfaces act as reservoirs for microbial contamination by which pathogens can be transmitted from colonized or infected patients to susceptible patients. Routine disinfection of surfaces only results in a temporal elimination of pathogens, and recontamination inevitably occurs shortly between disinfections.
OBJECTIVE: A novel antimicrobial coating based on photodynamics was tested under laboratory conditions and subsequently in a field study in two hospitals under real-life conditions.
METHODS: Identical surfaces received a photodynamic or control coating. Bacterial counts [colony-forming units (cfu)/cm2) were assessed regularly for up to 6 months.
RESULTS: The laboratory study revealed a mean reduction of several human pathogens of up to 4.0 ± 0.3 log10. The field study in near-patient environments demonstrated mean bacterial values of 6.1 ± 24.7 cfu/cm2 on all control coatings. Photodynamic coatings showed a significantly lower mean value of 1.9 ± 2.8 cfu/cm2 (P<0.001). When considering benchmarks of 2.5 cfu/cm2 or 5 cfu/cm2, the relative risk for high bacterial counts on surfaces was reduced by 48% (odds ratio 0.38, P<0.001) or 67% (odds ratio 0.27, P<0.001), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Photodynamic coatings provide a significant and lasting reduction of bacterial counts on near-patient surfaces, particularly for high bacterial loads, in addition to routine hygiene. The promising results of this proof-of-concept study highlight the need for further studies to determine how this novel technology is correlated with the frequency of hospital-acquired infections.

Honey bees directly affect and are influenced by their local environment, in terms of food sources, pollinator densities, pathogen and toxin exposure and climate. Currently, there is a lack of studies analyzing these data with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to investigate spatial relationships with the environment. Particularly for inter-colonial pathogen transmission, it is known that the likelihood of a healthy colony to become infested (e.g., Varroosis) or infected (e.g., American foulbrood-AFB, European foulbrood-EFB) increases with higher colony density. Whether these transmission paths can actually be asserted at apiary level is largely unknown. Here, we unraveled spatial distribution and high-resolution density of apiaries and bacterial honey bee brood diseases in Switzerland based on available GIS data. Switzerland as \'model country\' offers the unique opportunity to get apiary data since 2010 owing to compulsory registration for every beekeeper. Further, both destructive bee brood diseases (AFB and EFB) are legally notifiable in Switzerland, and EFB has an epizootic character for the last decades. As governmental data sets have to be ameliorated, raw data from the cantonal agricultural or veterinary offices have been included. We found a mean density of 0.56 apiaries per km2, and high resolution spatial analyzes showed strong correlation between density of apiaries and human population density as well as agricultural landscape type. Concerning two bacterial bee brood diseases (AFB, EFB), no significant correlation was detectable with density of apiaries on cantonal level, though a high correlation of EFB cases and apiary density became obvious on higher resolution (district level). Hence, Swiss EFB epizootics seem to have benefited from high apiary densities, promoting the transmission of pathogens by adult bees. The GIS-based method presented here, might also be useful for other bee diseases, anthropogenic or environmental factors affecting bee colonies.

Long-term individual-based datasets on host-pathogen systems are a rare and valuable resource for understanding the infectious disease dynamics in wildlife. A study of European badgers (Meles meles) naturally infected with bovine tuberculosis (bTB) at Woodchester Park in Gloucestershire (UK) has produced a unique dataset, facilitating investigation of a diverse range of epidemiological and ecological questions with implications for disease management. Since the 1970s, this badger population has been monitored with a systematic mark-recapture regime yielding a dataset of >15,000 captures of >3,000 individuals, providing detailed individual life-history, morphometric, genetic, reproductive and disease data. The annual prevalence of bTB in the Woodchester Park badger population exhibits no straightforward relationship with population density, and both the incidence and prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis show marked variation in space. The study has revealed phenotypic traits that are critical for understanding the social structure of badger populations along with mechanisms vital for understanding disease spread at different spatial resolutions. Woodchester-based studies have provided key insights into how host ecology can influence infection at different spatial and temporal scales. Specifically, it has revealed heterogeneity in epidemiological parameters; intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting population dynamics; provided insights into senescence and individual life histories; and revealed consistent individual variation in foraging patterns, refuge use and social interactions. An improved understanding of ecological and epidemiological processes is imperative for effective disease management. Woodchester Park research has provided information of direct relevance to bTB management, and a better appreciation of the role of individual heterogeneity in disease transmission can contribute further in this regard. The Woodchester Park study system now offers a rare opportunity to seek a dynamic understanding of how individual-, group- and population-level processes interact. The wealth of existing data makes it possible to take a more integrative approach to examining how the consequences of individual heterogeneity scale to determine population-level pathogen dynamics and help advance our understanding of the ecological drivers of host-pathogen systems.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the seasonal variance of potentially pathogenic bacterial and viral organisms in nasopharyngeal specimens obtained from asymptomatic health care professionals (HCPs) during the 2014 winter and summer months.
METHODS: Nasopharyngeal specimens from 100 HCPs were collected from Huntsville Hospital (Huntsville, AL) during the winter and from 100 HCPs during the summer. All subjects were tested for 22 viruses and 19 bacteria using Target Enriched Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction. Both seasonal cohorts were composed of students, nurses, physicians, and residents.
RESULTS: Of the 100 HCPs tested during the winter, 34 subjects were colonized with at least 1 bacterium, and 11 tested positive for at least 1 virus. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Moraxella catarrhalis, and coronavirus were the most frequently detected potentially infectious agents. Of the 100 HCPs tested during the summer, 37 tested positive for at least 1 bacterium, and 4 tested positive for a viral agent. The most prevalent bacteria were MRSA and Klebsiella pneumonia.
CONCLUSIONS: Nasopharyngeal carriage among asymptomatic HCPs was common, but the frequency and presence of potential pathogens varied with each season. Understanding the colonization and infection potential of upper respiratory organisms is important, particularly for viruses. Although asymptomatic HCPs certainly harbor a number of different potentially infectious agents, future studies are needed to determine whether colonized pathogens are transmitted or initiate infection in at-risk patient populations.