Vector-Borne Disease

New Hampshire on Tuesday announced that a person in the state who tested positive for eastern equine encephalitis virus has died after being hospitalized with severe central nervous system diseases.

Researchers developed a low-cost rapid test to detect an invasive species of mosquito that has adapted to live near humans in urban environments, which they hope can be used in areas far from medical labs.

PCR-based West Nile virus testing using whole blood was effective and favored compared with plasma testing as an initial test for infection, researchers reported.

Zika virus is an important mosquito-borne pathogen with significant public health concerns. Zika vaccine development is an ongoing area of research with several candidates in the pipeline.

Researchers confirmed that rat lungworm, or Angiostrongylus cantonensis, has established a presence in Georgia, adding to the states where the invasive parasite has been identified.

Combining seasonal vaccination and chemoprevention reduces the incidence of malaria by around two-thirds compared with either prevention method by itself, updated study results confirmed.

Spotting and managing early Lyme disease can be easy: Just look for the bullseye. But when the rash goes away and the infection remains untreated for a prolonged period, Lyme arthritis can develop. That is when the real challenges begin.

Tick surveillance and control in the United States are inconsistent, largely because of inconsistent funding, limited infrastructure, lack of guidance and institutional capacity, according to a survey in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

Lyme disease was first described in the United States in 1975, after two concerned mothers in Old Lyme, Connecticut, reached out to rheumatologists at Yale University regarding an influx of pediatric arthritis in their community. A surveillance study in 1976 led to the realization of a connection between the deer tick population, east of the Connecticut River, and the development of the telltale erythema migrans rash. In 1978, the vector tick carrier was confirmed, and thus, the mystery of the development of Lyme disease was uncovered. However, Lyme disease continues to pose a conundrum to providers, patients and researchers. As the most widely reported vector-borne illness in the U.S., Lyme disease presents an opportunity for education and improvement in prompt diagnosis and treatment.