Publications

west nile virus in tennessee.	wnv is a mosquito-borne virus that generally causes asymptomatic or mild illness in humans. less than 1% of infected persons will develop severe disease. because there is no specific treatment for the disease, mildly ill persons seldom require testing for wnv. widespread media coverage may contribute to misperceptions about the incidence and severity of the disease, and many patients may benefit from reassurance and information which helps them understand the true risk of wnv compared with many ...	2003	12602054
host feeding patterns of established and potential mosquito vectors of west nile virus in the eastern united states.	an important variable in determining the vectorial capacity of mosquito species for arthropod-borne infections is the degree of contact of the vector and the vertebrate reservoir. this parameter can be estimated by examining the host-feeding habits of vectors. serological and polymerase chain reaction based methods have been used to study the host-feedings patterns of 21 mosquito species from new york, new jersey, and tennessee, 19 of which previously have been found infected with west nile viru ...	2004	15018775
west nile virus activity--united states, august 18-24, 2004.	during august 18-24, a total of 154 cases of human west nile virus (wnv) illness were reported from 18 states (alabama, arizona, california, colorado, connecticut, florida, georgia, illinois, kentucky, minnesota, mississippi, missouri, nevada, new mexico, north carolina, south dakota, tennessee, and wisconsin).	2004	15329654
west nile virus activity--united states, september 8-14, 2004.	during september 8-14, a total of 195 cases of human west nile virus (wnv) illness were reported from 26 states (alabama, arizona, arkansas, california, colorado, florida, georgia, idaho, illinois, iowa, kansas, maryland, minnesota, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new mexico, new york, north dakota, oklahoma, oregon, pennsylvania, south dakota, tennessee, texas, and wisconsin).	2004	15371969
west nile virus activity--united states, october 6-12, 2004.	during october 6-12, a total of 86 cases of human west nile virus (wnv) illness were reported from 18 states (arizona, florida, illinois, kansas, louisiana, michigan, minnesota, missouri, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north dakota, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, texas, and utah).	2004	15483530
west nile virus activity--united states, november 3-8, 2004.	during november 3-8, a total of 41 cases of human west nile virus (wnv) illness were reported from seven states (california, maryland, minnesota, new mexico, oregon, tennessee, and texas).	2004	15538322
clinical description and follow-up investigation of human west nile virus cases.	the objective of this study was to investigate long-term outcomes after west nile virus infection.	2005	16004166
medical news for the public to use? what's on local tv news.	local television news is the number 1 source of information for most americans, and media health reporting has increased significantly during the past 10 years.	2006	16524349
quantification of west nile virus in the saliva of culex species collected from the southern united states.	culex quinquefasciatus, cx. restuans, cx. pipiens complex, and cx. nigripalpus were collected as larvae or egg rafts from the southern usa. adult female mosquitoes were intrathoracically inoculated with approximately 1,000 plaque-forming units of west nile virus (wnv) and saliva was collected from them 5 days later. the amount of infectious wnv in the saliva samples was quantified by plaque assay and wnv rna was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr). more than 90% ...	2006	16646323
oviposition activity patterns and west nile virus infection rates for members of the culex pipiens complex at different habitat types within the hybrid zone, shelby county, tn, 2002 (diptera: culicidae).	oviposition activity and west nile virus (family flaviviridae, genus flavivirus, wnv) infection rates were assessed for members of the culex pipiens complex from july through december 2002 by using gravid traps placed at four ecologically different sites in the southern portion of the hybrid zone in shelby county, tn. molecular assays identified three members of the cx. pipiens complex: cx. pipiens pipiens l., cx. p. quinquefasciatus say, and cx. p. pipiens-cx. p. quinquefasciatus hybrids (hybri ...	2006	17162958
west nile virus infection in mosquitoes in the mid-south usa, 2002-2005.	west nile virus (family flaviviridae, genus flavivirus, wnv) was first detected in the tennessee valley and in alabama in august 2001. in summer 2002, intensive viral activity was seen, but in subsequent years, viral activity settled into an enzootic pattern. here, we report an analysis of viral activity in the mosquito fauna in the mid-south from 2002 (the first year viral activity was detected in mosquitoes) through 2005. eight mosquito species were infected with wnv during 2002. however, vira ...	2007	17294929
host choice and west nile virus infection rates in blood-fed mosquitoes, including members of the culex pipiens complex, from memphis and shelby county, tennessee, 2002-2003.	the source of bloodmeals in 2,082 blood-fed mosquitoes collected from february 2002 through december 2003 in memphis and surrounding areas of shelby county, tennessee were determined. members of the genus culex and anopheles quadrimaculatus predominated in the collections. members of the cx. pipiens complex and cx. restuans were found to feed predominately upon avian hosts, though mammalian hosts made up a substantial proportion of the bloodmeals in these species. no significant difference was s ...	2007	17767413
locating suitable habitats for west nile virus-infected mosquitoes through association of environmental characteristics with infected mosquito locations: a case study in shelby county, tennessee.	since its first detection in 2001, west nile virus (wnv) poses a significant health risk for residents of shelby county in tennessee. this situation forced public health officials to adopt efficient methods for monitoring disease spread and predicting future outbreaks. analyses that use environmental variables to find suitable habitats for wnv-infected mosquitoes have the potential to support these efforts. using the mahalanobis distance statistic, we identified areas of shelby county that are e ...	2008	18373868
host-seeking heights, host-seeking activity patterns, and west nile virus infection rates for members of the culex pipiens complex at different habitat types within the hybrid zone, shelby county, tn, 2002 (diptera: culicidae).	host-seeking heights, host-seeking activity patterns, and west nile virus (family flaviviridae, genus flavivirus, wnv) infection rates were assessed for members of the culex pipiens complex from july to december 2002, by using chicken-baited can traps (ct) at four ecologically different sites in shelby county, tn. host-seeking height was assessed by ct placed at elevations of 3.1, 4.6, and 7.6 m during one 24-h period per month. host-seeking activity was assessed by paired ct placed at an elevat ...	2008	18402144
comparing spatio-temporal clusters of arthropod-borne infections using administrative medical claims and state reported surveillance data.	considered separately, notifiable disease registries and medical claims data have certain advantages (e.g., consistent case definitions and electronic records, respectively) and limitations (e.g., incomplete reporting and coding errors, respectively) within disease outbreak research. combined however, these data could provide a more complete source of information. using a retrospective space-time permutation scan statistic, zoonotic case information from a state registry system (tdh) was compare ...	2012	22749206
using administrative medical claims data to supplement state disease registry systems for reporting zoonotic infections.	to determine what, if any, opportunity exists in using administrative medical claims data for supplemental reporting to the state infectious disease registry system.	2012	22811492
the culex pipiens complex in the mississippi river basin: identification, distribution, and bloodmeal hosts.	members of the culex pipiens complex are the primary vectors of st. louis encephalitis virus and west nile virus in the mississippi river basin (mrb). the cx. pipiens complex in the mrb is composed of 4 taxa: cx. p. pipiens form pipiens, cx. p. quinquefasciatus, hybrids between cx. p. pipiens f. pipiens and cx. p. quinquefasciatus, and cx. p. pipiens form molestus. three studies on bloodmeal hosts with large sample sizes have been conducted on members of the cx. pipiens complex in the mrb includ ...	2012	23401948
implementation of a sampling strategy to detect west nile virus in oral and cloacal samples in live song birds.	in 1999, west nile virus (wnv) first appeared in the united states and has subsequently infected more than a million people and untold numbers of wildlife. though primarily an avian virus, wnv can also infect humans and horses. the current status of wnv and its effects on wildlife in pennsylvania (pa) is sparsely monitored through sporadic testing of dead birds. in order to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of the status of wnv in wild birds, a study was designed and implemented to samp ...	2015	25863262
survey for west nile virus antibodies in wild ducks, 2004-06, usa.	detection of west nile virus (wnv) in ducks has been reported in north america in isolated cases of mortality in wild waterbirds and following outbreaks in farmed ducks. although the virus has been noted as an apparent incidental finding in several species of ducks, little is known about the prevalence of exposure or the outcome of infection with wnv in wild ducks in north america. from 2004-06, we collected sera from 1,406 wild-caught american wigeon ( anas americana ), mallard ( anas platyrhyn ...	2016	26981693
spatiotemporal co-occurrence of flanders and west nile viruses within culex populations in shelby county, tennessee.	west nile virus (wnv) and flanders virus (flav) can cocirculate in culex mosquitoes in parts of north america. a large dataset of mosquito pools tested for wnv and flav was queried to understand the spatiotemporal relationship between these two viruses in shelby county, tn. we found strong evidence of global clustering (i.e., spatial autocorrelation) and overlapping of local clustering (i.e., hot spots based on getis ord gi*) of maximum likelihood estimates (mle) of infection rates (ir) during 2 ...	2016	27026162
evaluating surveillance methods for arboviral vectors of la crosse virus and west nile virus of southern appalachia.	to monitor mosquito-borne diseases, public health departments conduct mosquito and pathogen surveillance. our objective was to evaluate mosquito monitoring methods for collecting la crosse virus (lacv) and west nile virus (wnv) vectors (aedes and culex mosquitoes, respectively) in southern appalachia. centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) light traps baited with carbon dioxide (co(2)), cdc light traps baited with co(2) and bg lure, bg-sentinel traps baited with co(2), gravid traps bai ...	2016	27105213