Publications

hemocytic rickettsia-like organisms in ticks: serologic reactivity with antisera to ehrlichiae and detection of dna of agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis by pcr.	ixodid ticks were collected from connecticut, massachusetts, missouri, pennsylvania, rhode island, and british columbia (canada) during 1991 to 1994 to determine the prevalence of infection with hemocytic (blood cell), rickettsia-like organisms. hemolymph obtained from these ticks was analyzed by direct and indirect fluorescent antibody (fa) staining methods with dog, horse, or human sera containing antibodies to ehrlichia canis, ehrlichia equi, or rickettsia rickettsii. of the 693 nymphal and a ...	1995	8567911
serologic evidence of infection with granulocytic ehrlichiae in black bears in pennsylvania.	serum samples from 381 black bears (ursus americanus) killed in pennsylvania (usa) on 24 november 1997 were analyzed for antibodies reactive to the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (hge; ehrlichia sp.) by indirect immunofluorescence assay. antibody reactivity to hge antigen was detected in 21% (81/381) of the samples collected. reactive samples were reported from 56% (14/25) of the counties where bear samples were collected. endpoint antibody titer ranged from 1:8 to 1:16, 192, with a ge ...	2002	11838228
molecular characterization of anaplasma phagocytophilum and borrelia burgdorferi in ixodes scapularis ticks from pennsylvania.	ixodes scapularis ticks were collected in 2000 and 2001 from two areas in pennsylvania and tested for the presence of anaplasma phagocytophilum and borrelia burgdorferi by pcr and dna sequencing. of the ticks collected from northwestern and southeastern pennsylvania, 162 of 263 (61.6%) and 25 of 191 (13.1%), respectively, were found to be positive for b. burgdorferi. dna sequencing showed >99% identity with b. burgdorferi strains b31 and jd1. pcr testing for a. phagocytophilum revealed that 5 of ...	2003	12682147
characterization of anaplasma phagocytophila and borrelia burgdorferi genotypes in ixodes scapularis ticks from pennsylvania.		2003	12860614
infection and co-infection rates of anaplasma phagocytophilum variants, babesia spp., borrelia burgdorferi, and the rickettsial endosymbiont in ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae) from sites in indiana, maine, pennsylvania, and wisconsin.	in total, 394 questing adult blacklegged ticks, ixodes scapularis say (acari: ixodidae), collected at four sites were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (pcr) for five microbial species: anaplasma phagocytophilum, babesia microti, babesia odocoilei, borrelia burgdorferi, and the rickettsial i. scapularis endosymbiont. identities of genetic variants of a. phagocytophilum were determined by sequencing a portion of the 16s dna. in 55% of infected ticks (193/351), a single agent was detected. in ...	2008	18402145
detection of borrelia burgdorferi and anaplasma phagocytophilum in the black-legged tick, ixodes scapularis, within southwestern pennsylvania.	prevalence studies of borrelia burgdorferi and anaplasma phagocytophilum have been rare for ticks from southwestern pennsylvania. we collected 325 ixodes scapularis ticks between 2011 and 2012 from four counties in southwestern pennsylvania. we tested for the presence of borrelia burgdorferi and anaplasma phagocytophilum using pcr. of the ticks collected from pennsylvania, b. burgdorferi (causative agent of lyme disease) was present in 114/325 (35%) and anaplasma phagocytophilum (causative agent ...	2015	26047199
relatively low prevalence of babesia microti and anaplasma phagocytophilum in ixodes scapularis ticks collected in the lehigh valley region of eastern pennsylvania.	several human pathogens are transmitted by the blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis. these include the spirochetes that cause lyme disease (borrelia burgdorferi) which is endemic to the lehigh valley region of eastern pennsylvania. emerging and currently rare tick-borne diseases have been of increasing concern in this region, including tick-borne relapsing fever (caused by borrelia miyamotoi), human granulocytic anaplasmosis (caused by anaplasma phagocytophilum), and human babesiosis (caused by b ...	2015	26318263
prevalence rates of borrelia burgdorferi (spirochaetales: spirochaetaceae), anaplasma phagocytophilum (rickettsiales: anaplasmataceae), and babesia microti (piroplasmida: babesiidae) in host-seeking ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae) from pennsylvania.	the etiological agents responsible for lyme disease (borrelia burgdorferi), human granulocytic anaplasmosis (anaplasma phagocytophilum), and babesiosis (babesia microti) are primarily transmitted by the blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis say. despite pennsylvania having in recent years reported the highest number of lyme disease cases in the united states, relatively little is known regarding the geographic distribution of the vector and its pathogens in the state. previous attempts at climate- ...	2015	26335476
detection of lyme disease and anaplasmosis pathogens via pcr in pennsylvania deer ked.	borrelia burgdorferi and anaplasma phagocytophilum are obligate intracellular parasites that maintain their life cycles in enzoonotic vector-host cycles with ixodes scapularis as a vector. in addition to ticks, the hosts are commonly infested with insects from the hippoboscidae family. this study confirms the presence of b. burgdorferi and a. phagocytophilum in deer keds (lipoptena cervi) removed from white-tailed deer using pcr. detection of these pathogens in deer ked represents a potential no ...	2016	27860010