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Category: publications

Spatio-temporal spillover risk of yellow fever in Brazil

Donna Huber on August 29, 2018

Abstract Background: Yellow fever virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that persists in an enzoonotic cycle in non-human primates (NHPs) in Brazil, causing disease in humans through spillover events. Yellow fever (YF) re-emerged in the early 2000s, spreading from the Amazon River basin towards the previously considered low-risk, southeastern region of the country. Previous methods mapping …

Estimating the effects of variation in viremia on mosquito susceptibility, infectiousness, and R0 of Zika in Aedes aegypti

Donna Huber on August 22, 2018

Abstract Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus primarily transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Like most viral infections, ZIKV viremia varies over several orders of magnitude, with unknown consequences for transmission. To determine the effect of viral concentration on ZIKV transmission risk, we exposed field-derived Ae. aegypti mosquitoes to four doses (103, 104, 105, 106 PFU/mL) representative of potential variation in the field. …

Temperature drives Zika virus transmission: evidence from empirical and mathematical models

Donna Huber on August 15, 2018

Abstract Temperature is a strong driver of vector-borne disease transmission. Yet, for emerging arboviruses we lack fundamental knowledge on the relationship between transmission and temperature. Current models rely on the untested assumption that Zika virus responds similarly to dengue virus, potentially limiting our ability to accurately predict the spread of Zika. We conducted experiments to …

When Should the Emphasis on Schistosomiasis Control Move to Elimination?

Donna Huber on August 15, 2018

Abstract The stated goal of the World Health Organization’s program on schistosomiasis is paraphrased as follows: to control morbidity and eliminate transmission where feasible. Switching from a goal of controlling morbidity to interrupting transmission may well be currently feasible in some countries in the Caribbean, some areas in South America, northern Africa, and selected endemic …

Characterization of Two EF-hand Domain-containing Proteins from Toxoplasma gondii

Donna Huber on July 31, 2018

The universal role of calcium (Ca2+ ) as a second messenger in cells depends on a large number of Ca2+ -binding proteins (CBP), which are able to bind Ca2+ through specific domains. Many CBPs share a type of Ca2+ -binding domain known as the EF-hand. The EF-hand motif has been well studied and consists of a helix-loop-helix structural domain with specific amino …