Ynes Ortega receives grant to study Cyclospora presence in the U.S.
Historically, Cyclospora infection in the United States has been associated with imported fresh produce. However, in 2018, the U.S. saw two significant outbreaks associated with vegetables grown in the United States. “We had more than 2,000 non-travel associates cyclosporiasis cases,” said Ynes Ortega, member of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases and associate …
Mitochondrial genome sequence variation as a useful marker for assessing genetic heterogeneity among Cyclospora cayetanensis isolates and source-tracking
Abstract BACKGROUND: Cyclospora cayetanensis is an important enteric pathogen, causing diarrhea and food-borne cyclosporiasis outbreaks. For effective outbreak identification and investigation, it is essential to rapidly assess the genetic heterogeneity of C. cayetanensis specimens from cluster cases and identify the likely occurrence of outbreaks. METHODS: In this study, we developed a quantitative PCR (qPCR) targeting …