The Experts below are selected from a list of 273 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Gregory D Ebel - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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An mRNA Vaccine Protects Mice against Multiple Tick-Transmitted FlaviVirus Infections
Elsevier, 2018Co-Authors: Laura A. Vanblargan, Gregory D Ebel, Sunny Himansu, Bryant M. Foreman, Theodore C. Pierson, Michael S. DiamondAbstract:Summary: Powassan Virus (POWV) is an emerging tick-transmitted flaviVirus that circulates in North America and Russia. Up to 5% of deer ticks now test positive for POWV in certain regions of the northern United States. Although POWV infections cause life-threatening encephalitis, there is no vaccine or countermeasure available for prevention or treatment. Here, we developed a lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated modified mRNA vaccine encoding the POWV prM and E genes and demonstrated its immunogenicity and efficacy in mice following immunization with one or two doses. The POWV mRNA vaccine induced high titers of neutralizing antibody and sterilizing immunity against lethal challenge with different POWV strains. The mRNA vaccine also induced cross-neutralizing antibodies against multiple other tick-borne flaviViruses and protected mice against the distantly related Langat Virus. These data demonstrate the utility of the LNP-mRNA vaccine platform for the development of vaccines with protective activity against multiple flaviViruses. : VanBlargan et al. demonstrate a lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNA vaccine against Powassan Virus, an emerging tick-borne flaviVirus, is highly immunogenic in mice and protects against lethal Powassan Virus infection. Furthermore, the vaccine induces a cross-reactive antibody response against other tick-borne flaviVirus that is protective against disease caused by Langat Virus infection in mice. Keywords: flaviVirus, vaccine, pathogenesis, encephabilitis, mouse model
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Powassan Virus in Mammals, Alaska and New Mexico, USA, and Russia,
2016Co-Authors: Eleanor R. Deardorff, Robert A. Nofchissey, Joseph A. Cook, Andrew G. Hope, Albina Tsvetkova, Ra L. Talbot, Gregory D EbelAbstract:Powassan Virus is endemic to the United States, Cana-da, and the Russian Far East. We report serologic evidence of circulation of this Virus in Alaska, New Mexico, and Sibe-ria. These data support further studies of viral ecology in rapidly changing Arctic environments. Powassan Virus (POWV) is a tick-borne Virus (fam-ily Flaviviridae, genus FlaviVirus) with recent and increasing prevalence. The only member of the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) serogroup of flaviViruses endemic to North America, POWV is an emerging cause of human ill-ness and death (1,2). Transmitted primarily by Ixodes spp. ticks and maintained in enzootic cycles involving small- to medium-size mammals, POWV exists as 2 genetically di-vergent and spatially distinct lineages that are serologically indistinguishable: lineage I, prototype POWV and lineage II, deer tick Virus (DTV) (3,4). The 2 lineages are main
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Short Report: Stable Prevalence of Powassan Virus in Ixodes scapularis in a Northern Wisconsin Focus
2015Co-Authors: Doug E. Brackney, Robert A. Nofchissey, Ivy K. Brown, Kelly A. Fitzpatrick, Gregory D EbelAbstract:Abstract. Deer tick Virus (DTV), a variant of Powassan Virus (POWV), appears to be maintained in nature in an enzootic cycle between Ixodes scapularis ticks and small mammals. Although POWV infection of human beings is rare, a recent report suggests increasing incidence and the possibility that POWV may be an emerging tick-borne zoonosis. Therefore, we assessed the long-term stability of the POWV transmission cycle in northwestern Wisconsin. Adult I. scapularis and Dermacentor variabilis were collected from Hayward and Spooner, Wisconsin, screened for infection by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and Virus was isolated. Seventeen of 1,335 (1.3%) of I. scapularis and 0 of 222 (0%) of D. variabilis ticks were infected. All isolated Virus belonged to the DTV genotype of POWV. These findings suggest stable transmission of POWV in this focus over ten years and highlight the potential for this agent to emerge as a public health concern. Viruses of the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) complex (Fla-viviridae: flaviVirus) are distributed across Eurasia and North America and are a causative agent of severe central nervous infection in humans.1 Powassan Virus (POWV), originally iso-lated from a fatal case of encephalitis in Ontario, Canada in 1958, is the sole member of the TBE complex circulating in North America.2 The natural transmission cycle of POWV includes the enzootic transmission between Ixodes cookei and Ixodes marxi and medium-sized woodland rodents, mainly sciurid rodents and carnivores.3,4 Ixodes cookei and I. marxi are generally highly host–specific and rarely attack human beings, although in some cases I. cookei in particular may frequently feed on human beings.5,6 This highly host–specific feeding behavior seems to explain the low incidence of human POWV cases in North America; 27 cases were reported be-tween 1958 and 1998 (0.7 cases/year).7 Recently, however, an apparent increase in incidence has been reported: nine POWV cases occurred between 1999 and 2005 (1.3 cases/ year).8,9 The POWV cases occurred in north-central Wiscon
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Powassan Virus in mammals alaska and new mexico usa and russia 2004 2007
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2013Co-Authors: Eleanor R. Deardorff, Robert A. Nofchissey, Joseph A. Cook, Andrew G. Hope, Albina Tsvetkova, Sandra L. Talbot, Gregory D EbelAbstract:Powassan Virus is endemic to the United States, Canada, and the Russian Far East. We report serologic evidence of circulation of this Virus in Alaska, New Mexico, and Siberia. These data support further studies of viral ecology in rapidly changing Arctic environments.
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seroprevalence of Powassan Virus in new england deer 1979 2010
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2013Co-Authors: Robert A. Nofchissey, Eleanor R. Deardorff, Tia M. Blevins, Michael Anishchenko, Erica Berl, Charles B. Lubelczyk, John-paul Mutebi, Aaron C. Brault, Angela M Boscolauth, Gregory D EbelAbstract:Powassan Virus and its subtype, deer tick Virus, are closely related tick-borne flaviViruses that circulate in North America. The incidence of human infection by these agents appears to have increased in recent years. To define exposure patterns among white-tailed deer, potentially useful sentinels that are frequently parasitized by ticks, we screened serum samples collected during 1979-2010 in Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont for neutralizing antibody by using a novel recombinant deer tick Virus-West Nile Virus chimeric Virus. Evidence of exposure was detected in all three states. Overall our results demonstrate that seroprevalence is variable in time and space, suggesting that risk of exposure to Powassan Virus is similarly variable.
Saravanan Thangamani - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Utilization of RNA in situ Hybridization to Understand the Cellular Localization of Powassan Virus RNA at the Tick-Virus-Host Interface.
Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 2020Co-Authors: Meghan E. Hermance, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Skin is the interface between an attached, feeding tick and a host; consequently, it is the first line of defense against invading pathogenic microorganisms that are delivered to a vertebrate host together with tick saliva. Central to the successful transmission of a tick-borne pathogen are complex interactions between the host immune response and early tick-mediated immunomodulation, all of which initially occur at the skin interface. The focus of this work was to demonstrate the use of RNA in situ hybridization (RNA ISH) as a tool for understanding the cellular localization of viral RNA at the feeding site of Powassan Virus (POWV)-infected Ixodes scapularis ticks. Intense positive staining for POWV RNA was frequently detected in dermal foci and occasionally detected in hypodermal foci after 24 h of POWV-infected tick feeding. Additionally, duplex chromogenic RNA ISH staining demonstrated co-localization of POWV RNA with Mus musculus F4/80 RNA, CD11c RNA, vimentin RNA, Krt14 RNA, and CD3e RNA at the feeding site of POWV-infected ticks. In future studies, RNA ISH can be used to validate transcriptomic analyses conducted at the tick-Virus-host cutaneous interface and will provide cellular resolution for specific gene signatures temporally expressed during infected tick feeding. Such a systems biology approach will help create a more refined understanding of the cellular and molecular interactions influencing Virus transmission at the cutaneous interface.
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Ixodes scapularis salivary gland microRNAs are differentially expressed during Powassan Virus transmission
Scientific Reports, 2019Co-Authors: Meghan E. Hermance, Steven G Widen, Thomas G. Wood, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Successful tick feeding is facilitated by an assortment of pharmacologically-active factors in tick saliva that create an immunologically privileged micro-environment in the host’s skin. Through a process known as saliva-assisted transmission, bioactive tick salivary factors modulate the host environment, promoting transmission and establishment of a tick-borne pathogen. This phenomenon was previously demonstrated for Powassan Virus (POWV), a North American tick-borne flaviVirus that is the causative agent of a severe neuroinvasive disease in humans. Here, we sought to characterize the Ixodes scapularis salivary gland microRNAs (miRNAs) expressed during the earliest period of POWV transmission to a mammalian host. POWV-infected and uninfected I . scapularis females were fed on naïve mice for 1, 3, and 6 hours, and Illumina next generation sequencing was used to characterize the salivary gland miRNA expression profiles of POWV-infected versus uninfected ticks. 379 salivary miRNAs were detected, of which 338 are reported here as putative novel I . scapularis miRNAs. 35 salivary gland miRNAs were significantly up-regulated and 17 miRNAs were significantly down-regulated in response to POWV infection. To investigate the potential role of salivary gland miRNAs in POWV replication in-vitro , we transfected miRNA inhibitors into VeroE6 cells to profile temporal POWV replication in mammalian cells. Together, the small RNA sequencing data and the in vitro miRNA inhibition assay suggest that the differentially expressed tick salivary miRNAs could act in regulating POWV replication in host tissues.
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Powassan Virus: An Emerging ArboVirus of Public Health Concern in North America.
Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont N.Y.), 2017Co-Authors: Meghan E. Hermance, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Powassan Virus (POWV, Flaviviridae) is the only North American member of the tick-borne encephalitis serogroup of flaviViruses. It is transmitted to small- and medium-sized mammals by Ixodes scapularis, Ixodes cookei, and several other Ixodes tick species. Humans become infected with POWV during spillover transmission from the natural transmission cycles. In humans, POWV is the causative agent of a severe neuroinvasive illness with 50% of survivors displaying long-term neurological sequelae. POWV was recognized as a human pathogen in 1958 when a young boy died of severe encephalitis in Powassan, Ontario, and POWV was isolated from the brain autopsy of this case. Two distinct genetic lineages of POWV are now recognized: POWV (lineage I) and deer tick Virus (lineage II). Since the index case in 1958, over 100 human cases of POWV have been reported, with an apparent rise in disease incidence in the past 16 years. This recent increase in cases may represent a true emergence of POWV in regions where the tick vector species are prevalent, or it could represent an increase in POWV surveillance and diagnosis. In the past 5 years, both basic and applied research for POWV disease has intensified, including phylogenetic studies, field surveillance, case studies, and animal model development. This review provides an overview of POWV, including the epidemiology, transmission, clinical disease, and diagnosis of POWV infection. Recent research developments and future priorities with regard to the disease are emphasized.
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spinal cord ventral horns and lymphoid organ involvement in Powassan Virus infection in a mouse model
Viruses, 2016Co-Authors: Rodrigo I. Santos, Meghan E. Hermance, Benjamin B Gelman, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Powassan Virus (POWV) belongs to the family Flaviviridae and is a member of the tick-borne encephalitis serogroup. Transmission of POWV from infected ticks to humans has been documented in the USA, Canada, and Russia, causing fatal encephalitis in 10% of human cases and significant neurological sequelae in survivors. We used C57BL/6 mice to investigate POWV infection and pathogenesis. After footpad inoculation, infected animals exhibited rapid disease progression and 100% mortality. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence revealed a very strong neuronal tropism of POWV infection. The central nervous system infection appeared as a meningoencephalitis with perivascular mononuclear infiltration and microglial activation in the brain, and a poliomyelitis-like syndrome with high level of POWV antigen at the ventral horn of the spinal cord. Pathological studies also revealed substantial infection of splenic macrophages by POWV, which suggests that the spleen plays a more important role in pathogenesis than previously realized. This report provides a detailed description of the neuroanatomical distribution of the lesions produced by POWV infection in C57BL/6 mice.
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Immune cell targets of infection at the tick-skin interface during Powassan Virus transmission
PLOS ONE, 2016Co-Authors: Meghan E. Hermance, Rodrigo I. Santos, Gustavo Valbuena, Brent Kelly, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Powassan Virus (POWV) is a tick-borne flaviVirus that can result in a severe neuroinvasive disease with 50% of survivors displaying long-term neurological sequelae. Human POWV cases have been documented in Canada, the United States, and Russia. Although the number of reported POWV human cases has increased in the past fifteen years, POWV remains one of the less studied human pathogenic flaviViruses. Ixodes ticks are the vectors for POWV, and the Virus is transmitted to a host’s skin very early during the tick feeding process. Central to the successful transmission of a tick-borne pathogen are complex interactions between the host immune response and early tick-mediated immunomodulation, all of which initially occur at the skin interface. In our prior work, we examined the cutaneous immune gene expression during the early stages of POWV-infected Ixodes scapularis feeding. The present study serves to further investigate the skin interface by identifying early cell targets of infection at the POWV-infected tick feeding site. An in vivo infection model consisting of POWV-infected ticks feeding on mice for short durations was used in this study. Skin biopsies from the tick feeding sites were harvested at various early time points, enabling us to examine the skin histopathology and detect POWV viral antigen in immune cells present at the tick feeding site. The histopathology from the present study demonstrates that neutrophil and mononuclear cell infiltrates are recruited earlier to the feeding site of a POWV-infected tick versus an uninfected tick. This is the first report demonstrating that macrophages and fibroblasts contain POWV antigens, which suggests that they are early cellular targets of infection at the tick feeding site. These data provide key insights towards defining the complex interactions between the host immune response and early tick-mediated immunomodulation.
Meghan E. Hermance - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Utilization of RNA in situ Hybridization to Understand the Cellular Localization of Powassan Virus RNA at the Tick-Virus-Host Interface.
Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 2020Co-Authors: Meghan E. Hermance, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Skin is the interface between an attached, feeding tick and a host; consequently, it is the first line of defense against invading pathogenic microorganisms that are delivered to a vertebrate host together with tick saliva. Central to the successful transmission of a tick-borne pathogen are complex interactions between the host immune response and early tick-mediated immunomodulation, all of which initially occur at the skin interface. The focus of this work was to demonstrate the use of RNA in situ hybridization (RNA ISH) as a tool for understanding the cellular localization of viral RNA at the feeding site of Powassan Virus (POWV)-infected Ixodes scapularis ticks. Intense positive staining for POWV RNA was frequently detected in dermal foci and occasionally detected in hypodermal foci after 24 h of POWV-infected tick feeding. Additionally, duplex chromogenic RNA ISH staining demonstrated co-localization of POWV RNA with Mus musculus F4/80 RNA, CD11c RNA, vimentin RNA, Krt14 RNA, and CD3e RNA at the feeding site of POWV-infected ticks. In future studies, RNA ISH can be used to validate transcriptomic analyses conducted at the tick-Virus-host cutaneous interface and will provide cellular resolution for specific gene signatures temporally expressed during infected tick feeding. Such a systems biology approach will help create a more refined understanding of the cellular and molecular interactions influencing Virus transmission at the cutaneous interface.
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Ixodes scapularis salivary gland microRNAs are differentially expressed during Powassan Virus transmission
Scientific Reports, 2019Co-Authors: Meghan E. Hermance, Steven G Widen, Thomas G. Wood, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Successful tick feeding is facilitated by an assortment of pharmacologically-active factors in tick saliva that create an immunologically privileged micro-environment in the host’s skin. Through a process known as saliva-assisted transmission, bioactive tick salivary factors modulate the host environment, promoting transmission and establishment of a tick-borne pathogen. This phenomenon was previously demonstrated for Powassan Virus (POWV), a North American tick-borne flaviVirus that is the causative agent of a severe neuroinvasive disease in humans. Here, we sought to characterize the Ixodes scapularis salivary gland microRNAs (miRNAs) expressed during the earliest period of POWV transmission to a mammalian host. POWV-infected and uninfected I . scapularis females were fed on naïve mice for 1, 3, and 6 hours, and Illumina next generation sequencing was used to characterize the salivary gland miRNA expression profiles of POWV-infected versus uninfected ticks. 379 salivary miRNAs were detected, of which 338 are reported here as putative novel I . scapularis miRNAs. 35 salivary gland miRNAs were significantly up-regulated and 17 miRNAs were significantly down-regulated in response to POWV infection. To investigate the potential role of salivary gland miRNAs in POWV replication in-vitro , we transfected miRNA inhibitors into VeroE6 cells to profile temporal POWV replication in mammalian cells. Together, the small RNA sequencing data and the in vitro miRNA inhibition assay suggest that the differentially expressed tick salivary miRNAs could act in regulating POWV replication in host tissues.
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Powassan Virus: An Emerging ArboVirus of Public Health Concern in North America.
Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont N.Y.), 2017Co-Authors: Meghan E. Hermance, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Powassan Virus (POWV, Flaviviridae) is the only North American member of the tick-borne encephalitis serogroup of flaviViruses. It is transmitted to small- and medium-sized mammals by Ixodes scapularis, Ixodes cookei, and several other Ixodes tick species. Humans become infected with POWV during spillover transmission from the natural transmission cycles. In humans, POWV is the causative agent of a severe neuroinvasive illness with 50% of survivors displaying long-term neurological sequelae. POWV was recognized as a human pathogen in 1958 when a young boy died of severe encephalitis in Powassan, Ontario, and POWV was isolated from the brain autopsy of this case. Two distinct genetic lineages of POWV are now recognized: POWV (lineage I) and deer tick Virus (lineage II). Since the index case in 1958, over 100 human cases of POWV have been reported, with an apparent rise in disease incidence in the past 16 years. This recent increase in cases may represent a true emergence of POWV in regions where the tick vector species are prevalent, or it could represent an increase in POWV surveillance and diagnosis. In the past 5 years, both basic and applied research for POWV disease has intensified, including phylogenetic studies, field surveillance, case studies, and animal model development. This review provides an overview of POWV, including the epidemiology, transmission, clinical disease, and diagnosis of POWV infection. Recent research developments and future priorities with regard to the disease are emphasized.
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Tick Saliva Enhances Powassan Virus Transmission to the Host, Influencing Its Dissemination and the Course of Disease
2016Co-Authors: Meghan E. Hermance, Saravanan A ThangamaniaAbstract:Powassan Virus (POWV) is an encephalitic tick-borne flaviVirus which can result in serious neuroinvasive disease with up to a 10 % case fatality rate. The study objective was to determine whether the salivary gland extract (SGE) from Ixodes scapularis ticks facilitates the transmission and dissemination of POWV in a process known as saliva-activated transmission. Groups of BALB/c mice were footpad inoculated with either a high dose of POWVwith and without SGE or a low dose of POWVwith and without SGE. Mice from each group were sacrificed daily. Organ viral loads and gene expression profiles were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. Both groups of mice infected with high-dose POWV showed severe neurological signs of disease preceding death. The presence of SGE did not affect POWV transmission or disease outcome for mice infected with the high dose of POWV. Neu-roinvasion, paralysis, and death occurred for all mice infected with the low dose of POWV plus SGE; however, for mice infected with the low dose of POWV in the absence of SGE, there were no clinical signs of infection and nomice succumbed to disease. Although this group displayed low-level viremias, all mice were completely healthy, and it was the only group in which POWV was cleared from the lymph nodes. We conclude that saliva-activated transmission occurs in mice infected with a low dose of POWV. Our study is the first to demonstrate Virus dose-dependent saliva-activated transmission, warranting further investiga-tion of the specific salivary factors responsible for enhancing POWV transmission. IMPORTANC
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spinal cord ventral horns and lymphoid organ involvement in Powassan Virus infection in a mouse model
Viruses, 2016Co-Authors: Rodrigo I. Santos, Meghan E. Hermance, Benjamin B Gelman, Saravanan ThangamaniAbstract:Powassan Virus (POWV) belongs to the family Flaviviridae and is a member of the tick-borne encephalitis serogroup. Transmission of POWV from infected ticks to humans has been documented in the USA, Canada, and Russia, causing fatal encephalitis in 10% of human cases and significant neurological sequelae in survivors. We used C57BL/6 mice to investigate POWV infection and pathogenesis. After footpad inoculation, infected animals exhibited rapid disease progression and 100% mortality. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence revealed a very strong neuronal tropism of POWV infection. The central nervous system infection appeared as a meningoencephalitis with perivascular mononuclear infiltration and microglial activation in the brain, and a poliomyelitis-like syndrome with high level of POWV antigen at the ventral horn of the spinal cord. Pathological studies also revealed substantial infection of splenic macrophages by POWV, which suggests that the spleen plays a more important role in pathogenesis than previously realized. This report provides a detailed description of the neuroanatomical distribution of the lesions produced by POWV infection in C57BL/6 mice.
Laura D Kramer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Development and Validation of a Serologic Test Panel for Detection of Powassan Virus Infection in U.S. Patients Residing in Regions Where Lyme Disease Is Endemic.
mSphere, 2018Co-Authors: Angela Thomm, Laura D Kramer, Holly M. Frost, Anna M. Schotthoefer, Alan P. Dupuis, Thomas R. Fritsche, Yvette A. Harrington, Konstance K. Knox, Sue C. KehlAbstract:ABSTRACT Powassan Virus (POWV) is an emerging tick-borne arboVirus presenting a public health threat in North America. POWV lineage II, also known as deer tick Virus, is the strain of the Virus most frequently found in Ixodes scapularis ticks and is implicated in most cases of POWV encephalitis in the United States. Currently, no commercial tests are available to detect POWV exposure in tick-borne disease (TBD) patients. We describe here the development and analytical validation of a serologic test panel to detect POWV infections. The panel uses an indirect enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to screen. EIA-positive samples reflex to a laboratory-developed, POWV-specific immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The analytical sensitivity of the test panel was 89%, and the limit of detection was a plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) titer of 1:20. The analytical specificity was 100% for the IgM assay and 65% for the IgG assay when heterologous-flaviVirus-positive samples were tested. On samples collected from regions where Lyme disease is endemic, seroprevalence for POWV in TBD samples was 9.4% (10 of 106) versus 2% when tested with non-TBD samples (2 of 100, P = 0.034). No evidence of POWV infection was seen in samples collected from a region where Lyme disease was not endemic (0 of 22). This test panel provides a sensitive and specific platform for detecting a serologic response to POWV early in the course of infection when neutralizing antibodies may not be detectable. Combined with clinical history, the panel is an effective tool for identifying acute POWV infection. IMPORTANCE Approximately 100 cases of POWV disease were reported in the United States over the past 10 years. Most cases have occurred in the Northeast (52) and Great Lakes (45) regions (https://www.cdc.gov/Powassan/statistics.html). The prevalence of POWV in ticks and mammals is increasing, and POWV poses an increasing threat in a greater geographical range. In areas of the Northeast and Midwest where Lyme disease is endemic, POWV testing is recommended for patients with a recent tick bite, patients with Lyme disease who have been treated with antibiotics, or patients with a tick exposure who have tested negative for Lyme disease or other tick-borne illnesses and have persistent symptoms consistent with posttreatment Lyme disease. Testing could also benefit patients with tick exposure and unexplained neurologic symptoms and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients with known tick exposure. Until now, diagnostic testing for Powassan Virus has not been commercially available and has been limited to patients presenting with severe, neurologic complications. The lack of routine testing for Powassan Virus in patients with suspected tick-borne disease means that little information is available regarding the overall prevalence of the Virus and the full spectrum of clinical symptoms associated with infection. As Ixodes scapularis is the tick vector for Powassan Virus and multiple other tick-borne pathogens, including the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, the clinical presentations and long-term outcomes of Powassan Virus infection and concurrent infection with other tick-borne disease pathogens remain unknown.
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Serologic Evidence of Powassan Virus Infection in Patients with Suspected Lyme Disease1.
Emerging infectious diseases, 2017Co-Authors: Holly M. Frost, Laura D Kramer, Anna M. Schotthoefer, Angela Thomm, Alan P. Dupuis, Sue C. Kehl, Thomas R. Fritsche, Yvette A. Harrington, Konstance K. KnoxAbstract:Powassan Virus (POWV) lineage II is an emerging tickborne flaviVirus with an unknown seroprevalence in humans. In a Lyme disease-endemic area, we examined the seroreactivity to POWV in 2 patient cohorts and described the clinical features of the POWV-seroreactive patients. POWV disease might be less neuroinvasive than previously thought.
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potential role of deer tick Virus in Powassan encephalitis cases in lyme disease endemic areas of new york usa
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2013Co-Authors: Marc El Y Khoury, Laura D Kramer, Alan P. Dupuis, Jose F. Camargo, Jennifer L. White, Bryon Backenson, Kay L. Escuyer, Kirsten St. George, Debarati Chatterjee, Melissa A PrusinskiAbstract:Powassan Virus is a positive-sense RNA Virus that belongs to the tick-borne encephalitis group of flaviViruses (1). The first recognized case of Powassan encephalitis in North America was from Canada in 1958 (2); the first case in Russia was from the Primorsky Krai region in 1972 (3). Powassan Virus comprises 2 closely related lineages: the Powassan Virus prototype (POWV) lineage and the deer tick Virus (DTV) lineage. POWV and DTV, which share 84% nucleotide sequence identity and 94% amino acid sequence identity (4), have a common ancestral origin, from which they diverged around 485 years ago (5). Each lineage has separate tick vectors and reservoir hosts in North America (5). POWV is maintained in an enzootic cycle between Ixodes cookei as the tick vector and the groundhog (Marmota momax) and striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) as the principal reservoir hosts (6). DTV is believed to be maintained between I. scapularis ticks and the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) (7,8). DTV can be accurately differentiated from POWV only by genetic sequence analysis. Four cases of proven DTV encephalitis have been reported: 1 from Ontario, Canada (4,9); 2 from New York (10,11); and 1 from Minnesota (12). For clarity, in this article, we will use the term POWV/DTV to designate infection with Powassan Virus of undetermined lineage. We present a detailed description of the clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory diagnosis, and outcome of the 14 cases of POWV/DTV encephalitis diagnosed during 2004–2012 in New York. We also provide a review of the literature for epidemiologic evidence suggesting that many of these cases were caused by DTV rather than POWV.
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New York, New York, USA
2013Co-Authors: Simon Sung, Karen E. Kulas, Robin Flam, Laura D Kramer, Alysse G. Wurcel, Susan Whittier, James Kirkl, Simon TsiourisAbstract:Disease caused by Powassan Virus (POWV), a tickborne flaviVirus, ranges from asymptomatic to severe neurologic compromise and death. Two cases of POWV meningoencephalitis in New York, USA, highlight diagnostic techniques, neurologic outcomes, and the effect of POWV on communities to which it is endemic. Powassan Virus (POWV), a rare neuroinvasive arboVirus, was first described in 1958 (1,2). POWV has been isolated from Ixodes ticks; implicated hosts include woodchucks, red squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, and white-footed mice (1–4). Symptoms of infection vary from mild myalgia to acute flaccid paralysis and neurologic involvement. In the United States, POWV has been reported in northeastern and north-central states, and incidence is increasing (3,4). We describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of 2 patient
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Powassan meningoencephalitis, New York, New York, USA.
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2013Co-Authors: Simon Sung, Karen E. Kulas, Robin Flam, James Kirkland Roberts, Laura D Kramer, Alysse G. Wurcel, Susan Whittier, Simon TsiourisAbstract:Disease caused by Powassan Virus (POWV), a tick-borne flaviVirus, ranges from asymptomatic to severe neurologic compromise and death. Two cases of POWV meningoencephalitis in New York, USA, highlight diagnostic techniques, neurologic outcomes, and the effect of POWV on communities to which it is endemic.
Susan L Hills - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Powassan Virus Disease in the United States, 2006–2016
Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2018Co-Authors: Elisabeth R. Krow-lucal, Nicole P Lindsey, Marc Fischer, Susan L HillsAbstract:Abstract Background: Powassan Virus (POWV) is a tick-borne flaviVirus that causes rare, but often severe, disease in humans. POWV neuroinvasive disease was added to the U.S. nationally notifiable d...
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Powassan Virus Disease in the United States, 2006-2016.
Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont N.Y.), 2018Co-Authors: Elisabeth R. Krow-lucal, Nicole P Lindsey, Marc Fischer, Susan L HillsAbstract:Abstract Background: Powassan Virus (POWV) is a tick-borne flaviVirus that causes rare, but often severe, disease in humans. POWV neuroinvasive disease was added to the U.S. nationally notifiable d...
