Infectious diseases

Environmental contamination of pathogenic viruses is a common occurrence and leading to a number of skin, enteric, and respiratory infections in occupational, nosocomial, and community settings. Viruses with environmental transmission routes have varied abilities to survive and persist in environmental mediums to aiding in their transmission to susceptible hosts.

Diarrheal disease remains a persistent global health threat and is ranked as the second leading cause of death for children under the age of five, with approximately 525,000 child deaths worldwide annually.

Background: Dengue fever (DF) is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease, with an estimated 390 million infections a year, globally. In 1994, Saudi Arabia reported their first confirmed case of DF in the western coastal city of Jeddah.

Oral swabs are emerging as a non-invasive sampling method for diagnosis of infectious diseases such as Ebola and tuberculosis. This project evaluated quality assurance strategies to assure proper sample collection. Two sample adequacy controls (SAC) that detect substances that are differentially present in properly versus improperly collected samples were assessed.

No study has been undertaken in Washington state to determine if there is an association between agricultural fairs and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections, despite a fair-associated outbreak in 2015 that sickened 60 people.

Typhoid fever continues to be a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries with limited access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

Background: Worldwide, dengue fever is the most common arboviral disease in humans with an estimated 50–100 million dengue infections annually.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the persistence of poliovirus type 2 (PV2) and type 3 (PV3) in domestic wastewater and sediment.

Cryptosporidium and giardia are diarrhea-causing microscopic parasites transmitted through ingestion of fecally contaminated water. Both parasites can have a significant impact on the health and financial burden of communities.

With antimicrobial resistance being one of the top global public health threats, integrated antimicrobial resistance surveillance systems are critical in gathering data, understanding resistance trends, creating stewardship plans and accurately quantifying resistance at national and local levels.