AGENDA. Cross-Disciplinary Vector-Borne Diseases Symposium at Mineral Area College (MAC)

Transcription

1 Version in progress AGENDA Cross-Disciplinary Vector-Borne Diseases Symposium at Mineral Area College (MAC) The symposium was developed to interconnect medical, veterinarian, public health and science educator professional knowledge with the intent of building greater understanding and collaboration for the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases in Missouri. In addition to topic-specific sessions by recognized experts, the symposium includes a panel discussion as well as an optional tick-sampling workshop focusing on collection methods and field identification. A discussion of sampling protocols is anticipated to lead to the establishment of seasonal sampling and testing of ticks in Missouri for known pathogens. 8:00-8:30 am Registration in Arts & Sciences Concourse 8:30-8:50 am Introductions and Welcome by MAC Vice President Gil Kennon in Rice Hall 8:50-9:50 am Dr. Sidney Ewing presents: Ehrlichiosis: From Rare to Commonplace Canine ehrlichiosis, caused by Ehrlichia canis, was discovered by French veterinarians in Algeria in the 1930s. The disease was first found in North American dogs in the 1960s in Oklahoma. The first human case of ehrlichiosis, reported in the 1980s, was mistakenly thought to be an E. canis infection. This talk will trace development of knowledge of ehrlichial infections in dogs and human beings and will review discovery of zoonotic aspects of ehrlichiosis. Basic tick biology will be presented, focusing on common Missouri species. The importance of canine and human ehrlichioses in the Ozark Plateau and adjacent areas will be reviewed, emphasizing the importance of understanding tick behavior when designing control measures. Speaker Bio: Dr. Sidney Ewing,, emeritus faculty member at Oklahoma State University s (OSU) Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, is most noted for his discovery of Ehrlichia canis in North America and for work on the pathogen, Ehrlichia,ewingii, named in his honor. Dr. Ewing s career spans 51 years and includes such positions as Head of Veterinary Parasitology and Public Health OSU and Dean of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He has also been named Oklahoma Veterinarian of the Year and was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in :00-11:00 am Dr. Greg Storch presents: Description of the factors and circumstances that can lead to serious Ehrlichia species infection. Dr. Storch will describe one or two case examples illustrating diagnosis and management difficulties, and a discussion of the various technologies for confirming diagnosis. Speaker Bio: Dr. Greg Storch, MD is the Ruth L. Siteman Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Medicine and of Molecular Microbiology at the Washington University School of Medicine and the Director of the Divisions of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Pediatric Laboratory Medicine and Medical Director of Clinical Laboratories at St. Louis Children s Hospital. Dr. Storch is an internationally recognized as an expert in virology and the molecular identification of new and emerging pathogens and was one of the first to identify Ehrlichia ewingii in humans.

2 11:00-11:15 am Morning Break Sponsored by American Food and Vending Company 11:15-12:15 am Dr. Bill Stich presents: Persistence of tick-borne infections Obligate vector-borne parasites are highly adapted to their invertebrate hosts. Ancestors of many of these pathogens adapted to invertebrates before vertebrates. This phenomenon is reflected in convergent strategies of divergent eukaryotic and prokaryotic parasites to maintain their prevalence among hematophagous arthropod populations. Several viral, bacterial and protozoan parasites infect arthropod ovaries, resulting in transovarian passage to the next generation of arthropod hosts. Many vector-borne pathogens are also adapted for dissemination to arthropods through infection of a common vertebrate host. The latter strategy is particularly important for pathogens that are not transovarialy passaged in their invertebrate hosts. There is growing evidence that some tick-transmitted infections persist beyond the acute disease phase, even after antibiotic therapy, which could affect some of current paradigms regarding the biology of these infections in humans and companion animals. Speaker Bio: Dr. Bill Stich, is Associate Professor of Parasitology at the University of Missouri at Columbia Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, a member of the Companion Animal Parasite Council board of directors, a councilor for the Society for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, and 2009 president of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Disease (CRWAD). Dr. Stich researches the biology of ixodid ticks and tick-borne pathogens. His research centers on understanding the mechanisms responsible for transmission and pathogenesis of tick-borne members of the bacterial order Rickettsiales, especially the family Anaplasmataceae. Members of this family include important pathogens of livestock, companion animals and human beings. 12:15-1:15 Lunch Catered in the MAC Cafeteria 1:15-2:15 pm Dr. Kenneth Gage presents: The effects of climate on vector- and rodent-borne diseases Year to year climatic variability influences the transmission dynamics of many vector- and rodentborne diseases, as well as the risks that humans will acquire these diseases. This is not surprising as numerous reports document how temperature, precipitation, humidity, and other climatic factors affect the reproduction, development, behavior, and population dynamics of arthropod vectors and rodent hosts. Climatic factors also can affect the development of pathogens in arthropod vectors and the ability of these invertebrates to efficiently transmit specific disease agents to vertebrate hosts. Climatic variability also can strongly influence the population dynamics and ranges of the vertebrate reservoirs of many vector- and rodent-borne diseases. Despite the widespread evidence that climate can affect disease transmission and spread, it is difficult to determine whether sustained climate change will increase or decrease the incidence of specific vector-borne or rodent-borne diseases in humans in given geographic areas. This uncertainty is due in large part to the complex interplay between climate-influenced ecological factors and humanrelated variations in behavior, culture, customs, agricultural practices, home construction, and other factors. Determining the true impact of climate change on the spread and occurrence of these diseases is also made more difficult by the simultaneous occurrence of other global changes, such as increased trade and travel, demographic shifts, civil unrest, changes in land use, problems of water availability, and other issues. This presentation will use a series of examples to illustrate these points and suggest directions for future research. Speaker Bio: Dr. Kenneth Gage obtained his Ph.D. on the ecology of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tick-host relationships at the University of Oklahoma and postdoctoral fellowships on tick-borne diseases at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas and the

3 National Institutes of Health s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana. In 1992, he accepted a position at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s (CDC) Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, later becoming chief of the plague section. Dr. Gage was past president of the International Conference on Diseases of Nature Communicable to Man, co-secretary for the North American Vector Control Organization, and recipient of special service awards from the Department of Health and Human Services for responses to numerous outbreaks around the world. 2:15-3:15 pm Dr. Brian Allan presents: "Consequences of human land-use for tick-borne disease risk and its management in Missouri" Tick-borne disease risk is determined by a variety of environmental factors that can vary across landscapes, particularly due to human influences on wildlife habitats ranging from timber harvest to residential development. As a result, tick-borne disease risk is highly heterogeneous across the spectrum of human land-uses, and the management of human exposure risk could be greatly improved by a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to this variation. Here, I will provide several examples that span the gradient in human land-use, from forest management through timber harvest and prescribed burns in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks to suburban and exurban development in the St. Louis region. Across this landscape I will describe factors that have contributed to the increased risk of tick-borne diseases as well as potential management approaches including targeted outreach efforts for prevention in high risk communities. By integrating the knowledge of wildlife biologists, land managers and health professionals, a holistic approach to managing tick-borne disease risk could be beneficial to both ecosystem and human health. Speaker Bio: Dr. Brian Allen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is broadly interested in the ecology of vector borne infectious diseases, particularly the consequences of human-mediated global change, such as climate change and human land-use, on the risk of exposure to parasites and pathogens carried by wildlife. He works on these questions in a wide variety of wildlife communities and disease systems using a broad array of tools, including molecular technologies, remote sensing applications, and theoretical modeling. 3:15-3:45 pm Karen Yates presents: The Status of Lyme Disease in Missouri Speaker Bio: Karen Yates is the Coordinator of Missouri s Department of Health and Senior Services Vector-Borne Disease Program in the Office of Veterinary Public Health. Yates earned a Master of Science degree in Biology from Pittsburg State University in Kansas. In Kansas, Yates headed a team of fisheries and entomological technicians in a biological assessment of streams in the Neosho (Grand) River basin for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. She has been with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for over 10 years and currently leads the Department s surveillance, prevention and control efforts for mosquito- and tick-borne diseases in Missouri. 3:45-4:45 Panel discussion: Panel members will present a five minute synopsis of each of their views of the subjects covered during the Symposium. Questions from the audience will be encouraged. A special THANK YOU to the following for making this event possible:

4 Financial Sponsors: IDEXX Laboratories Lyme Disease Association Mineral Area College Event Coordinators: Dr. Rhonda Gamble, Mineral Area College Professor of Physiological Sciences Karen Yates, President of the Missouri Mosquito and Vector Control Association Tick pictures courtesy of Dick Gadd and tick removal kits Morning Break Sponsored by American Food and Vending Company

5 Tick Collection and Identification Workshop at Mineral Area College (MAC) Bill Irwin and Dr.Glen Needham, Workshop facilitators The MAC campus will be utilized for CO 2 and drag-capture of ticks. Samples may be collected from a prairie glade with periodic burns will be compared with samples from another equivalent site, both on the MAC campus. Participants will identify ticks in the lab using dissecting scopes and dichotomous keys to identify either ticks collected during the day or sample ticks brought in by symposium organizers. 10:00 am Meet in the Arts & Sciences Concourse 10:15 am Facilitators: Introduction to tick sampling techniques and identification 10:15-11:45 am Field Tick Drag: Please wear field clothing 12:00 noon Lunch provided in the Arts & Sciences Concourse 1:00-3:00 pm Laboratory Identification of Ticks in Arts and Science Lab AS212 *Saturday s activities include outdoor and indoor events; the order of events may be altered to accommodate weather. Facilitator Biographies Bill Irwin earned his BA in Zoology in 1972 from University of California, Berkeley and attended the School of Histologic Technique at Penrose Hospital, Colorado Springs, CO. He worked as a histologist at Humana and Rose Hospitals in Denver and in early 1991 began work with the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. Recently this organization merged with the Army Veterinary Command to form the USA Public Health Command (PHC). Mr. Irwin currently works at Joint Base Lewis- McChord, WA studying rodent and vector-borne diseases, providing pest management and preventive medicine consultations and coordinating rodent and vector-borne disease risk assessments and training exercises for military personnel. He recently collaborated with the Mayo Clinic during a field study to characterize vector and reservoir populations for a newly emerging Ehrlichia in MN and WI. Dr. Glen Needham is Associate Professor of Entomology has served on the faculty at Ohio State University for almost 33 years. Glen discovered the first established population of blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) in Ohio and has assembled an interdisciplinary team to sort out the Lyme disease story in that state. He has served as past president of the Acarological Society of America and is a recent past-chair of the Ohio Asthma Coalition. Financial Sponsors: IDEXX Laboratories Lyme Disease Association Mineral Area College A special THANK YOU to the following for making this event possible: