Epidemiologic and Genomic Evidence for Zoonotic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among People and Animals on a Michigan Mink Farm, United States, 2020.

Farmed mink are one of few animals in which infection with SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in sustained transmission among a population and spillback from mink to people. In September 2020, mink on a Michigan farm exhibited increased morbidity and mortality rates due to confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. We conducted an epidemiologic investigation to identify the source of initial mink exposure, assess the degree of spread within the facility's overall mink population, and evaluate the risk of further viral spread on the farm and in surrounding wildlife habitats. Three farm employees reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19 the same day that increased mortality rates were observed among the mink herd. One of these individuals, and another asymptomatic employee, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) 9 days later. All but one mink sampled on the farm were positive for SARS-CoV-2 based on nucleic acid detection from at least one oral, nasal, or rectal swab tested by RT-qPCR (99%). Sequence analysis showed high degrees of similarity between sequences from mink and the two positive farm employees. Epidemiologic and genomic data, including the presence of F486L and N501T mutations believed to arise through mink adaptation, support the hypothesis that the two employees with SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection contracted COVID-19 from mink. However, the specific source of virus introduction onto the farm was not identified. Three companion animals living with mink farm employees and 31 wild animals of six species sampled in the surrounding area were negative for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR. Results from this investigation support the necessity of a One Health approach to manage the zoonotic spread of SARS-CoV-2 and underscores the critical need for multifaceted public health approaches to prevent the introduction and spread of respiratory viruses on mink farms.

Community Assessment for Mental and Physical Health Effects After Hurricane Irma - Florida Keys, May 2019.

Disasters can adversely affect population health, resulting in increased need for health services. Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys (Monroe County) as a Category 4 hurricane on September 10, 2017. The hurricane caused substantial damage to 65% of homes and resulted in 40 persons injured and 17 deaths from hurricane-related causes.* During 2018, the county suicide rate increased to 34.9 per 100,000 population from the 5-year (2013-2017) average of 25.2 per 100,000 population (1). In May 2019, 20 months after the hurricane, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) conducted a modified Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) to assess the community's mental, physical, and economic health and develop public health interventions to decrease the suicide rate. A consenting adult member from 231 households was interviewed, and a weighted cluster analysis was conducted to estimate the number and percentage of households throughout the Florida Keys with a particular response, as well as the number and percentage of persons at risk for suicide. During the 20 months since Hurricane Irma, 17% of households reported a need for a mental health care provider; 37.9% of these did not receive those services. A modified CASPER was used to calculate population estimates of suicide risk in an area of high landfall for hurricanes; estimated population suicide risk was 7.3%. Respondents reported worsening of respiratory conditions (17.7%), anxiety (17.0%), and depression (11.3%). Emergency preparedness plans should consider strengthening mental health service delivery after a hurricane, particularly during the long-term recovery phase.

Systemic Iron Deficiency in a Nonhuman Primate Model of Endometriosis.

Endometriosis is characterized by endometrial tissue development outside the uterus. Anemia and iron depletion do not commonly accompany endometriosis in women, despite chronic abdominal inflammation and heavy menstrual bleeding. The objective of this study was to examine iron kinetics associated with endometriosis by using a NHP model, to better understand the underlying mechanism of abnormal hematogram values in women with endometriosis. Hematologic data from 46 macaques with endometriosis were examined for signs of iron depletion. Bone marrow, liver, and serum were used to elucidate whether iron loss or inflammation best explained the hematologic findings. Additional serum markers and intestinal biopsies from NHP with and without endometriosis were evaluated for patterns in iron kinetics across the menstrual cycle and for relative dietary iron-absorbing capacity. Almost half of the NHP with endometriosis were anemic. Overall, NHP had decreased RBC counts, increased MCV, increased percentage of reticulocytes, decreased serum hepcidin, and decreased hepatic and bone marrow iron. Intestinal expression of ferroportin 1, a mediator of iron absorption, was increased, indicating that despite high dietary iron, intestinal iron absorption did not compensate for iron losses. We concluded that use of oral iron supplementation alone does not replenish iron stores in endometriosis. Consequently, iron stores should be evaluated in women with endometriosis, even without overt clinical signs of anemia.

Evidence of maternal provisioning of alkaloid-based chemical defenses in the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio.

Many organisms use chemical defenses to reduce predation risk. Aposematic dendrobatid frogs sequester alkaloid-based chemical defenses from a diet of arthropods, but research on these defenses has been limited to adults. Herein, we investigate chemical defense across development in a dendrobatid frog, Oophaga pumilio. This species displays complex parental care: at hatching, mothers transport tadpoles to phytotelmata, and then return to supply them with an obligate diet of nutritive eggs for about six weeks. We collected eggs, tadpoles, juveniles, and adults of O. pumilio, and detected alkaloids in all life stages. The quantity and number of alkaloids increased with frog and tadpole size. We did not detect alkaloids in the earliest stage of tadpoles, but alkaloids were detected as trace quantities in nutritive eggs and as small quantities in ovarian eggs. Tadpoles hand-reared with eggs of an alkaloid-free heterospecific frog did not contain alkaloids. Alkaloids that are sequestered from terrestrial arthropods were detected in both adults and phytotelm-dwelling tadpoles that feed solely on nutritive eggs, suggesting that this frog may be the first animal known to actively provision post-hatch offspring with chemical defenses. Finally, we provide experimental evidence that maternally derived alkaloids deter predation of tadpoles by a predatory arthropod.