Search

Abstract: West Nile (WNV) is now established in the continental United States with new human cases occurring annually in most states. Mosquitoes in the genus Culex are the primary vectors and exploit urban stagnant water and swimming pools as larval habitats. Public health surveys to monitor unmaintained pools typically rely on visual inspections of aerial imagery. This work demonstrates automated analysis of airborne imaging spectroscopy to assist Culex monitoring campaigns. We analyze an overflight of Fresno County, CA by the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer instrument (AVIRIS), and compare the spectral information with a concurrent ground survey of swimming pools. Matched filter detection strategies reliably detect pools against a cluttered urban background. We also evaluate remotely sensed spectral markers of ecosystem characteristics related to larval colonization. We find that commonly used chlorophyll signatures accurately predict the probability of pool colonization by Culex larvae. These results suggest that AVIRIS spectral data provide sufficient information to remotely identify pools at risk for Culex colonization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rationale: Workers' exposure to metalworking fluid (MWF) has been associated with respiratory disease. Objectives: As part of a public health investigation of a manufacturing facility, we performed a cross-sectional study using paired environmental and human sampling to evaluate the cross-pollination of microbes between the environment and the host and possible effects on lung pathology present among workers. Methods: Workplace environmental microbiota were evaluated in air and MWF samples. Human microbiota were evaluated in lung tissue samples from workers with respiratory symptoms found to have lymphocytic bronchiolitis and alveolar ductitis with B-cell follicles and emphysema, in lung tissue samples from control subjects, and in skin, nasal, and oral samples from 302 workers from different areas of the facility. In vitro effects of MWF exposure on murine B cells were assessed. Measurements and Main Results: An increased similarity of microbial composition was found between MWF samples and lung tissue samples of case workers compared with control subjects. Among workers in different locations within the facility, those that worked in the machine shop area had skin, nasal, and oral microbiota more closely related to the microbiota present in the MWF samples. Lung samples from four index cases and skin and nasal samples from workers in the machine shop area were enriched with Pseudomonas , the dominant taxa in MWF. Exposure to used MWF stimulated murine B-cell proliferation in vitro , a hallmark cell subtype found in the pathology of index cases. Conclusions: Evaluation of a manufacturing facility with a cluster of workers with respiratory disease supports cross-pollination of microbes from MWF to humans and suggests the potential for exposure to these microbes to be a health hazard.