Prevalence and Abundance of Ixodes pacificus Immatures (Acari: Ixodidae) Infesting Western Fence Lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) in Northern California: Temporal Trends and Environmental Correlates

2001 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 1301 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Eisen ◽  
L. Eisen ◽  
R. S. Lane
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Ixodes Pacificus ◽  
Sceloporus Occidentalis ◽  
Environmental Correlates

scholarly journals Acute Stroke Presentation, Care, and Outcomes in Community Hospitals in Northern California During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (10) ◽  
pp. 2918-2924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai N. Nguyen-Huynh ◽  
Xian Nan Tang ◽  
David R. Vinson ◽  
Alexander C. Flint ◽  
Janet G. Alexander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Stroke ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Large Vessel ◽  
Critical Conditions ◽  
Care Seeking ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Inpatient Mortality

Background and Purpose: Shelter-in-place (SIP) orders implemented to mitigate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spread may inadvertently discourage patient care-seeking behavior for critical conditions like acute ischemic stroke. We aimed to compare temporal trends in volume of acute stroke alerts, patient characteristics, telestroke care, and short-term outcomes pre- and post-SIP orders. Methods: We conducted a cohort study in 21 stroke centers of an integrated healthcare system serving 4.4+ million members across Northern California. We included adult patients who presented with suspected acute stroke and were evaluated by telestroke between January 1, 2019, and May 9, 2020. SIP orders announced the week of March 15, 2020, created pre (January 1, 2019, to March 14, 2020) and post (March 15, 2020, to May 9, 2020) cohort for comparison. Main outcomes were stroke alert volumes and inpatient mortality for stroke. Results: Stroke alert weekly volume post-SIP (mean, 98 [95% CI, 92–104]) decreased significantly compared with pre-SIP (mean, 132 [95% CI, 130–136]; P <0.001). Stroke discharges also dropped, in concordance with acute stroke alerts decrease. In total, 9120 patients were included: 8337 in pre- and 783 in post-SIP cohorts. There were no differences in patient demographics. Compared with pre-SIP, post-SIP patients had higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores ( P =0.003), lower comorbidity score ( P <0.001), and arrived more often by ambulance ( P <0.001). Post-SIP, more patients had large vessel occlusions ( P =0.03), and there were fewer stroke mimics ( P =0.001). Discharge outcomes were similar for post-SIP and pre-SIP cohorts. Conclusions: In this cohort study, regional stroke alert and ischemic stroke discharge volumes decreased significantly in the early COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with pre-SIP, the post-SIP population showed no significant demographic differences but had lower comorbidity scores, more severe strokes, and more large vessel occlusions. The inpatient mortality was similar in both cohorts. Further studies are needed to understand the causes and implications of care avoidance to patients and healthcare systems.

scholarly journals Bird Communities and Environmental Correlates in Southern Oregon and Northern California, USA

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e0163906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime L. Stephens ◽  
Eric C. Dinger ◽  
John D. Alexander ◽  
Sean R. Mohren ◽  
C. John Ralph ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bird Communities ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Environmental Correlates

scholarly journals Dusky-Footed Wood Rats (Neotoma fuscipes) as Reservoirs of Granulocytic Ehrlichiae (Rickettsiales: Ehrlichieae) in Northern California

1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 3323-3327 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Nicholson ◽  
Martin B. Castro ◽  
Vicki L. Kramer ◽  
John W. Sumner ◽  
James E. Childs
Keyword(s):  
Northern California ◽  
Ixodes Pacificus ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Rat Blood ◽  
Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis ◽  
Neotoma Fuscipes ◽  
Sonoma County ◽  
Blood Specimens ◽  
Male Tick ◽  
Ehrlichia Equi

Dusky-footed wood rats (Neotoma fuscipes) andPeromyscus sp. mice (P. maniculatus andP. truei) were collected from one site in Placer County, one site in Santa Cruz County, and two sites in Sonoma County in northern California. Serum or plasma samples from 260 rodents were tested for antibodies to the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. Of these, samples from 25 wood rats (34% of those tested) and 10 (8%)Peromyscus sp. mice were found to be seropositive, but only those from one site. PCR assays targeting the groESL heat shock operon were conducted on all seropositive specimens and a subset of seronegative blood specimens. Ehrlichial DNA was identified in 17 (68%) of the 25 seropositive wood rat blood samples and in 1 of the 10 (10%) Peromyscus sp. specimens. None of 40 seronegative blood samples was PCR positive. Both seropositive and PCR-positive animals were collected during each trapping period. One male tick out of 84 Ixodes pacificus adults collected was PCR positive; samples of Dermacentor occidentalis nymphs and adults were negative. Nucleotide sequences of amplicons from three wood rat blood specimens and from the single PCR-positive tick differed by one and two bases, respectively, from a sequence previously obtained fromEhrlichia equi. At one site in Sonoma County, wood rats had a concurrent high prevalence of seropositivity and PCR positivity, while other sigmodontine rodents collected at the site were only occasionally infected. We suggest that dusky-footed wood rats serve as reservoirs of granulocytic ehrlichial agents in certain areas of northern California. The tick species involved in the transmission of granulocytic ehrlichiae among wood rats remains unknown.

Lizard malaria: cost to vertebrate host's reproductive success

Parasitology ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Schall
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Malarial Parasite ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Sceloporus Occidentalis ◽  
Infected Female ◽  
Strong Selective Pressure ◽  
Western Fence Lizard ◽  
Activity Season

SUMMARYPlasmodium mexicanum is a common malarial parasite of the western fence lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis, in northern California, USA. Infected female lizards store substantially less fat during the summer activity season and produce smaller clutches of eggs than do non-infected animals. Stored fat is utilized in the production of eggs; the energy content of the decrement in stored fat is approximately equal to the energy content of the average reduction in number of eggs. Thus, there is ongoing strong selective pressure on the host to evolve appropriate anti-parasite measures.

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