Pradeep Neupane, of the NCSU IPRL, has been working hard to develop a western blot test that would improve diagnostic sensitivity for seroreactivity to Bartonella spp. (particularly Bartonella henselae) in dogs. This test has now been validated, and now he’s moving on to trying this out for human patients.

Validation of Bartonella henselae Western Immunoblotting for Serodiagnosis of Bartonelloses in Dogs

Pradeep Neupane, Sindhura Sevala, Nandhakumar Balakrishnan, Henry Marr, James Wilson, Ricardo Maggi, Adam Birkenheuer, Michael Lappin, Bruno Chomel, Edward B. Breitschwerdt

Full text is behind a paywall, but abstract available here. Please contact me for full text if interested!

“We present a conceptual framework to organize microparasites based on the role that abiotic environments play in their lifecycle. Mean-field and individual-based models for environmental transmission are analysed and compared….We conclude with recommendations for modelling environmentally transmitted pathogens based on the pathogen lifecycle and time and spatial scales of the host–pathogen system under consideration.”