96.4% of Americans had COVID-19 antibodies in their blood by fall 2022
Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, were present in the blood of 96.4% of Americans over the age of 16 by September 2022.
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Climate Change Threatens Public Health: Study Reveals Lack of Modeling Tools
As climatic conditions and population growth causes frequent infectious disease outbreaks, a new study shows limited availability of software tools that can accurately forecast risks.
How to keep avocados from getting toasted
University of Florida researchers offer up “lessons learned” after laurel wilt disease threatened the Sunshine State’s avocado industry.
Tick surveillance key to tracking emerging disease babesiosis
UF veterinary parasitologist Jeff Gruntmeir shares expertise on babesiosis, an emerging disease spread by ticks.
UF expert answers questions about the newly approved RSV vaccine
On May 3, the FDA approved a vaccine to prevent respiratory syncytial virus in older adults. Dr. Cindy Prins answers some common questions about RSV disease and the new vaccine.
Q&A: What to know about bird flu
UF microbiologist and virus expert John Lednicky, Ph.D., shares his perspective on the current avian influenza, or bird flu, outbreak in the U.S.
Scientists discover cause of sea urchin die-offs in the Caribbean: a protozoan parasite
The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum is a keystone species. Coral reefs rely on healthy sea urchins to eat algae so coral can thrive. Healthy coral means healthy fish, and their positive impacts continue up the food chain.
Wastewater surveillance researchers identify tools to estimate how many people are represented in a sample
For their study, the investigators, who are also members of UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute, evaluated population normalization factors, which are used to determine the relative human fecal contribution in a sample. With this information, scientists can control for fluctuations in the population contributing to a wastewater sample throughout time while quantifying the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations.
What’s below the surface
For this core group of PHHP researchers, who are also members of UF’s Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, Water Institute and Emerging Pathogens Institute, there is an urgent need to identify emerging contaminants in Florida’s waters, assess their impact and use that data to inform local, state and federal agencies.
COVID vaccines effective against Omicron, say UF biostatisticians
UF biostatisticians confirm in a recent meta-analysis that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and getting a booster or two is the best way to protect against severe outcomes.
