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Disease Surveillance

Research day recap: responding to COVID in South Africa and Senegal

The Emerging Pathogens Institute’s annual Research Day event celebrates pathogens research and the people who work in this critical academic space. After three years of meeting virtually, the event was held in person at the Reitz Union on Feb. 16, 2023 on the University of Florida’s campus. Researchers and students exhibited 123 abstracts and posters that probed pathogens and infectious diseases topics spanning from lab research to field investigations and bioinformatic analyses.

Characterizing the Vector Data Ecosystem 

A growing body of information on vector-borne diseases has arisen as increasing research focus has been directed towards the need for anticipating risk, optimizing surveillance, and understanding the fundamental biology of vector-borne diseases to direct control and mitigation efforts. The scope and scale of this information, in the form of data, comprising database efforts, data storage, and serving approaches, means that it is distributed across many formats and data types.

Dynamics of anti-influenza mucosal IgA over a season in a cohort of individuals living or working in a long-term care facility 

Serological surveys are used to ascertain influenza infection and immunity, but evidence for the utility of mucosal immunoglobulin A (IgA) as a correlate of infection or protection is limited. By comparing individuals with and without influenza illness, we demonstrated that mucosal IgA is a correlate of influenza infection. There was evidence for cross-reactivity in mucosal IgA across influenza A subtypes.

Natural disasters, stress and health

UF mathematician Burton Singer contributed to a conceptual framework that can link physiological factors related to stress with negative health outcomes following natural disasters.

UF-led study explores differences in Covid-19 severity internationally

Compared with the U.S., why are some countries less affected by COVID-19? A UF researcher leads a team looking for answers in Africa. “If we can learn what can protect us as a species, we could potentially be better prepared for the next pandemic," said Rhoel Dinglasan, professor of infectious diseases.