Vector-Borne Diseases

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories. They discuss what’s new and ongoing with pathogens and infections.

By Luci Gens • August 15, 2024

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by Elitza Theel, Ph.D., director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, to discuss the increase of dengue cases in the United States and around the world.

By Luci Gens • July 25, 2024

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by Elitza Theel, Ph.D., director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, to discuss tick-borne diseases and the latest testing options.

By Luci Gens • April 11, 2024

Bobbi Pritt, M.D., explains how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' new assay identifies less-common tick-borne bacteria in whole blood. The assay is recommended when tick-borne bacterial infection is suspected but standard testing is unrevealing.

By Barbara J. Toman • April 2, 2024

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, to talk about the tick season peak that parts of the United States are experiencing, and how to diagnose and prevent Lyme disease.

By Suzanne Ferguson • June 15, 2023

In this month's "Hot Topic," Elitza Theel, Ph.D., will be discussing laboratory utilization management, specifically for diagnostic testing for tick-borne diseases.

By MCL Education • May 2, 2022

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Elitza Theel, Ph.D., talks about Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ serologic and molecular testing for the identification of infection with dengue virus. Dengue virus poses a significant public health threat worldwide. Rapid and accurate identification of the infection enables directed monitoring of patients who may be at increased risk of developing hemorrhagic fever of dengue shock syndrome.

By MCL Education • January 6, 2020

Elitza Theel, Ph.D., Director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory, discusses eastern equine encephalitis virus, which is spread via mosquito bite.

By Suzanne Ferguson • October 3, 2019

Blacklegged ticks (also known as deer ticks) are turning up more frequently in Minnesota, and so are the diseases they carry. Bobbi Pritt, a parasitologist in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, weighs in on the issue.

By Molly Dee • June 4, 2019

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Asian longhorned tick has spread across nine states since it first appeared in the U.S. Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory and Co-Director of Vector-Borne Diseases Lab Services in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, discusses the risks.

By Kelley Luedke • December 14, 2018

Now in its second year of a five-year initiative to better understand and detect arboviruses in Belize, the IMPACTS (Integrated Mayo Clinic Program for Arbovirus Community health education Training and Surveillance) project has expanded its focus to include tick-borne infections in addition to mosquito-borne diseases, like Zika and dengue. IMPACTS is a four-tiered project that is a joint effort with Mayo Clinic, the University of Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health, and the Belize Ministry of Health.

By Chris Bahnsen • October 23, 2018

The Washington Post recently reported on hookworms burrowing into a teenager's skin during a trip to Florida. Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Clinical Parasitology Lab and Co-Director of Vector-Borne Diseases Lab Services at Mayo Clinic, commented on the two main types of hookworm: human hookworms and animal, or "zoonotic," hookworms.

By Kelley Luedke • August 7, 2018

On a recent tick drag with Minnesota Department of Health researchers, Bobbi Pritt, M.D., Director of the Clinical Parasitology Lab and Co-Director of Vector-Borne Diseases Lab Services in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology, talked about testing for tick-borne diseases.

By Kelley Luedke • July 23, 2018