Diagnostic testing for:
Tick-borne diseases
Mosquito-borne diseases
Other vector-borne diseases
Our vector-borne disease directors
Bobbi Pritt, M.D., is certified by the American Board of Pathology in clinical and anatomic pathology and microbiology. Her research interests include the evaluation and development of novel laboratory methods to aid in the diagnosis of parasitic and vector-borne diseases. Dr. Pritt works collaboratively with academic and public health partners to provide laboratory diagnostics and education in these areas to a global population. Some of her recent work resulted in the implementation of rapid and highly sensitive molecular tests for malaria, microsporidiosis, Lyme disease, and Borrelia miyamotoi infection. Dr. Pritt also played a key role in discovering and describing two new tick-borne pathogens: Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis and Borrelia mayonii. The latter bacterium causes Lyme disease in the upper Midwestern United States.
Elitza Theel, Ph.D., is certified by the American Board of Medical Microbiology. Her research interests include development and evaluation of novel methods for antibody and antigen detection as diagnostics, specifically for vector-borne and fungal diseases. Dr. Theel also spearheads an international laboratory outreach initiative in Belize. This initiative is focused on increasing the in-country diagnostic testing capacity for vector-borne diseases and enhancing the current quality assurance/quality control practices in clinical laboratories throughout the country.
The latest
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In this month's "Hot Topic," Elitza Theel, Ph.D., will be discussing laboratory utilization management, specifically for diagnostic testing for tick-borne diseases.
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.
Elitza Theel, Ph.D., Director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory, discusses eastern equine encephalitis virus, which is spread via mosquito bite.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.