Vector-borne diseases

Diagnostic testing for:

Tick-borne diseases

• Lyme disease
• Babesiosis
• Anaplasmosis
• Ehrlichiosis
• Powassan virus
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF)
• Borrelia miyamotoi disease
• Alpha-gal syndrome
• Heartland virus

Mosquito-borne diseases

• Malaria
• West Nile virus
• Eastern equine virus
• Western equine virus
• California (La Crosse) virus
• St. Louis encephalitis virus
• Chikungunya virus
• Zika virus
• Dengue virus

Other vector-borne diseases

• Visceral leishmaniasis
• Parasite identification (arthropods)
• Chagas disease

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.