Conference Agenda

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

9:00 am - 12:15 pm

Session I – Rickettsial Zoonoses

Flea-Borne Typhus: A Cause of Organ Failure

Christopher Dayton, MD, MPH

UT Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX

The Importance of Timing in Testing for Infection with Typhus and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia

Timothy Erickson, MSPH, PhD, CPH

Baylor College of Medicine & Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX

A First-Hand Account with Murine Typhus, A Flea-Borne Disease that is Emerging in South Texas

Olga Jaimez, DVM

4Paws Animal Hospital

Session II - Anthrax

Anthrax Outbreak 2019

Terry Hensley, DVM, MS

Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory & AgriLife, College Station, TX

Summary of 2019 Animal-associated Human Anthrax Case in Texas

Tom Sidwa, DVM, MPH

Retired (formerly TX Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX)

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

9:00 am – 12:15 pm

Session III – Brucellosis

Zoonotic Brucellosis - Brucella suis, B. abortus, B. melitensis, and B. canis

Jeffrey Musser, DVM, PhD

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Brucella suis as a Cause of Ruptured Aortic Aneurysm in a Woman Living in an Area of Rural Texas with a Large Population of Feral Swine

John Eidt, MD & Jeffrey Musser, DVM, PhD

Baylor Scott & White Heart & Vascular Hospital, Dallas, TX

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

And This Little Piggy Cried Bow Wow Wow All the Way Home: The Emerging Threat of Brucella suis in Companion Dogs

Melanie T. Landis, DVM, MBA

Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, College Station, TX

Session IV – Tick-Borne Disease Surveillance

Distribution of Amblyomma maculatum Group Ticks and Rickettsia parkeri in the Sky Islands of West Texas

Tammi L. Johnson, PhD

Texas A&M University AgriLife Research, Uvalde, TX

Surveillance of Relapsing Fever Borrelia turicatae and Their Tick Vector in Texas

Job Lopez, PhD

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

9:00 am – 12:15 pm

Session V – Parasitic Diseases

Acute Chagas Disease in Central Texas

Kristin Mondy, MD, FACP

University of Texas Dell Medical School, Austin, TX

Raising Awareness about Chagas Disease: Challenges, Successes and What’s Next

Paula Stigler Granados, PhD

Texas State University, San Marcos, TX

Rare Parasite - Two A. cantonensis Cases Associated with Undercooked Food in Harris County, Texas, 2019

Ga On Jung, MPH & Rebecca Duong, MPH

Harris County Public Health, Houston, TX

Session VI – Vector Surveillance

Buzzin' on a Budget

Jason Fritz, MPH

Williamson County and Cities Health District, Round Rock, TX

Data to Decisions: Tools to Assess the Threat of Vector-Borne Diseases to Soldiers and Beneficiaries

Joshua Bast, MS

US Army Public Health Command, San Antonio, TX

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

9:00 am – 12:15 pm

Session VII – Bacterial Diseases

Mycobacterium bovis Infection in Texas Cattle Herds and the Public Health Implications

Susan Rollo, MS, DVM, PhD, DACVPM

Texas Animal Health Commission, Austin, TX

Risk of Urban Zoonosis from Geese Colonized with Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria

Grace Leu-Burke, MSCLS MT (ASCP)

University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK

Session VIII – Viral Diseases

COVID-19 Surveillance Testing and Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions at Air Force Basic Military Training Site

Theresa Casey, DVM, MPH & John W. Kieffer, MD, MPH

Air Force Trainee Health Surveillance, San Antonio, TX

COVID-19 Community Incidence and Associated Neighbor-hood-Level Characteristics in Houston, Texas, USA

Sarah Gunter, PhD, MPH

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Rabies in a Show Cow

Brent Moore, DVM, MS, MPH, DACVPM

Texas Department of State Health Services, Tyler, TX