Emerging Presence of Zoonotic Gastrointestinal Pathogen: Identification of Neorickettsia Spp. in Fish Species in Grenada, West Indies
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Introduction: The presence of Neorickettsia, a genus of obligate intracellular bacteria is possible in Grenada, West Indies, suggested through its prevalence in its neighboring continents of USA and South America and their shared waterways. The geographical presence of different Neorickettsia species has both medical and veterinary implications, causing Sennetsu Fever in humans (N. sennetsu), salmon poisoning disease in dogs (N. helminthoeca), and Potomac horse fever in equids (N. risticii). There is also concern regarding the not yet elucidated human pathogenicity of Neorickettsia spp.in relation to known trematode-associated gastrointestinal illnesses in humans. Our study serves to begin the process of defining the presence or suggesting the absence of Neorickettsia in fish from Grenada, West Indies. Methods: Forty-two specimens consisting of four different locally consumed freshwater fish species (Hypostomus Plecostomus - Common Pleco,Oreochromis mossambicus -Round Scad/Robin, Decapterus punctatus-Mozambique Tilapia, and Selar crumenopthalmus- Bigeye Scad/Jack) were acquired deceased, and refrigerated minimally awaiting dissection. Tissue samples (1cm depth, 4x4cm area) were taken from the left lateral musculature of each fishand examined microscopically for encysted trematodes. Potential cysts were subjected to RFLP analysis to identify potential Neorickettsia spp host trematode spp.Table 1: Summary of Freshwater Fish DissectionsResults: One Selar crumenopthalmus specimen yielded a Neorickettsia-incompatible nematode species Anasakis typica, identified through RFLP analysis. The remaining 41 samples also failed to yield positive identification of trematode species with Neorickettsia-hosting capabilities. Conclusion: Our study addressed the geographic distribution of Neorickettsia spp. in the country of Grenada, specifically its freshwater rivers. Through dissection of freshwater fish followed by DNA analysis of any potential trematodes, we documented negative results in an initial survey for trematodes which could potentially serve as hosts for Neorickettsia spp. in an assortment of species of locally consumed freshwater fish. Further studies expanding the survey to a greater variety and number of fish spp. as well as other implicated species such as freshwater snails, piscivorous and insectivorous bats, and mongooses will provide further insight regarding the geographic distribution of Neorickettsia in Grenada, WI, and will assist to inform associated risks posed to the regional population's gastrointestinal health.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".