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BackgroundA national serosurvey of U.S. blood donors conducted in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was initiated to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccinations.MethodsBeginning in July 2020, the Nationwide Blood Donor Seroprevalence Study collaborated with multiple blood collection organizations, testing labs, and leadership from government partners to capture, test, and analyze approximately 150,000 blood donation specimens per month in a repeated, cross-sectional seroprevalence survey.ResultsA CDC website (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#nationwide-blood-donor-seroprevalence) provided stratified, population-level results to public health professionals and the general public.DiscussionThe study adapted operations as the pandemic evolved, changing specimen flow and testing algorithms, and collecting additional data elements in response to changing policies on universal blood donation screening and administration of SARS-CoV-2 spike-based vaccines. The national serosurvey demonstrated the utility of serosurveillance testing of residual blood donations and highlighted the role of the blood collection industry in public-private partnerships during a public health emergency.

Blood donors are a healthy subset of the population, and data collected from testing their donations for infectious disease markers provides opportunities for monitoring epidemiologic characteristics translatable to the general [...]

Objective: To describe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) mitigation measures in workplaces of employed US blood donors by industry and work arrangement. Methods: During May–December 2021, blood donors responded to a survey; we describe the distribution of reported workplace mitigation measures by industry and work arrangement, organized using the hierarchy of controls. Results.: Of 53,433 respondents representing 21 industries, ventilation upgrades were reported by 4%–38% of respondents (overall: 20%); telework access ranged from 14%–80% (53% overall). Requiring masks (overall: 84%; range: 40%–94%), physical distancing (77%; 51%–86%), paid leave for illness (70%; 38%–87%), and encouraging vaccination (61%; 33%–80%) were common. Independent workers reported fewer mitigation measures than those in traditional employment settings. Conclusions: Mitigation measures varied by industry and work arrangement. Some mitigation measures may be challenging to implement or irrelevant in certain industries, supporting the idea that mitigation is not a one‐size‐fits‐all strategy. Policy Implications: Tailored strategies to mitigate workplace risks of disease transmission are vital. Strategies should rely on effective methods for identifying workplace controls (e.g., through the hierarchy of controls) and account for industry‐specific characteristics and workplace environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Work is a social determinant of health that is often overlooked. There are major work‐related differences in the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) infection and death, but there have been few analyses of infection rates across industry groups. To date, only one national assessment of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection prevalence by industry based on self‐report has been completed. No study has looked at seroprevalence of COVID‐19 by industry. Methods: During May–December 2021, blood donors with SARS‐CoV‐2 antinucleocapsid testing were sent an electronic survey about their work. Free‐text industry responses were classified using the North American Industry Classification System. We estimated seroprevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection by industry. Results: Of 57,726 donors, 7040 (12%, 95% CI: 11.9%−12.5%) had prior SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Seroprevalence was highest among Accommodation & Food Services (19.3%, 95% CI: 17.1%−21.6%), Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction (19.2%, 95% CI: 12.8%−27.8%), Healthcare & Social Assistance (15.6%, 95% CI: 14.9%−16.4%), and Construction (14.7%, 95% CI: 13.1%−16.3%). Seroprevalence was lowest among Management of Companies & Enterprises (6.5%, 95% CI: 3.5%−11.5%), Professional Scientific & Technical Services (8.4%, 95% CI: 7.7%−9.0%), and Information (9.9%, 95% CI: 8.5%−11.5%). Conclusions: While workers in all industries had serologic evidence of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, certain sectors were disproportionately impacted. Disease surveillance systems should routinely collect work characteristics so public health and industry leaders can address health disparities using sector‐specific policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There are limited data on the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the United States by occupation. We identified occupations at higher risk for prior SARS-CoV-2 infection as defined by the presence of infection-induced antibodies among US blood donors. Methods Using a nested case-control study design, blood donors during May–December 2021 with anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) testing were sent an electronic survey on employment status, vaccination, and occupation. The association between previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and occupation-specific in-person work was estimated using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for sex, age, month of donation, race and ethnicity, education, vaccination, and telework. Results Among 85 986 included survey respondents, 9504 (11.1%) were anti-N reactive. Healthcare support (20.3%), protective service (19.9%), and food preparation and serving related occupations (19.7%) had the highest proportion of prior infection. After adjustment, prior SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with healthcare practitioners (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.74–2.54) and healthcare support (aOR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.39–2.40) occupations compared with computer and mathematical occupations as the referent group. Lack of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination (aOR, 16.13; 95% CI, 15.01–17.34) and never teleworking (aOR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.05–1.30) were also independently associated with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Construction and extraction occupations had the highest proportion of unvaccinated workers (30.5%). Conclusions Workers in healthcare, protective services, and food preparation had the highest prevalence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Occupational risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection remained after adjusting for vaccination, telework, and demographic factors. These findings underscore the need for mitigation measures and personal protection in healthcare settings and other workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Blood donors were tested for antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); resulting antibody levels were monitored over time. Methods Donors reactive to anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S1-total antibodies) participated in a follow-up study of 18 months. Testing for nucleocapsid antibodies distinguished between vaccination and infection. Vaccination and symptom information were collected for anti-S1-reactive donors by completing a survey. Results The majority of 249 followed donors were over 60 years old (54%), White (90%), and female (58%); 83% had not been vaccinated at enrollment, but by study completion, only 29% remained nonvaccinated. Of the 210 (84%) anti-N-reactive donors, 138 (66%) reported vaccination, whereas 37 (95%) of donors vaccinated and anti-N negative at enrollment remained uninfected. Vaccinated (2 doses) and infected donors showed a steady increase in anti-S1 that increased markedly for vaccinated donors after a booster and infected donors after vaccination (slightly higher for those with hybrid immunity), whereas anti-N levels declined. Most surveyed nonvaccinated donors (65%) reported symptoms, whereas 85% of vaccinated donors were asymptomatic. A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis was reported by 48 (31%) nonvaccinated and 3 (8%) vaccinated donors. Of asymptomatic donors, 38% never tested diagnostically for COVID-19, and 35% tested negative, suggesting an absence of knowledge of the infection. Conclusions Healthy blood donors were vaccinated at high rates and remained mostly asymptomatic and noninfected, whereas approximately two thirds of infected donors reported symptoms. Anti-S1 levels increased while anti-N decreased over 18 months but remained comparable between vaccinated and hybrid immune individuals with dramatic anti-S1 increases after vaccination or boosting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes a course which focuses student activities on the preparation of an environmental impact statement. The course provides undergraduate/graduate students with an intensive field ecology experience which exposes them to scientific principles of biology, environmental analysis, and quantitative sampling methods. Includes course format, activities, and evaluation. (JN)

Background: Babesia microti, an intraerythrocytic parasite endemic in the Northeast and upper Midwest United States, is responsible for over 200 reported cases of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis (TTB). The American Red Cross has prospectively screened donations in endemic areas for B. microti since 2012.Methods: Blood donation samples from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were tested by arrayed fluorescence immunoassay and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Donors with reactive results by any test were deferred and invited to participate in a follow-up study.Results: Screening of 506,540 donations (June 2012-May 2018) yielded 1299 reactives, 177 of which were DNA and antibody positive and 25 DNA positive only. During the same time, 23 unscreened RBC units collected in Connecticut and Massachusetts were involved in TTB cases, making the risk of transmitting the infection from an unscreened donation in these two states 15.6-times greater than from a Babesia-negative unit. B. microti screening in Connecticut and Massachusetts has been associated with a reduction in TTB cases; none reported from blood donors residing in Connecticut since 2016. The positive donor rate has also decreased in Connecticut from 0.67% in 2013 to 0.23% in 2017. Ongoing follow-up testing has shown that only 10% of antibody-positive donors serorevert within 1 year, while 94% of polymerase chain reacton-positive donors become negative within 12 months.Conclusions: Blood donation screening for B. microti in endemic areas effectively mitigates TTB risk. Screening should be considered for all areas demonstrating ongoing risk defined as clinical cases or positive blood donors including those associated with TTB cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the Laurentian Great Lakes underwent successive invasions by Ponto-Caspian species. We quantified major changes in the diversity and relative abundance of pre-invasion benthic macroinvertebrates at the same study site in southwestern Lake Ontario from 1983-2014. The zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha Pallas arrived at the study site before 1991, the quagga mussel Dreissena rostriformis bugensis Andrusov and the amphipod Echinogammarus ischnus Stebbing arrived before 1999, and the Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus Pallas arrived about 2004. The macroinvertebrate community in 2014 was very different from 3 earlier communities in 1983, 1991, and 1999. In 2014, pulmonate and prosobranch snails and sphaeriid bivalves were absent, D. r. bugensis replaced D. polymorpha, E. ischnus replaced Gammarus fasciatus Say as the dominant amphipod, and a previously diverse community of benthic fish was replaced by abundant N. melanostomus. From 1983 to 1999, the relative abundance of prosobranchs and pulmonates declined 10-fold and rose 2-fold, respectively. From 1991 to 2014, the relative abundance of oligochaetes and chironomids increased 32- and 78-fold, respectively. The shifts we report probably are attributable to nutrient enrichment of the nearshore of Lake Ontario during the 1990s leading to a thick carpet of macroalgae, a change in the base of the benthic food web from dressenid feces and pseudofeces to macroalgal detritus, and predation by N. melanostomus on snails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study which measured the abundance and diversity of corals and fishes at three patch reef complexes near San Salvador, Bahamas. The relationships among species and ecological measures coral and fish community structure were investigated. Results indicated relationships between coral and fish species at each reef. Reefs with the most coral cover had the highest number of species.