Lab Matters Fall 2023 | Page 102

APHL 2023 POSTER ABSTRACTS

a CDC-developed bioinformatics workflow for fungal pathogens , was made open-source and adapted to Nextflow software . Third , a Research Electronic Data Capture ( REDCap ) database was established for reporting genomic-related data to CDC . Fourth , a series of monthly workshops were organized to support the implementation of laboratory , bioinformatics and data sharing processes to both CDC and National Center for Biotechnology Information ( NCBI ) database . Finally , CDC conducted analyses in parallel with partners to ensure comparability of sequencing results . Results and Conclusions : Today , 19 AR Lab Network public health partners have committed to building C . auris sequencing capacity through FungiNet activities . As a part of these efforts , participating public health laboratories have generated and made publicly available sequence data for more than 900 C . auris isolates . Further expanding this capacity will strengthen preparedness and response to C . auris and other emerging fungal threats .

Presenter : Lindsay Parnell , ptd1 @ cdc . gov

Implementing Measles Testing at the New Jersey Public Health Molecular Virology Lab

C . Bilyeu , M . Ali , J . Occi , B . Schwem , S . Markos , S . Delaney , M . Pugliese , A . Preidel , U . Yadav , D . Woell , R . Siderits , T . Kirn ; New Jersey Department of Health Public Health and Environmental Laboratories

Measles virus ( MeV ) is a morbillivirus which is the causative agent of measles , a highly contagious respiratory virus that causes serious illness in children . Although the United States has maintained elimination status of the measles virus since 2000 , meaning there are no longer endemic cases of measles in the US , cases can still be imported by people traveling outside of the country and cause an outbreak . The World Health Organization ( WHO ) listed measles as an imminent threat to public health in 2022 due to measles outbreaks and cases worldwide and growing vaccine hesitancy . It is important that public health labs and hospitals can rapidly and reliably test suspected cases of measles . Currently the New Jersey Public Health and Environmental Laboratories ( NJ PHEL ) does not offer confirmatory testing via RT-PCR in-house , and suspect cases must be sent to the Wadsworth Center in New York for confirmation , creating a turn-around time of several days at best . With the recent increase in vaccine hesitancy in the United States it is important that the state of New Jersey is prepared to rapidly and accurately test measles cases in the event of an outbreak . NJ is validating and implementing a series of singleplex real time RT-PCR assays using the CDC method and automated Qiagen EZ1 extraction platform that is able to identify MeV in a clinical sample and differentiate between wild type measles ( MeWT ) and vaccine-associated measles ( MeVA ). This diagnostic test will allow NJ PHEL to confirm a measles diagnosis in suspect cases and differentiate between the two strains of the virus during an outbreak . This poster will detail the accuracy , precision and limit of detection demonstrated in the assay in New Jersey . To prepare for the constant threat of measles outbreaks in the United States , NJ PHEL will be able to have a rapid , robust and repeatable clinical assay for suspected measles samples with a quick turnaround time to produce results .

Presenter : Claire Bilyeu , cbilyeu2018 @ gmail . com

Insights on the Role of the Conserved Mycobacterial Transcription Factor WhiB6 in Regulating ESX Secretion Systems

E . Gordon 1 , J . Canestrari 1 , L . Zhang 2 , K . Derbyshire 1 , T . Gray 1 ; 1 New York State Department of Health , Wadsworth Center , 2 University of Nebraska-Lincoln

WhiB6 is a conserved transcription factor in mycobacteria . In Mycobacterium marinum , WhiB6 regulates the expression of a virulence-associated secretion apparatus called ESX-1 , but little is known of its role in other mycobacteria and its mechanism of action . We have begun to characterize WhiB6 in the model mycobacterium , Mycobacterium smegmatis . In particular , we are interested in understanding its function in the ESX-1-dependent process of distributive conjugal transfer ( DCT ), a unique form of horizontal gene transfer that occurs between genetically distinct donor and recipient strains of M . smegmatis . Our lab has previously shown that a second secretion system , ESX-4 , is also required for DCT and that ESX-4 is directly activated on donor-recipient contact by the extracytoplasmic transcription factor SigM in the recipient . We now find that recipients carrying a deletion of the whiB6 gene fail to induce ESX-4 upon donor contact , thus preventing conjugation and indicating that WhiB6 regulates both ESX-1 and ESX-4 . We hypothesize a DCT signaling network model wherein WhiB6 connects ESX-1 with ESX-4 through SigM . This poster will explore the effects of WhiB6 on DCT and its role in intercellular communication in mycobacterial conjugation .

Presenter : Emma Gordon , emma . gordon @ health . ny . gov

Laboratory Response to the Emergence of Mpox Virus in North Carolina

B . Skinner , V . Nickerson , Q . Irby , C . Heckmann , B . Page , K . Jenkins , L . Barton , S . Orton , S . Shone , D . Pettit ; North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health

Mpox is a zoonotic disease recently characterized by fever , swollen lymph nodes , and an itchy or painful rash that typically is located near the genitals , or on the hands , feet , chest , face , or mouth of patients infected with mpox virus . This virus is a member of the orthopoxvirus genus and can be detected in dry swab specimens collected from skin lesions using a non-variola orthopoxvirus ( NVO ) Real Time PCR assay that was distributed to members of the Laboratory Response Network . This assay was previously verified by the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health Laboratory ( NCSLPH ) to ensure preparedness for the emergence of orthopoxviruses in North Carolina and was rapidly deployed to detect mpox virus in North Carolina citizens . As part of the emergency response , healthcare providers were instructed to collect lesion material from 2 or more locations using 2 dry swabs simultaneously to scrub each selected lesion from patients meeting the established or revised ( as the outbreak progressed ) case definition for mpox . On June 22 , 2022 , the NCSLPH documented the first confirmed mpox case in NC . This finding was consistent with an unprecedented number of mpox cases and clusters that were reported globally in non-endemic regions . Clinical submissions for mpox testing included duplicate dry swabs from one to six anatomical locations per patient . The site of specimen collection was recorded for ~ 93 % of specimens tested . Specimens collected