Tharaka Wijerathna Ph.D. πŸ‡±πŸ‡° πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ's Avatar

Tharaka Wijerathna Ph.D. πŸ‡±πŸ‡° πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ

@tharakawij

Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Florida Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory tharakawijerathna.com Researcher | Vector-Borne Disease | Vector Competence | Sand Flies | Biting Midges | Culicoides | Phlebotomus

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Latest posts by Tharaka Wijerathna Ph.D. πŸ‡±πŸ‡° πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ @tharakawij

Updated Interim Guidance for Health Departments on Testing and Reporting for Oropouche Virus Disease Testing, case definitions, and reporting information for public health departments

www.cdc.gov/oropouche/ph...

26.12.2025 22:14 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Intraspecific and interspecific comparison among bacterial communities in salivary glands and gut of five Culicoides spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), vectors of bluetongue virus Publication date: Available online 8 August 2025 Source: Acta Tropica Author(s): Ankita Sarkar, Paramita Banerjee, Abhijit Mazumdar

Intraspecific and interspecific comparison among bacterial communities in salivary glands and gut of five Culicoides spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), vectors of bluetongue virus #ActaTropica

09.08.2025 21:39 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Microfluidic Immunocapture Device for Direct Detection of Lyme Disease Lyme Disease is a multisystem infectious disease caused by the Borellia burgdorferi complex, and is a growing threat to public health. Approximately 476,000 people are infected with Lyme in the United States each year. Although Lyme is readily treated with antibiotics when detected early, early detection remains difficult. Current testing remains difficult because the standard 2-tiered ELISA/Western assay indirectly detects Lyme via measurement of a host immune response, which suffers from an inherent time-lag in host antibody production. A direct test for Lyme Disease would overcome these inherent limitations. To this end we report on the first microfluidic immunocapture device for Lyme Disease. We engineered a geometrically enhanced differential immunocapture (GEDI) technology to capture whole-organism Borrelia for direct on-chip detection. This approach is potentially amenable with other work in the field to develop direct PCR or aptamer tests for Lyme Disease, as our device could serve as a platform to drastically enhance the concentration of present Borrelia into a small volume.

Microfluidic Immunocapture Device for Direct Detection of Lyme Disease bioRxivpreprint

15.12.2025 02:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Modelling vector control for Aedes-borne arboviruses

Are you interested in doing a PhD in modelling Aedes-borne disease control? We are offering a fully funded studentship at @ukceh.bsky.social , with @uofglasgow.bsky.social and ALTOPICTUS, via @iapetusdtp.bsky.social. Open to UK nationals and overseas students.

iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...

28.10.2025 10:14 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Detecting Dengue in Flight: Leveraging Machine Learning to Analyze Mosquito Flight Patterns for Infection Detection Dengue infection alters mosquito flight behavior, enabling detection using machine learning classifiers. This study analyzes 3D flight trajectories and evaluates multiple models, showing that longer ...

Detecting Dengue in Flight: Leveraging Machine Learning to Analyze Mosquito Flight Patterns for Infection Detection - Javed - 2025 - Advanced Biology - Wiley Online Library advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

01.12.2025 17:12 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The diversity of trypanosomatids in Culicoides biting midges in the Eastern Baltic region Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) biting midges serve as vectors of viruses, bacteria, filaria, and protozoans, such as dixenous avian blood parasites (Trypanosomatidae). Additionally, these insects can harbour insect-specific flagellates-monoxenous trypanosomatids-which are generally considered harmless commensals; however, in certain cases, they can increase mortality or reduce the fitness of their insect hosts. Recent studies indicate that the prevalence of trypanosomatids in wild-caught...

The diversity of trypanosomatids in Culicoides biting midges in the Eastern Baltic region PubMed

05.11.2025 20:26 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0