Mapping virus-associated health disparities utilizing highly-multiplexed serology

Piña, Alejandra (2021) Mapping virus-associated health disparities utilizing highly-multiplexed serology. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

Despite advancements in medical interventions, disease burdens caused by viral pathogens remain large and highly diverse. This burden includes the wide range of signs and symptoms associated with active viral replication as well as a wide range of clinical sequelae of infection. Viral infections have even been linked to the onset of a number of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, celiac disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Although these diseases are of a global burden, currently documented national trends highlight several gender and ethnicity-based health disparities associated with viral infections and thus, viral-associated disease. Despite these well documented disparities in viral infection rates, our understanding of virus-associated health disparities remains incomplete. In part, this is because the most commonly used viral detection methodologies lack the sensitivity and specificity for broad characterization of viral exposures. Here we utilize PepSeq technology to develop a sensitive, high-throughput assay for characterizing an individual’s nearly complete history of viral exposures within a single reaction. Here, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach for broadly detecting virus-associated health disparities through a pilot study in Phoenix, AZ. Using PepSeq, we recapitulated known seroprevalence rates for many common viruses and identified both expected and unexpected infection rate disparities between a Hispanic white (HW) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) populations.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Health disparities; Highly-multiplexed; Seroprevalence ; Virus-associated disease; Ethnicity; Serology
Subjects:	R Medicine > RB Pathology
MeSH Subjects:	C Diseases > C02 Virus Diseases
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences > Biological Sciences
Date Deposited:	11 Feb 2022 21:47
Last Modified:	26 Feb 2023 08:30
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5692

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