The number and geographic breadth of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreaks detected after the withdrawal of type 2 containing oral polio vaccine (April 2016) have exceeded forecasts.Using Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) investigations and environmental surveillance (ES) data from the Global Polio Laboratory Network, we summarize the epidemiology of cVDPV2 outbreaks. Between 01 January 2016 to 31 December 2020, a total of 68 unique cVDPV2 genetic emergences were detected across 34 countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReversible protein phosphorylation at serine/threonine residues is one of the most common protein modifications, widely observed in all kingdoms of life. The catalysts controlling this modification are specific serine/threonine kinases and phosphatases that modulate various cellular pathways ranging from growth to cellular death. Genome sequencing and various omics studies have led to the identification of numerous serine/threonine kinases and cognate phosphatases, yet the physiological relevance of many of these proteins remain enigmatic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBurkholderia pseudomallei causes a fatal and infectious disease, melioidosis or Whitmore's disease in humans and animals. Melioidosis is present in different parts of the world and is endemic in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. Accurate diagnosis of melioidosis is difficult due to its common flu-like symptoms, potentially long incubation period and erroneous identification as culture contaminant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Overlapping pubic symphysis dislocation (OPSD) or a locked pubic symphysis is a compression of the pelvic ring with the intact pubis trapped into the contralateral obturator foramen. Reduction can be difficult and contralateral suprapubic osteotomy is a good way to address the irreducible OPSD. The technique has only been discussed thrice in the available literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks are spreading more widely than anticipated, which has generated a crisis for the global polio eradication initiative. Effectively responding with vaccination activities requires a rapid risk assessment. This assessment is made difficult by the low case-to-infection ratio of type 2 poliovirus, variable transmissibility, changing population immunity, surveillance delays, and limited vaccine supply from the global stockpile.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSome pathogenic microbes can be used for nefarious applications and instigate population-based fear. In a bio-threat scenario, rapid and accurate methods to detect biological agents in a wide range of complex environmental and clinical matrices, is of paramount importance for the implementation of mitigation protocols and medical countermeasures. This study describes targeted and shot-gun tandem MS based approaches for the verification of biological agents from the environmental samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is evident from previous cholera epidemics/outbreaks in India, Africa and America that isolates of the seventh pandemic Vibrio cholerae El Tor (7PET) with Haitian cholera toxin (HCT) genotype were associated with increased mortality. The present study highlights the emergence of 7PET-HCT isolates causing two cholera outbreaks in Walsang and Wagdari (Solapur, India) in 2016. Molecular analyses revealed that 7PET strains from earlier outbreaks (2010 and 2012) were progenitors of the current 7PET-HCT isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBurkholderia mallei, a potential biological warfare agent, is the causative agent of an infectious, fatal, and zoonotic disease, called glanders. Accurate and early diagnosis of glanders is important to control the disease lethality and infection spread. Molecular detection of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis the causative agent of anthrax in humans, bovine, and other animals. pathogenesis requires differentiation of dormant spores into vegetative cells. The spores inherit cellular components as phenotypic memory from the parent cell, and this memory plays a critical role in facilitating the spores' revival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBurkholderia mallei, a potential biothreat agent is the aetiological agent of glanders, a zoonotic disease primarily affecting equines. B. mallei shares close genetic proximity with B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurface array protein (Sap) can be an important biomarker for specific detection of , which is released by the bacterium during its growth in culture broth. In the present work, we have cloned and expressed Sap in . The culture conditions and cultivation media were optimized and used in batch fermentation process for scale up of Sap in soluble form.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiosens Bioelectron
June 2016
Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, is a well known bioterrorism agent. The determination of surface array protein (Sap), a unique biomarker for B. anthracis can offer an opportunity for specific detection of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiosens Bioelectron
December 2015
We report the DNA probe functionalized electrochemical genosensor for the detection of Bacillus anthracis, specific towards the regulatory gene atxA. The DNA sensor is fabricated on electrochemically deposited gold nanoparticle on self assembled layer of (3-Mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTS) on GC electrode. DNA hybridization is monitored by differential pulse voltammogram (DPV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacillus anthracis is a bioterrorism agent classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Herein, a novel electrochemical immunosensor for the sensitive, specific and easy detection of anthrax protective antigen (PA) toxin in picogram concentration was developed. The immunosensor consists of (i) a Nafion-multiwall carbon nanotubes-bismuth nanocomposite film modified glassy carbon electrodes (BiNPs/Nafion-MWCNTs/GCE) as a sensing platform and (ii) titanium phosphate nanoparticles-cadmium ion-mouse anti-PA antibodies (TiP-Cd(2+)-MαPA antibodies) as signal amplification tags.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioterrorism has received a lot of attention in the first decade of this century. Biological agents are considered attractive weapons for bioterrorism as these are easy to obtain, comparatively inexpensive to produce and exhibit widespread fear and panic than the actual potential of physical damage. Bacillus anthracis (B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe clpC operon is known to regulate several processes such as genetic competence, protein degradation and stress survival in bacteria. Here, we describe the role of clpC operon in Bacillus anthracis. We generated knockout strains of the clpC operon genes to investigate the impact of CtsR, McsA, McsB and ClpC deletion on essential processes of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacillus cereus belongs to B. cereus sensu lato group, shared by six other related species including Bacillus anthracis. B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Microbiol Infect Dis
September 2013
In this study, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology was used for the sensitive detection of protective antigen (PA), an anthrax specific toxin in spiked human serum samples. A monoclonal antibody raised against Bacillus anthracis PA was immobilized on carboxymethyldextran-modified gold chip, and its interaction with PA was characterized in situ by SPR. By using kinetic evaluation software, KD (equilibrium constant) and Bmax (maximum binding capacity of analyte) were found to be 20 fM and 18.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/purpose: Research into the distribution of bioaerosols during events associated with huge groups of people is lacking, especially in developing countries. The purpose of this study was to understand the distribution pattern of bioaerosols during an annual trade fair in the historical city of Gwalior, central India, a very important historical fair that was started by the King of Gwalior Maharaja Madho Rao in 1905.
Methods: Air samples were collected from six different sites at the fair ground and three different sites in a residential area before/during/after the fair using an impactor sampler on microbial content test agar and rose bengal agar for total bacteria and fungi, respectively.
Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are the second most common causal agents of food poisoning throughout the world. Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is one of the most potent and a listed biological warfare agent. Therefore, its quick, accurate and sensitive detection is of paramount importance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough all mammals, including humans, are vulnerable when they come into direct contact with infected animals, anthrax is primarily a disease of herbivorous animals. In countries like India, cutaneous anthrax is a public health problem in several regions. Hence, a simple and efficacious serodiagnostic assay for large scale surveillance of endemic populations is required.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThirty-four Vibrio cholerae isolates collected from a cholera outbreak in Hyderabad, South India were found to belong to serogroup Ol biotype El Tor serotype Ogawa. The genotype of all the isolates was confirmed by PCR assays. All the isolates were found PCR positive for ctxAB, ompW, rflOl, rtxC, and tcpA genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStaphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) is one of the most prevalent causes of food-borne illness throughout the world. SFP is caused by 21 different types of staphylococcal enterotoxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus. Among these, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is the most potent toxin and is a listed biological warfare (BW) agent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, is responsible for a serious and often fatal disease of mammalian livestock and humans and is an important biological warfare agent. Bacillus sp. AKG was isolated from a hot spring in western Himalayas and species-specific primers targeting gyrB gene identified the strain as B.
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