In 2019, the United States National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) surveyed raw salmon, shrimp, and tilapia from retail grocery outlets in eight states to assess the prevalence of bacterial contamination and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the isolates. Prevalence of the targeted bacterial genera ranged among the commodities: (0%-0.4%), (19%-26%), (7%-43%), (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSalmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is typically considered a host generalist; however, certain isolates are associated with specific hosts and show genetic features of host adaptation. Here, we sequenced 131 Typhimurium isolates from wild birds collected in 30 U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWild birds are common reservoirs of Salmonella enterica. Wild birds carrying resistant S. enterica may pose a risk to public health as they can spread the resistant bacteria across large spatial scales within a short time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTularemia is a severe, zoonotic infection caused by the Gram-negative bacterium . Inhalation results in a rapid, severe bacterial pneumonia and sepsis, which can be lethal. Because the cynomolgus macaque is the accepted nonhuman primate model for tularemia, we conducted a natural history study of pneumonic tularemia by exposing macaques to target inhaled doses of 50, 500, or 5000 colony forming units (CFU) of subsp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe accurate virus detection, strain discrimination, and source attribution of contaminated food items remains a persistent challenge because of the high mutation rates anticipated to occur in foodborne RNA viruses, such as hepatitis A virus (HAV). This has led to predictions of the existence of more than one sequence variant between the hosts (inter-host) or within an individual host (intra-host). However, there have been no reports of intra-host variants from an infected single individual, and little is known about the accuracy of the single nucleotide variations (SNVs) calling with various methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere, we present the genome sequences of 56 isolates of 10 species of the genus that are considered beneficial components of the gut microbiota. The isolates examined were found in commercially available dietary supplements in the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere, we present the genome sequences of 23 isolates from several commercially available dietary supplements and cultured food products. Strains of this genus are natural inhabitants of the mammalian mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina. Some species are considered beneficial to human health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Appl Microbiol
August 2019
The Campylobacter genus is a large and diverse group of Gram-negative bacteria that are known to colonize humans and other mammals, birds, reptiles, and shellfish. While it is now recognized that several emerging Campylobacter species can be associated with human disease, two species, C. jejuni and C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFranks high among the pathogens causing foodborne disease outbreaks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, contributed to about 53.4% of all foodborne disease outbreaks from 2006 to 2017, and approximately 32.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhole genome sequencing (WGS) has become a rapid and affordable tool for public health surveillance and outbreak detection. In this study, we used the Illuminia MiSeq to sequence 589 Campylobacter isolates obtained in 2015 from retail poultry meats as part of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS). WGS data were used to identify the Campylobacter species and to compare the concordance between resistance genotypes and phenotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCampylobacter is a leading cause of foodborne diarrheal illness worldwide, and the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant strains is a major global public health concern. The goal of this study was to compare the activity of different fluoroquinolone antibiotics against ciprofloxacin-resistant Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. Isolates from retail meats collected between 2002 and 2009 were selected based on their in vitro susceptibility testing results against ciprofloxacin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMarburg virus (MARV) is an Ebola-like virus in the family Filovirdae that causes sporadic outbreaks of severe hemorrhagic fever with a case fatality rate as high as 90%. AVI-7288, a positively charged antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMOplus) targeting the viral nucleoprotein gene, was evaluated as a potential therapeutic intervention for MARV infection following delayed treatment of 1, 24, 48, and 96 h post-infection (PI) in a nonhuman primate lethal challenge model. A total of 30 cynomolgus macaques were divided into 5 groups of 6 and infected with 1,830 plaque forming units of MARV subcutaneously.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActivated protein kinase R (PKR) plays a vital role in antiviral defense primarily by inhibiting protein synthesis and augmenting interferon responses. Many viral proteins have adopted unique strategies to counteract the deleterious effects of PKR. The NSs (Non-structural s) protein which is encoded by Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) promotes early PKR proteasomal degradation through a previously undefined mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong the more than 70 different Vibrio species inhabiting marine, estuarine, and freshwater ecosystems, 12 are recognized as human pathogens. The warm subtropical climate of the Black Sea coastal area and inland regions of Georgia likely provides a favorable environment for various Vibrio species. From 2006 to 2009, the abundance, ecology, and diversity of clinically important Vibrio species were studied in different locations in Georgia and across seasons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Ebola outbreak that took hold in West Africa in 2014 outran the epidemic response capacity of many organizations. Five months after the epidemic was first declared, there were still only two laboratories in West Africa with the capacity to confirm Ebola virus infection. In the summer of 2014, before the first case of imported Ebola occurred in the USA, the US FDA announced it would issue Emergency Use Authorizations for Ebola virus in vitro diagnostics to speed their availability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Moraxella macacae is a recently described bacterial pathogen that causes epistaxis or so-called bloody nose syndrome in captive macaques. The aim of this study was to develop specific molecular diagnostic assays for M. macacae and to determine their performance characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHelicobacter pylori is recognized as the most common pathogen to cause gastritis, peptic and duodenal ulcers, and gastric cancer. The organisms are found in two forms: (1) spiral-shaped bacillus and (2) coccoid. H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFiloviruses are virulent human pathogens which cause severe illness with high case fatality rates and for which there are no available FDA-approved vaccines or therapeutics. Diagnostic tools including antibody- and molecular-based assays, mass spectrometry, and next-generation sequencing are continually under development. Assays using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have become the mainstay for the detection of filoviruses in outbreak settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Ebola viruses (EBOV) cause severe disease in humans and nonhuman primates with high mortality rates and continue to emerge in new geographic locations, including several countries in West Africa, the site of a large ongoing outbreak. Phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs) are synthetic antisense molecules that are able to target mRNAs in a sequence-specific fashion and suppress translation through steric hindrance. We previously showed that the use of PMOs targeting a combination of VP35 and VP24 protected rhesus monkeys from lethal EBOV infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the complete nucleotide sequence and characterization of a small cryptic plasmid of Moraxella macacae 0408225, a newly described bacterial species within the family Moraxellaceae and a causative agent of epistaxis in macaques. The complete nucleotide sequence of the plasmid pMoma1 was determined and found to be 5,375 bp in size with a GC content of 37.4 %.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-content image-based screening was developed as an approach to test a small-molecule library of compounds targeting signal transduction pathways for antiviral activity against multiple highly pathogenic RNA viruses. Of the 2843 compounds screened, 120 compounds exhibited ≥60% antiviral activity. Four compounds (E225-0969, E528-0039, G118-0778, and G544-0735), which were most active against Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) and showed broad-spectrum antiviral activity, were selected for further evaluation for their concentration-response profile and cytotoxicity.
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