Algal bloom-associated disease outbreaks among users of freshwater lakes--United States, 2009-2010.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are excessive accumulations of microscopic photosynthesizing aquatic organisms (phytoplankton) that produce biotoxins or otherwise adversely affect humans, animals, and ecosystems. HABs occur sporadically and often produce a visible algal scum on the water. This report summarizes human health data and water sampling results voluntarily reported to CDC's Waterborne Disease and Outbreak Surveillance System (WBDOSS) via the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) and the Harmful Algal Bloom-Related Illness Surveillance System (HABISS)* for the years 2009-2010.

IS6110, a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex-specific insertion sequence, is also present in the genome of Mycobacterium smegmatis, suggestive of lateral gene transfer among mycobacterial species.

IS6110 is an insertion element found exclusively within the members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), and because of this exclusivity, it has become an important diagnostic tool in the identification of MTBC species. The restriction of IS6110 to the MTBC is hypothesized to arise from the inability of these bacteria to exchange DNA. We have identified an IS6110-related element in a strain of Mycobacterium smegmatis.