Virulence of Burkholderia pseudomallei ATS2021 Unintentionally Imported to United States in Aromatherapy Spray.

In the United States in 2021, an outbreak of 4 cases of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the etiologic agent of melioidosis and a Tier One Select Agent (potential for deliberate misuse and subsequent harm), resulted in 2 deaths. The causative strain, B. pseudomallei ATS2021, was unintentionally imported into the United States in an aromatherapy spray manufactured in India.

Mutation of , a -formyltransferase involved in O-antigen synthesis, results in biofilm formation, phase variation and attenuation in .

Two clinically important subspecies, subsp. (type A) and subsp. (type B) are responsible for most tularaemia cases, but these isolates typically form a weak biofilm under conditions.

The rLVS Δ/ vaccine provides potent protection in Fischer rats against inhalational tularemia caused by various virulent strains.

is one of the several biothreat agents for which a licensed vaccine is needed. To ensure vaccine protection is achieved across a range of virulent strains, we assembled and characterized a panel of isolates to be utilized as challenge strains. A promising tularemia vaccine candidate is rLVS Δ/ (rLVS), in which the vector is the LVS strain with a deletion in the gene and which additionally expresses a fusion protein comprising immunodominant epitopes of proteins IglA, IglB, and IglC.

Development, Phenotypic Characterization and Genomic Analysis of a Panel for Tularemia Vaccine Testing.

is one of several biothreat agents for which a licensed vaccine is needed to protect against this pathogen. To aid in the development of a vaccine protective against pneumonic tularemia, we generated and characterized a panel of isolates that can be used as challenge strains to assess vaccine efficacy. Our panel consists of both historical and contemporary isolates derived from clinical and environmental sources, including human, tick, and rabbit isolates.