Analysis of Sporulation in Biovar Which Contains an Insertion in the Gene for the Sporulation Factor σ.

biovar () is an untypical pathogen causing a fatal anthrax-like disease in a variety of wildlife species in African rainforest areas. In contrast to and most species of the group, all strains of the cluster contain a 22 kb insertion in the gene which encodes the essential late sporulation sigma factor σ. This insertion is excised during sporulation in a site-specific recombination process resulting in an intact gene and a circular molecule.

Decontamination of Personal Protective Equipment.

Exploratory field analyses of the inactivation capacity of disinfectants on contaminated personal protective equipment (PPE) are required to select a suitable surrogate for biohazardous agents like spores of . The objectives of our study were (1) the determination of an appropriate surrogate for the inactivation of spores of with peracetic acid (PAA), and (2) application of optimized inactivation conditions for an effective decontamination of PPE with PAA under field conditions. For inactivation studies, spores from different strains and spores were fixed by air drying on carriers prepared from PPE fabric.