FROM WHENCE THEY CAME--ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT ESCHERICHIA COLI IN AFRICAN WILDLIFE.

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is arguably the most important threat to human and animal health. The impacts of antimicrobial use can reach far from the site of prescription and wildlife may serve as a conduit for the movement of resistance across landscapes, contributing to the spread of antimicrobial resistance within and between different reservoirs. We compared antimicrobial resistance and life history among wild and domestic species in Chobe, Botswana to explore key attributes and behaviors that may increase exposure and allow resistance to move between humans, animals, and ecosystems.

Evidence of Leptospira sp. infection among a diversity of African wildlife species: beyond the usual suspects.

Background: Leptospirosis is an important public health threat in sub-Saharan Africa but little is known regarding the host spectrum and epidemiology of this zoonotic disease.

Methods: 289 kidney samples from 69 wild, domestic and peri-domestic species in northern Botswana were screened for the presence of Leptospira sp.

Results: Renal carriage was widespread among mammals (31.

Characterisation of four major histocompatibility complex class II genes of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules have an integral role in the adaptive immune response, as they bind and present antigenic peptides to T helper lymphocytes. In this study of koalas, species-specific primers were designed to amplify exon 2 of the MHC class II DA and DB genes, which contain much of the peptide-binding regions of the α and β chains. A total of two DA α1 domain variants and eight DA β1 (DAB), three DB α1 and five DB β1 variants were amplified from 20 koalas from two free-living populations from South East Queensland and the Port Macquarie region in northern New South Wales.

Immunoproteomic approach to elucidating the pathogenesis of cryptococcosis caused by Cryptococcus gattii.

Cryptococcosis caused by Cryptococcus gattii is a devastating disease of immunocompetent hosts with an incompletely understood pathogenesis. Utilizing an immunoproteomic approach in a naturally occurring koala model of disease, a number of key proteins and pathways are identified in the early and late pathogenesis of cryptococcosis for the first time. In particular, the thioredoxin system appears important in the pathogenesis of cryptococcosis caused by C.