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.

Characterization of two affinity matured Anti-Yersinia pestis F1 human antibodies with medical countermeasure potential.

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague and a biological threat agent, presents an urgent need for novel medical countermeasures due to documented cases of naturally acquired antibiotic resistance and potential person-to-person spread during a pneumonic infection. Immunotherapy has been proposed as a way to circumvent current and future antibiotic resistance. Here, we describe the development and characterization of two affinity matured human antibodies (αF1Ig AM2 and αF1Ig AM8) that promote survival of mice after exposure to aerosolized Y.

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.

Functional assays to screen and select monoclonal antibodies that target .

is a gram-negative bacterium that causes plague in animals and humans. Depending on the route of disease transmission, the bacterium can cause an acute, often fatal disease that has a narrow window for treatment with antibiotics. Additionally, antibiotic resistant strains have been identified, emphasizing the need for novel treatments.

Polyclonal Antibodies Derived from Transchromosomic Bovines Vaccinated with the Recombinant F1-V Vaccine Increase Bacterial Opsonization In Vitro and Protect Mice from Pneumonic Plague.

Plague is an ancient disease that continues to be of concern to both the public health and biodefense research communities. Pneumonic plague is caused by hematogenous spread of bacteria from a ruptured bubo to the lungs or by directly inhaling aerosolized bacteria. The fatality rate associated with pneumonic plague is significant unless effective antibiotic therapy is initiated soon after an early and accurate diagnosis is made.

The BALB/c Mouse Model for the Evaluation of Therapies to Treat Infections with Aerosolized .

, the causative agent of the disease melioidosis, has been isolated from the environment in 45 countries. The treatment of melioidosis is complex, requiring lengthy antibiotic regimens, which can result in the relapse of the disease following treatment cessation. It is important that novel therapies to treat infections with be assessed in appropriate animal models, and discussions regarding the different protocols used between laboratories are critical.

Layered and integrated medical countermeasures against infections in C57BL/6 mice.

, the gram-negative bacterium that causes melioidosis, is notoriously difficult to treat with antibiotics. A significant effort has focused on identifying protective vaccine strategies to prevent melioidosis. However, when used as individual medical countermeasures both antibiotic treatments (therapeutics or post-exposure prophylaxes) and experimental vaccine strategies remain partially protective.

Evaluation of two different vaccine platforms for immunization against melioidosis and glanders.

and the closely related species, , produce similar multifaceted diseases which range from rapidly fatal to protracted and chronic, and are a major cause of mortality in endemic regions. Besides causing natural infections, both microbes are Tier 1 potential biothreat agents. Antibiotic treatment is prolonged with variable results, hence effective vaccines are urgently needed.

Predictive and Experimental Immunogenicity of Collagen-like Protein 8-Derived Antigens.

is an infectious bacterium of clinical and biodefense concern, and is the causative agent of melioidosis. The mortality rate can reach up to 50% and affects 165,000 people per year; however, there is currently no vaccine available. In this study, we examine the antigen-specific immune response to a vaccine formulated with antigens derived from an outer membrane protein in , Bucl8.

Plague Prevention and Therapy: Perspectives on Current and Future Strategies.

Plague, caused by the bacterial pathogen , is a vector-borne disease that has caused millions of human deaths over several centuries. Presently, human plague infections continue throughout the world. Transmission from one host to another relies mainly on infected flea bites, which can cause enlarged lymph nodes called buboes, followed by septicemic dissemination of the pathogen.

Protection Elicited by Attenuated Live Vaccine Strains against Lethal Infection with Virulent .

The etiologic agent of plague, , is a globally distributed pathogen which poses both a natural and adversarial threat. Due largely to the rapid course and high mortality of pneumonic plague, vaccines are greatly needed. Two-component protein vaccines have been unreliable and potentially vulnerable to vaccine resistance.

The Use of Analgesics during Vaccination with a Live Attenuated Vaccine Alters the Resulting Immune Response in Mice.

The administration of antipyretic analgesics prior to, in conjunction with, or due to sequelae associated with vaccination is a common yet somewhat controversial practice. In the context of human vaccination, it is unclear if even short-term analgesic regimens can significantly alter the resulting immune response, as literature exists to support several scenarios including substantial immune interference. In this report, we used a live attenuated vaccine to examine the impact of analgesic administration on the immune response elicited by a single dose of a live bacterial vaccine in mice.

Deletion of Two Genes in MSHR668 That Target Essential Amino Acids Protect Acutely Infected BALB/c Mice and Promote Long Term Survival.

Melioidosis is an emerging disease that is caused by the facultative intracellular pathogen . It is intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics and host risk factors play a major role in susceptibility to infection. Currently, there is no human or animal vaccine against melioidosis.

A Mutant, Lacking the Soluble Lytic Transglycosylase Slt, Exhibits Defects in Both Growth and Virulence.

is the causative agent of tularemia and has gained recent interest as it poses a significant biothreat risk. is commonly used as a laboratory surrogate for tularemia research due to genetic similarity and susceptibility of mice to infection. Currently, there is no FDA-approved tularemia vaccine, and identifying therapeutic targets remains a critical gap in strategies for combating this pathogen.

Disease progression in mice exposed to low-doses of aerosolized clinical isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei.

Mouse models have been essential to generate supporting data for the research of infectious diseases. Burkholderia pseudomallei, the etiological agent of melioidosis, has been studied using mouse models to investigate pathogenesis and efficacy of novel medical countermeasures to include both vaccines and therapeutics. Previous characterization of mouse models of melioidosis have demonstrated that BALB/c mice present with an acute infection, whereas C57BL/6 mice have shown a tendency to be more resistant to infection and may model chronic disease.

Facile synthesis of antimalarial 1,2-disubstituted 4-quinolones from 1,3-bisaryl-monothio-1,3-diketones.

A new strategy was developed to synthesize 1,2-disubstituted 4-quinolones in good yield starting from 1,3-bisaryl-monothio-1,3-diketone substrates. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for antimalarial activity using Plasmodium falciparum strains. All compounds, except for two, showed good activity.