“During the past few decades, a fundamental change has taken place in our understanding of human-microorganism interactions. We are learning that transmissible agents might cause chronic illnesses that were not thought to have anything to do with infectious processes. In some instances, becoming infected is a sine qua non for developing a chronic illness. In others, illness can occur without infection, but infection increases the risk of that illness. In still other cases, an immune response that continues after a short-lived infection produces chronic health problems.” Read More…

Laura Sahnow and Dr. Icenhour finishing up evaluations. Thanks to Linh Nguyen for taking the picture.

The Phthisis Team attended the Charlottesville Catholic School Science Night last Friday.  We were asked to participate and evaluate 37, 8th grade student projects.  Everyone did an amazing job, and we were glad to see so many students interested in science.  The projects could be on anything the students wanted to identify or understand. They were supposed to use techniques they had learned to eliminate variables, establish controls, and test their hypothesis. There were a wide variety of topics from polarization of everyday objects to your sense of smell when it comes to jelly beans.  Different activities were present for all students such as making slime and a discussion on microscopes.  Job well done to the 8^th graders on their presentations and thanks to CCS for a fun night of science!

“The idea is that, someday soon, you’ll be able to drink a probiotic shake filled with E. chromi. The modified E. coli contain genes capable of producing color. When the bacteria react with certain enzymes, proteins, and chemicals in your gastrointestinal tract, they will produce certain colors, making diagnosis as simple as reading a color chart.” Read More…

“Squalamine prevents both DNA and RNA viruses from entering host cells in vitro, and shows promising activity protecting several species of mammals against viral infections, according to Zasloff and his collaborators. For instance, the compound protects human endothelial cells against infection by dengue virus, and it blocks the hepatitis B virus in human primary hepatocytes.” Read More…

“New research published online in the FASEB Journal suggests that the types and levels of bacteria in the intestines may be used to predict a person’s likelihood of having a heart attack, and that manipulating these organisms may help reduce heart attack risk. This discovery may lead to new diagnostic tests and therapies that physicians use to prevent and treat heart attacks. In addition, this research suggests that probiotics may be able to protect the heart in patients undergoing heart surgery and angioplasty.“ Read more…

Summary
● The One Health concept integrates human, animal, and environmental health to provide valuable insights when dealing with infectious agents.
● Investigating emerging pathogens benefits when the skills and knowledge of those specializing in human and animal infectious diseases are brought together, thus increasing the likelihood of identifying ways to prevent such illnesses.
● The One Health concept is illustrated well by approaches to dealing with foodborne diseases because many agents have zoonotic sources.
● Recognizing that fluoroquinolone use in poultry led to fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter infections in humans, officials at the FDA in 2005 withdrew approval for the use of these antimicrobial agents in the drinking water of poultry.
● Several case studies trace how investigations of bacterial isolates from patient specimens, when sent from clinical laboratories to public health laboratories for serotyping and subtyping, can provide critical insights for those analyzing public health problems. Read More…

We are honored to receive these grants to continue moving forward with our work in molecular diagnostics and congratulations to all the other local grant recipients!

“E. coli O157:H7 causes hemorrhages in the intestine. To date, no effective therapy for O157:H7 biofilms has been found. Biofilms generally are notoriously resistant to antimicrobial therapy. So in the study, Lee screened a dozen flavonoids, including phloretin, for their ability to inhibit these biofilms. “We found that phloretin markedly reduced E. coliO157:H7 biofilm formation on abiotic surface and human colon epithelial cells, while phloretin did not harm commensal E. coli K-12 biofilms,” says Lee. Commensal E. coli can actually fortify the human immune system, he says.” Read more…

“In 2008, diagnosis and investigation of 2 multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases with matching genotypes led to identification of an outbreak among foreign-born persons who performed short-term seafood production work in Alaska during 2006. Tuberculosis control programs should consider the possibility of domestic transmission even among foreign-born patients.” Read More…

“In the current study by Sterline and colleagues, treatment of latent TB with 3 months of directly observed rifapentine/isoniazid yielded similar or better rates of active TB vs treatment with self-administered isoniazid for 9 months. More participants completed rifapentine/isoniazid therapy, despite a higher risk for adverse events with the combination treatment.” Read More…