Research Publications (Food Safety)

AbstractBackgroundSeasonal influenza vaccines are transitioning to quadrivalent formulations including the hemagglutinins of influenza A subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 and B lineages Yamagata and Victoria.MethodsA new quadrivalent recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV4) was compared directly with a standard-dose, egg-grown, quadrivalent-inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV4) for immunogenicity and safety in adults 18–49 years of age.

To the Editor—With great interest we read the article by Zhou and colleagues [1]. The authors intravenously inoculated Balb/c nude mice with a swine fecal preparation containing hepatitis E virus (HEV) of genotype (gt) 4 (strain KM01) and were able to detect high levels of HEV RNA in the mouse serum, liver, and brain [1].

To the Editor—Norovirus is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide, and chronic infections frequently occur in immunocompromised patients. However, no US Food and Drug Administration–approved specific medication is available for treating norovirus infection.

AbstractEliminating the risk of polio from vaccine-derived polioviruses is essential for creating a polio-free world, and eliminating that risk will require stopping use of all oral polio vaccines (OPVs) once all types of wild polioviruses have been eradicated. In many ways, the experience with the global switch from trivalent OPV (tOPV) to bivalent OPV (bOPV) can inform the eventual full global withdrawal of OPV.

AbstractThe World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region (WPR) has maintained its polio-free status since 2000. The emergence of vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs), however, remains a risk, as oral polio vaccine (OPV) is still used in many of the region’s countries, and pockets of unimmunized or underimmunized children exist in some countries.

AbstractMany intracellular pathogens invade cells via endocytic organelles and have adapted to the drop in pH along the endocytic pathway. However, the strategy by which the host cell counteracts this pathogen adaptation remains unclear. βγ-CAT is an aerolysin-like pore-forming protein and trefoil factor complex in the frog Bombina maxima.

AbstractListeria monocytogenes is a major intracellular human foodborne bacterial pathogen. We previously revealed L. monocytogenes cadC as highly expressed during mouse infection. Here we show that L. monocytogenes CadC is a sequence-specific, DNA-binding and cadmium-dependent regulator of CadA, an efflux pump conferring cadmium resistance. CadC but not CadA is required for L. monocytogenes infection in vivo.

AbstractHilD, a dominant regulator of Salmonella pathogenicity island 1, can be acetylated by protein acetyltransferase (Pat) in Salmonella Typhimurium, and the acetylation is beneficial to its stability. However, the underlying mechanism of HilD stability regulated by acetylation is not clear. We show here that lysine 297 (K297) located in the helix-turn-helix motif, can be acetylated by Pat.

<span class="paragraphSection"><div class="boxTitle">Abstract</div><div class="boxTitle">Background.</div>The presence of transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRMs) in antiretroviral treatment (ART)–naive patients can adversely affect the outcome of ART.<div class="boxTitle">Methods.</div>Resistance testing was conducted in 6704 ART-naive subjects predominantly from the United States and Europe in 9 clinical studies conducted by Gilead Sciences fro

AbstractBackgroundTo successfully limit pathogen dissemination, an immunological link between the entry tissue of the pathogen and the underlying secondary lymphoid organs (SLOs) needs to be established to prime adaptive immune responses.

Background. In Indonesia, highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus has become endemic in poultry and has caused sporadic deadly infections in human. Since 2012, we have conducted fixed-point surveillance of avian influenza viruses at a live-poultry market in East Java, Indonesia. In this study, we examined the seroprevalence of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection among market workers.

Cryptosporidium is recognized as one of the main causes of childhood diarrhea worldwide. However, the current treatment for cryptosporidiosis is suboptimal. Calcium flux is essential for entry in apicomplexan parasites. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are distinct from protein kinases of mammals, and the CDPK1 of the apicomplexan Cryptosporidium lack side chains that typically block a hydrophobic pocket in protein kinases.

<span class="paragraphSection"><div class="boxTitle">Abstract</div><span style="font-style:italic;">Shigella sonnei</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Salmonella</span> Typhi cause significant morbidity and mortality.

Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of cholera, is known to form biofilms to persist in the environment. It is demonstrated here that even during infection, biofilm genes are upregulated, and microscopic observation indicated that biofilm formation is initiated almost immediately after adherence of V. cholerae to intestinal cells. About 7-fold upregulation of the biofilm regulatory gene vpsT was observed within 30 minutes of adherence of V.

Background. Salmonella causes an estimated 100 000 antimicrobial-resistant infections annually in the United States. Salmonella antimicrobial resistance may result in bacteremia and poor outcomes. We describe antimicrobial resistance among nontyphoidal Salmonella blood isolates, using data from the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System.

Background. Universal 2-dose hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccination of toddlers effectively controls hepatitis A. High vaccine costs, however, impede implementation in endemic countries. To test single-dose vaccination as a possible alternative, we initiated an observational, longitudinal study in Nicaragua, to assess protective effectiveness and—through challenge vaccination—humoral immune memory response.

AbstractCoxiella burnetii is a gram-negative bacterium that causes acute and chronic Q fever. Because of the severe adverse effect of whole-cell vaccination, identification of immunodominant antigens of C. burnetii has become a major focus of Q fever vaccine development. We hypothesized that secreted C.

Giardia lamblia is a pathogen transmitted by water and food that causes infection worldwide. Giardia genotypes are classified into 8 assemblages (A–H). Assemblages A and B are detected in humans, but they are potentially zoonotic because they infect other mammalian hosts. Giardia in samples from 44 children was genotyped. Conserved fragments of the genes encoding β-giardin and glutamate dehydrogenase were sequenced and their alignment were carried out with sequences deposited in GenBank.

With the rise of multidrug resistance, Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections require alternative therapeutics. The injectisome (iT3SS) and flagellar (fT3SS) type III secretion systems are 2 virulence factors associated with poor clinical outcomes.

During 2013, ST278 Klebsiella pneumoniae with blaNDM-7 was isolated from the urine (KpN01) and rectum (KpN02) of a patient in Calgary, Canada. The same strain (KpN04) was subsequently isolated from another patient in the same unit. Interestingly, a carbapenem-susceptible K. pneumoniae ST278 (KpN06) was obtained 1 month later from the blood of the second patient.

There is growing evidence that Zika virus (ZIKV) can cause devastating infant brain defects and other neurological disorders in humans. However, no specific antiviral therapy is available at present.

The PrePex circumcision device causes ischemic necrosis of the foreskin, raising concerns of anaerobic overgrowth. We compared the subpreputial microbiome of 2 men 7 days after PrePex device placement to that of 145 uncircumcised men in Rakai, Uganda, using 16S ribosomal (rRNA) RNA gene–based quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis and sequencing.

Helminth-infected individuals possess a higher risk of developing tuberculosis, but the precise immunologic mechanism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis control remains unclear. We hypothesized that a perturbation of the M. tuberculosis–specific CD4+ T-cell response weakens the ability of macrophages to contain M. tuberculosis. We exposed peripheral blood mononuclear cells from M. tuberculosis–infected humans to schistosome soluble egg antigen (SEA) and then profiled M.

Background. Tick transmission of Borrelia spirochetes to humans results in significant morbidity from Lyme disease worldwide. Serum concentrations of antibodies against outer surface protein A (OspA) were shown to correlate with protection from infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the primary cause of Lyme disease in the United States.

Background. Brucella species are facultative intracellular gram-negative bacteria that cause brucellosis, a common global zoonosis. Infection of the joints is the most common focal complication of brucellosis in humans. The purpose of this study was to identify mediators of focal inflammation during brucellosis.