Melioidosis: An emerging infectious disease in the Americas
Once thought to live only in Southeast Asia, the bacteria that cause melioidosis are now known to exist in South and Central America plus the Caribbean.
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Bacterial Pathogens
Toxic cholera bacteria flourish after heavy rains and persist at other times, researchers suggest
EPI investigator Afsar Ali led a study characterizing how the pathogen that causes cholera persists in wild, low-nutrient aquatic environments for decades.
Eliminating Cholera transmission in Haiti
On October 13th and 14th, 2016, the Minister of Health and Population of Haiti, Dr. Daphnee Benoit, convened an expert panel to consult on the control of cholera in Haiti with specific reference to the use of vaccines in the aftermath of Hurricane Mathew; the consultation resulted in the following consensus.
Ancient strain of cholera likely present in Haiti since colonial era
A non-virulent variant of the deadly Vibrio cholerae O1 strain has likely been present in Haitian aquatic environments for several hundred years, with the potential to become virulent through gene transfer with the toxigenic strain introduced by UN peacekeepers
KC Jeong finds biological treatment for cow disease; could help humans, too
A UF/IFAS researcher and his colleagues are far more certain now that a new biological treatment could prevent dairy cattle from getting uterine diseases, which might improve food safety for people. Their findings, in which they used chitosan microparticles to cure bacteria in the uteri, are published in a new study.
UF researchers organize and participate in the eighth world melioidosis congress 2016
Melioidosis is a less-well known bacterial disease discovered just over 100 years ago in Burma (now Myanmar) in Southeast Asia. It is mostly a disease of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world and is associated with high mortality. Melioidosis is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei that patients, particularly rice farmers, usually acquire from environmental sources such as contaminated soil and water. The disease affects mostly patients with underlying conditions, which include diabetes, malignancies such as cancer, and alcoholism. B. pseudomallei is scarcely transmitted from human-to-human and although it can infect many animals and insects, animal-to-human or insect-to-human transmissions have not been documented.
Has Haiti’s cholera epidemic become a permanent problem?
On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing thousands of people and displacing millions more.
More than 16 percent of Florida’s armadillos carry leprosy bacterium, scientists report
An expert on Mycobacterium leprae, the bacillus that causes Hansen’s disease, announced Wednesday that armadillos were the only known animal host of the pathogen.
