Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020 Jul 8. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany

Viruses 2020 Jul 6;12(7). Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Strandpromenaden 5, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark.

Zonula occludens toxin (Zot) is a conserved protein in filamentous vibriophages and has been reported as a putative toxin in . Recently, widespread distribution of encoding prophages was found among marine species, including environmental isolates. However, little is known about the dynamics of these prophages beyond . Read More

Med Decis Making 2020 Jul 8:272989X20938683. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Center for Health Policy and Center for Primary Care & Outcomes Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA (TR, DKO, EB, JDG-F).

Published data on a disease do not always correspond directly to the parameters needed to simulate natural history. Several calibration methods have been applied to computer-based disease models to extract needed parameters that make a model's output consistent with available data. To assess 3 calibration methods and evaluate their performance in a real-world application. Read More

mSystems 2020 Jul 7;5(4). Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

Research into the evolution and pathogenesis of has benefited greatly from the generation of high-throughput sequencing data to drive molecular analyses. The steady accumulation of these data sets now provides a unique opportunity for hypothesis generation via coexpression analysis. Here, we leverage all published RNA sequencing data, in combination with select data from other platforms, to generate a gene coexpression network that validates known gene interactions and identifies novel genetic partners across the entire genome. Read More

J Med Biogr 2020 Jul 6:967772020936958. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Department of History of Medicine and Medical Deontology, Medical School, University of Crete, Crete, Greece.

Démétrius Zambaco Pasha (1832-1913) was an internationally renowned Ottoman-born French dermatologist of Greek origin who is considered the first leprologist of the Orient. A graduate from the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, he practised there until he returned to Istanbul in 1872 and later served as a private physician to the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918), then Abbas Hilmi Pasha (1874-1944), the last Khedive of Egypt. Dr Zambaco produced numerous publications in a variety of medical subjects including leprosy, syphilis, morphinomania, eunuchs, and medical history. Read More

J Bacteriol 2020 Jul 6. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research, Umeå University, Umeå SE-90187, Sweden.

Both fermentative and respiratory processes contribute to bacterial metabolic adaptations to low oxygen tension (hypoxia). In the absence of O as a respiratory electron sink, many bacteria utilize alternative electron acceptors such as nitrate (NO). During canonical NO respiration, NO is reduced in a stepwise manner to N by a dedicated set of reductases. Read More

Cell 2020 Jun 16;181(7):1533-1546.e13. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA. Electronic address:

The gut microbiome is the resident microbial community of the gastrointestinal tract. This community is highly diverse, but how microbial diversity confers resistance or susceptibility to intestinal pathogens is poorly understood. Using transplantation of human microbiomes into several animal models of infection, we show that key microbiome species shape the chemical environment of the gut through the activity of the enzyme bile salt hydrolase. Read More

Trop Med Infect Dis 2020 Jul 2;5(3). Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Department of Immunology and Microbial Diseases, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY 12208, USA.

Background: Cholera remains a major global health problem, causing high output diarrhea leading to severe dehydration and shock in developing countries. We aimed to determine whether vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), the mediator of pancreatic cholera syndrome, has a role in the pathophysiology of human cholera.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study of cholera cases hospitalized with severe dehydration. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 Jul 2;21(13). Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Laboratory of Pathology and Immunology of Aquatic Animals, KLMME, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.

In previous research, voltage-dependent anion channel protein 2 (VDAC2) and the receptor of activated protein C kinase 1 (RACK1) in flounder () were confirmed as functional receptors for lymphocystis disease virus (LCDV) entry; however, the underlying mechanism of VDAC2- and RACK1-mediated LCDV entry remains unclear. In this study, we elucidated the endocytosis pathway of LCDV entry into flounder gill (FG) cells by treatment with specific inhibitory agents, siRNAs, and co-localization analysis. LCDV entry was significantly inhibited by the disruption of caveolae-mediated endocytosis, dynamin, and microtubules, and the knockdown of caveoline-1 and dynamin expression, but was not inhibited by the disruption of clathrin-mediated endocytosis, micropinocytosis, or low-pH conditions. Read More

Exp Neurobiol 2020 Jun;29(3):249-272

Department of Anatomy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.

Provirus integration site Moloney murine leukemia virus (Pim-1) is a proto-oncogene reported to be associated with cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. This study was to explore the neuroprotective role of Pim-1 in a rat model subjected to optic nerve crush (ONC), and discuss its related molecules in improving the intrinsic regeneration ability of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Immunofluorescence staining showed that AAV2- Pim-1 infected 71% RGCs and some amacrine cells in the retina. Read More

AIMS Microbiol 2020 28;6(2):144-151. Epub 2020 May 28.

School of Environment and Life Sciences, Independent University, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Cholera is a severe form of watery diarrhea caused by toxigenic strains. Typically, the toxigenic variants of harbor a bacteriophage, cholera toxin phage, integrated in their genome. The genes from the phage genome encode the cholera toxin, which is responsible for the major clinical symptoms of the disease. Read More

J Biol Dyn 2020 Dec;14(1):543-565

Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku Tokyo, Japan.

Backward bifurcation is an important property of infectious disease models. A centre manifold method has been developed by Castillo-Chavez and Song for detecting the presence of backward bifurcation and deriving a necessary and sufficient condition for its occurrence in Ordinary Differential Equations (ODE) models. In this paper, we extend this method to partial differential equation systems. Read More

J Appl Microbiol 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

University of Calcutta, Microbiology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Specific Aims: The emergence of multidrug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has made tuberculosis more difficult to manage clinically. With the aim of obtaining new and effective anti-mycobacterial agent(s), this study investigated the anti-mycobacterial activity of several imidazole and piperidine derivatives.

Methods And Results: Towards obtaining new anti-mycobacterial agents, Mycobacterium smegmatis cells were treated with different compounds for their growth inhibitory activity. Read More

PLoS One 2020 2;15(7):e0235440. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Microbiology and Dairy Heard Health Management, School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.

Background: Cholera remains a significant public health problem in more than one-third of the countries of the world. Cholera outbreak has become more common in Addis Ababa particularly in the rainy seasons; however, there is a paucity of data on risk factors associated with cholera outbreaks rendering interventions difficult. We investigated the outbreak to identify its etiology, source, risk factors and in order to control the outbreak. Read More

Indian J Med Res 2020 May;151(5):496

Division of Epidemiology & Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi 110 029, India.

Indian J Med Res 2020 May;151(5):459-467

ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Background & Objectives: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an elevated risk of contracting COVID-19. While intense occupational exposure associated with aerosol-generating procedures underlines the necessity of using personal protective equipment (PPE) by HCWs, high-transmission efficiency of the causative agent [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)] could also lead to infections beyond such settings. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a repurposed antimalarial drug, was empirically recommended as prophylaxis by the National COVID-19 Task Force in India to cover such added risk. Read More

Indian J Med Res 2020 May;151(5):419-423

Independent Consultant, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Conducting population-based serosurveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) will estimate and monitor the trend of infection in the adult general population, determine the socio-demographic risk factors and delineate the geographical spread of the infection. For this purpose, a serial cross-sectional survey would be conducted with a sample size of 24,000 distributed equally across four strata of districts categorized on the basis of the incidence of reported cases of COVID-19. Sixty districts will be included in the survey. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2020 Jul 1. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University (USA).

A fundamental, clinical and scientific concern is how lytic bacteriophage, as well as antibiotics, impact diagnostic positivity. Cholera was chosen as a model disease to investigate this important question because cholera outbreaks enable large enrollment, field methods are well established, and the predatory relationship between lytic bacteriophage and the etiologic agent share commonalities across bacterial taxa. Patients with diarrheal disease were enrolled at two remote hospitals in Bangladesh. Read More

J Infect Dis 2020 Jul 1. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Background: Susceptibility to Vibrio cholerae infection is impacted by blood group, age, and pre-existing immunity, but these factors only partially explain who becomes infected. A recent study used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to quantify the composition of the gut microbiome and identify predictive biomarkers of infection with limited taxonomic resolution.

Methods: To achieve increased resolution of gut microbial factors associated with V. Read More

PLoS One 2020 1;15(7):e0235322. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.

Introduction: The re-emergence of vector borne diseases affecting millions of people in recent years has drawn attention to arboviruses globally. Here, we report on the sero-prevalence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV), dengue virus (DENV), mayaro virus (MAYV) and zika virus (ZIKV) in a swamp community in Zambia.

Methods: We collected blood and saliva samples from residents of Lukanga swamps in 2016 during a mass-cholera vaccination campaign. Read More

BMJ Glob Health 2020 06;5(6)

International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Introduction: In 2017, amidst insecurity and displacements posed by Boko Haram armed insurgency, cholera outbreak started in the Muna Garage camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State, Nigeria. In response, the Borno Ministry of Health and partners determined to provide oral cholera vaccine (OCV) to about 1 million people in IDP camps and surrounding communities in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) including Maiduguri, Jere, Konduga, Mafa, Dikwa, and Monguno. As part of Monitoring and Evaluation, we described the coverage achieved, adverse events following immunisation (AEFI), non-vaccination reasons, vaccination decisions as well as campaign information sources. Read More

J Anat 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

The pelvic splanchnic nerves are essential for pelvic organ function and have been proposed as targets for neuromodulation. We have focused on the rodent homologue of these nerves, the pelvic nerves. Our goal was to define within the pelvic nerve the projections of organ-specific sensory axons labelled by microinjection of neural tracer (cholera toxin, subunit B) into the bladder, urethra or rectum. Read More

Cell 2020 Jun;181(7):1452-1454

Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, PO Box 801340, Charlottesville, VA 22908-1340, USA. Electronic address:

In this issue of Cell, Alavi et al. report that infection by Vibrio cholerae is blocked by gut microbiome-mediated hydrolysis of bile acids. Cholera therefore joins amebic dysentery and Clostridioides difficile colitis as enteric infections profoundly influenced by the microbiome's impact on bile acid metabolism. Read More

Pathog Dis 2020 Jun 26. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12208.

Following an episode of cholera, a rapidly dehydrating, watery diarrhea caused by the Gram-negative bacterium, Vibrio cholerae O1, humans mount a robust anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antibody response that is associated with immunity to subsequent re-infection. In neonatal mouse and rabbit models of cholera, passively administered anti-LPS polyclonal and monoclonal (MAb) antibodies reduce V. cholerae colonization of intestinal epithelia by inhibiting bacterial motility and promoting vibrio agglutination. Read More

Open Forum Infect Dis 2020 Jun 6;7(6):ofaa212. Epub 2020 Jun 6.

Department of Infectious Diseases, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

is a foodborne pathogen known to cause a cholera-like gastroenteritis syndrome. Here we report the first case of liver abscess and bacteremia presumed to be from sashimi, a Japanese raw seafood delicacy. We also provide a literature review of reported cases of extra-intestinal diseases including bacteremia. Read More

Microbiol Resour Announc 2020 Jun 25;9(26). Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Center for Applied Molecular Technologies, Institute of Clinical and Experimental Research, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium

We report here a complete genome sequence of a O1 El Tor (Inaba; sequence type 515 [ST515]) strain isolated from a cholera patient in North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which showed a complete deletion (∼80 kb) of the pathogenicity island 1. Read More

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2020 Apr 17;97(4):115061. Epub 2020 Apr 17.

Regional Virus Research and Diagnostic Lab (VRDL), ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, WB, India.

Timely identification of etiological agents of enteric infections is necessary to reduce the burden of infantile diarrheal mortality. Nucleic acid amplification-based detection methods offer a quick, reliable way for diagnosis of microbes in clinical specimens. This study was undertaken to evaluate an easy-to-use, cost-effective multiplex conventional reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay developed at the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases virology laboratory to identify 4 common enteric viruses (rotavirus, norovirus, adenovirus, astrovirus) in stool samples from patients who were being evaluated for acute diarrhea. Read More

PLoS One 2020 25;15(6):e0234796. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America.

The 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak revealed the fragility of the Guinean public health infrastructure. As a result, the Guinean Ministry of Health is collaborating with international partners to improve compliance with the International Health Regulations and work toward the Global Health Security Agenda goals, including enhanced case- and community-based disease surveillance. We assessed the case-based disease surveillance system during October 1, 2015-March 31, 2016, in the Boffa prefecture of Guinea. Read More

Res Pharm Sci 2020 Apr 11;15(2):182-190. Epub 2020 May 11.

Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, I.R. Iran.

Background And Purpose: The study was launched to use zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology to disrupt the cholera toxin gene () for inhibiting CT toxin production in .

Experimental Approach: An engineered ZFN was designed to target the catalytic site of the gene. The coding sequence of ZFN was cloned to pKD46, pTZ57R T/A vector, and plasmid and transformed to Top10 and . Read More

Microb Pathog 2020 Jun 21;149:104319. Epub 2020 Jun 21.

Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Ondo State, Nigeria.

Vibrio species and cholera outbreak yet remain a frequent health emergency despite progress made in integrated implementation of the MDGs/SDGs/WASH worldwide. Hence, this study aimed at appraising the impacts of MDGs/SDGs/WASH campaigns on the mitigation of cholera outbreak and associated consequences. The study mapped scientific production related to Vibrio outbreak from 1990 to 2019, identified trend, institutional/international concerted efforts toward outbreak research/response and gaps for future preparedness. Read More

Transpl Infect Dis 2020 Jun 23:e13385. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

VA Portland Healthcare System, Portland, Oregon, USA.

A patient with a renal transplant after an autologous stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma developed non-toxigenic Vibrio cholerae diarrhea after travel to Mexico. This is a rare cause of diarrhea in transplant recipients, and the patient had not had pre-travel counseling. This case reflects the lack of referral of transplant recipients for travel infectious disease review before overseas travel and the role of the live attenuated cholera vaccine. Read More

Int J Microbiol 2020 22;2020:3029295. Epub 2020 May 22.

Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), Kumasi, Ghana.

Microbes are found all over the globe with some few exceptions, including sterilized surfaces. They include normal flora that is nonpathogenic, which contribute to the larger percentage, and pathogenic species which are few. Hence, the activities of humans cannot be completely separated from microbes. Read More

Zhonghua Yi Shi Za Zhi 2020 Jan;50(1):15-20

Department of Medical History, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China.

"The Research Report on Epidemic Prevention of Army Medical School Ⅱ: Vol.1, No.36" , the report named "various symptoms and serological responses of human body after receiving ultrasonic cholera vaccine" is one of the declassified materials of Japanese biological warfare. Read More

Microb Biotechnol 2020 Jun 19. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.

Heavy metal contamination is a serious environmental problem. Understanding the toxicity mechanisms may allow to lower concentration of metals in the metal-based antimicrobial treatments of crops, and reduce metal content in soil and groundwater. Here, we investigate the interplay between metal efflux systems and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the purple bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus and other bacteria through analysis of the impact of metal accumulation. Read More

Addict Biol 2020 Jun 18:e12928. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Ceftriaxone is an antibiotic that reliably attenuates the reinstatement of cocaine seeking after extinction while preventing the nucleus accumbens (NA) core glutamate efflux that drives reinstatement. However, when rats undergo abstinence without extinction, ceftriaxone attenuates context-primed cocaine seeking but NA core glutamate efflux still increases. Here, we sought to determine if the same would occur when cocaine seeking is prompted by both context and discrete cues (cue-induced seeking) after cocaine abstinence. Read More

Dig Surg 2020 Jun 17:1-3. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

General and Pancreatic Surgery Unit, The Pancreas Institute of Verona University, Verona, Italy.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020 Jun 17;117(26):14978-14986. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201;

AB bacterial toxins and polyomaviruses induce membrane curvature as a mechanism to facilitate their entry into host cells. How membrane bending is accomplished is not yet fully understood but has been linked to the simultaneous binding of the pentameric B subunit to multiple copies of glycosphingolipid receptors. Here, we probe the toxin membrane binding and internalization mechanisms by using a combination of superresolution and polarized localization microscopy. Read More

Gut Microbes 2020 Nov 18;11(6):1486-1517. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Department of Pathobiology, Urbana, Illinois, USA.

Enteric viral and bacterial infections continue to be a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in young children in low-income and middle-income countries, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. Vaccines are considered an effective and practical preventive approach against the predominantly fecal-to-oral transmitted gastroenteritis particularly in the resource-limited countries or regions where implementation of sanitation systems and supply of safe drinking water are not quickly achievable. While vaccines are available for a few enteric pathogens including rotavirus and cholera, there are no vaccines licensed for many other enteric viral and bacterial pathogens. Read More

Infect Dis Poverty 2020 Jun 16;9(1):68. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

National Institute of Health, Maputo, Mozambique.

Cyclone Idai, which hit Mozambique in March 2019, was one of the worst climate-related natural disasters on record in the Southern Hemisphere causing massive destruction of housing and disruption to vital infrastructure including the electrical grid, communications and water supply. Almost two million people were affected with over 600 deaths, hundreds of thousands of people displaced accompanied by rapid spread of cholera. We describe emergency measures taken by the Government of Mozambique, in collaboration with multilateral partners, to establish a real-time disease surveillance system, implement interventions recommended by a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) taskforce and rapidly scale up a massive community vaccination program to control a cholera epidemic. Read More

ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2020 Jan 22;6(1):198-204. Epub 2019 Nov 22.

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy of the University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Ave, Los Angeles, CA, USA 90089.

Caveolae are membrane organelles formed by submicron invaginations in the plasma membrane, and are involved in mechanosensing, cell signaling, and endocytosis. Although implicated broadly in physiology and pathophysiology, better tools are required to elucidate the precise role of caveolar processes through selective activation and inactivation of their trafficking. Our group recently reported that thermally-responsive elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) can trigger formation of 'genetically engineered protein microdomains (GEPMs)' functionalized with either Clathrin-light chain or the epidermal growth factor receptor. Read More

J Bacteriol 2020 Jun 15. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) has gained popularity in recent years in epidemiological research and subspecies level classification. cgMLST retains the intuitive nature of traditional MLST but offers much greater resolution by utilizing significantly larger portions of the genome. Here, we introduce a cgMLST scheme for , a bacterium abundant in marine and freshwater environments and the etiologic agent of cholera. Read More

J Bacteriol 2020 Jun 15. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, USA

Current mouse models for evaluating the efficacy of live oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) have important limitations. Conventionally raised adult mice are resistant to intestinal colonization by , but germ free mice can be colonized and have been used to study OCV immunogenicity. However, germ free animals have impaired immune systems and intestinal physiology; also, live OCVs colonize germ free mice for many months, which does not mimic the clearance kinetics of live OCVs in humans. Read More

J Immunotoxicol 2020 Dec;17(1):135-143

Division of Immunology, ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, India.

Arsenic (As) readily crosses the placenta and exposure of the fetus may cause adverse consequences later in life, including immunomodulation. In the current study, the question was asked how the immune repertoire might respond in postnatal life when there is no further As exposure. Here, pregnant mice (Balb/c [H-2]) were exposed to arsenic trioxide (AsO) through their drinking water from time of conception until parturition. Read More

Arch Iran Med 2020 Jun 1;23(6):414-421. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Research Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

One of the historical periods of Iran that can be studied for contagious diseases and how they spread, is the late Qajar period. The city of Mashhad, after Tehran and Tabriz, had a special place among Russian and English governments in the Qajar period as one of the significant religious, political and economic centers in Iran due to Imam Reza's holy shrine, a large population and great geographical scale. The central governments' incompetence in preventing the outbreak of contagious diseases and lack of essential amenities, caused many lives to be lost all over Iran and especially Mashhad during the Qajar period. Read More

Lab Med 2020 Jun 13. Epub 2020 Jun 13.

Departments of Pathology, Galveston, Texas.

Cholera is an illness caused by Vibrio cholerae; its main symptom is acute watery diarrhea. Some infections are asymptomatic or result in patients presenting with mild diarrhea, but complications, such as bacteremia, can be fatal. Being endemic in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Haiti, V. Read More

Pathogens 2020 Jun 10;9(6). Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Laboratorio de Microbiología, Grupo CyMA, Unidad de Investigación Interdisciplinaria en Ciencias de la Salud y la Educación, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM FES Iztacala, Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlalnepantla C.P. 54090, Mexico.

The intranasal administration of lysates plus cholera toxin (CT) increases protection against meningoencephalitis in mice, suggesting that humoral immune response mediated by antibodies is crucial to induce protection against the infection. In the present study, we applied a protein analysis to detect and identify immunogenic antigens from , which might be responsible for such protection. A Western blot assay of polypeptides was performed using the serum and nasal washes from mice immunized with lysates, either alone or with CT after one, two, three, or four weekly immunizations and challenged with trophozoites of Immunized mice with plus CT, after four doses, had the highest survival rate (100%). Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Jun 10;17(11). Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Department of Sociology, University of Fort Hare, Eastern Cape 5700, South Africa.

Most people in rural areas in South Africa (SA) rely on untreated drinking groundwater sources and pit latrine sanitations. A minimum basic sanitation facility should enable safe and appropriate removal of human waste, and although pit latrines provide this, they are still contamination concerns. Pit latrine sludge in SA is mostly emptied and disposed off-site as waste or buried in-situ. Read More

Chem Commun (Camb) 2020 Jun 12. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

A Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India. and School of Applied & Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata 700032, India.

A Pyrene-based amphiphile with C4-alkanoyl spacer and lactose (PyLac) self-assembles in the aqueous media to form an injectable hydrogel. It shows preferential binding with Cholera Toxin (CT) via its terminal galactose residue, and hence can be employed for the selective detection of CT via color-changing response. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2020 Jun 12:1-8. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Policy and Economic Research Department, International Vaccine Institute , Seoul, South Korea.

Cholera is both an endemic and epidemic disease in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Strategies for cholera control include improving water, sanitation, and hygiene; providing early and effective treatment; and deploying oral cholera vaccine (OCV). This last strategy is relatively new, and countries considering its introduction are interested in knowing the potential cost not only of the vaccine, but also the cost of introduction. Read More

Bull Math Biol 2020 Jun 11;82(6):72. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Strathmore University, P.O. Box 59857-00200, Nairobi, Kenya.

It is often impossible to measure all states affecting spread of a disease. In cholera, asymptomatic and cholera pathogen densities are not practically measurable despite playing a big role in its transmission. They are referred to as inaccessible states of the model and can only be manipulated using the measurable states of the given model. Read More