The United States is the world's largest wildlife importer, and imported wild animals represent a potential source of zoonotic pathogens. Using data on mammals imported during 2000-2005, we assessed their potential to host 27 selected risk zoonoses and created a risk assessment that could inform policy making for wildlife importation and zoonotic disease surveillance. A total of 246,772 mammals...

Health monitoring systems are developed and used in zebrafish research facilities because pathogens of Danio rerio such as Aeromonas hydrophila, Mycobacterium spp., and Pseudocapillaria tomentosa have the potential to impair animal welfare and research. The fish are typically analyzed post mortem to detect microbes. The use of sentinels is a suggested way to improve the sensitivity of the surve...

BACKGROUND: Streptomyces sp. from Indonesian soil have not been explored and isolated to find new strains as a source of antibiotics for the treatment tuberculosis (TB) disease. AIM: In this study, effect spp. Lapindo mud in Sidoarjo, Indonesia be observed, out whether has anti-TB activity. METHODS: The primers Strep F; 5-AGAGTTTGAT CCTGKGTCAG-3 R; 5-AAGGGAG GTGATCCAKKGKGA-3 were used polymeras...

To the Editor: In an investigation of a pneumonic plague outbreak in Madagascar, Ramasindrazana et al. reported isolation of Yersinia pestis from 2 patients and seroconversion in 2 additional patients; these data indicated 4 (28.7%) of 14 diagnosed cases among described cases (1). The risk for overestimation of pneumonic plague contagion was illustrated by an outbreak in the Democratic Republic...

T valued comments from Prof. Wiwanitkit echo the selfcriticism of the authors on the topic. The study aimed to investigate the survival potential of M. bovis in dried meat. The most effective or ideal food preparation method was not discussed but was recommended for further study. It must be emphasised, however, that no pathogens – only non-tuberculous mycobacteria – were isolated from the proc...

Human nocardiosis may present as an acute or a chronic infection. Although a saprophyte Nocardia spp are responsible for superficial skin infections, pulmonary infections, and disseminated nocardiosis usually involving patients who are immunosuppressed and debilitated. Infections in immunocompetent individuals are usually chronic and present non-specific symptoms. Invasive and disseminated noca...

Over the past decade, there has been a world-wide increase in the number of farm-raised ratites. The focus of ostrich production remains in South Africa, but other countries are initiating production of this bird in addition to the emu and rhea. Ostriches, emus and rheas are being produced commercially outside their native habitat, resulting in new and unique disease presentations. The authors ...

To characterize sulfate-producing microorganisms from the deteriorated sandstones of Angkor monuments in Cambodia, strains of Mycobacterium spp. were isolated from most probable number-positive cultures. All five strains isolated were able to use both elemental sulfur (S(0)) for chemolithoautotrophic growth and organic substances for chemoorganoheterotrophic growth. Results of phylogenetic and ...

The peptidoglycan structure of Mycobacterium spp. has been investigated primarily with the readily cultivable Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis and has been shown to contain unusual features, including the occurrence of N-glycolylated, in addition to N-acetylated, muramic acid residues and direct cross-linkage between meso-diaminopimelic acid residues. Based on results from...

A pilot-scale sand-based fluidized bed bioreactor (FBBR) was utilized to treat both methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) from a contaminated aquifer. To evaluate the potential for re-use of the treated water, we tested for a panel of water quality indicator microorganisms and potential waterborne pathogens including total coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Shigel...