BACKGROUND Macrophage cell death following infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis plays a central role in tuberculosis disease pathogenesis. Certain attenuated strains induce extrinsic apoptosis of infected macrophages but virulent strains of M. tuberculosis suppress this host response. We previously reported that virulent M. tuberculosis induces cell death when bacillary load exceeds ∼20 pe...

Neonatal sepsis is a disease affecting newborns ≤1 month of age with clinical symptoms and positive blood cultures. The number of Escherichia coli strains causing neonatal sepsis resistant to the antibiotics used in the treatment is increasing. In this study, two E. coli strains causing sepsis in neonates of mothers infected with an E. coli strain harboring extended spectrum beta-lactamases wer...

A novel isolate of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) was designated GX-NN-L. The GX-NN-L IBDV was a very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV) isolated from broiler flocks in Guangxi province, China, in 2011. The GX-NN-L IBDV caused high mortality, immunosuppression, low weight gain, and bursal atrophy in commercial broilers. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of the ...

ND is a highly contagious virus disease affecting poultry, cage and aviary birds, and wild birds. There are a number of strains of the disease, which differ in the severity of their clinical signs, ranging from inapparent to a rapidly fatal condition. In its highly virulent form, ND can rapidly cause up to 100 per cent mortality in bird flocks and poses a devastating threat to the poultry indus...

Eight strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis were isolated from clinical specimens and were subjected to the tests for encapsulation, slime-production, mouse-virulence, capsular-typing and adherence to the plastic surface, the renal cells and the bladder epithelial cells. With the intraperitoneal injection of these strains into mice, three encapsulated strains were observed in mouse-virulent, wh...

Pigs possess a microbiota in the upper respiratory tract that includes Haemophilus parasuis. Pigs are also considered the reservoir of influenza viruses and infection with this virus commonly results in increased impact of bacterial infections, including those by H. parasuis. However, the mechanisms involved in host innate responses towards H. parasuis and their implications in a co-infection w...

Highly virulent strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC belonging to the African cluster contain an operon with the genes gtsA, gtsB, and gtsC, encoding membrane ATP binding cassette transporter proteins GtsA, GtsB, and GtsC, which are involved in glycerol transport. Strain Afadé from the African cluster incorporated [U-(14)C]glycerol with a time-dependent increase. The less virulent ...

Naturally-occurring variation in virulence was studied in the opportunistic fungal pathogens, Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus fumigatus. I measured variation in growth on Neiland's solid agar medium and virulence in an insect model host, Galleria mellonella, in 92 A. nidulans recombinant strains generated by a cross between two wild type strains. A weak positive correlation was found betwe...

Human alveolar macrophages (AMphi) undergo apoptosis following infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro. Apoptosis of cells infected with intracellular pathogens may benefit the host by eliminating a supportive environment for bacterial growth. The present study compared AMphi apoptosis following infection by M. tuberculosis complex strains of differing virulence and by Mycobacterium ...

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is the causative agent of the, probably, most economically important disease for pig industry worldwide. This disease, characterised by producing failure in sows problems growing pigs, appeared late 1980s United States Canada. Since its appearance, strains capable higher mortality rates as well greater severity clinical signs lesions t...