Bacteria Commons^™

Incidence Of Typhoid And Paratyphoid Fever In Bangladesh, Nepal, And Pakistan: Results Of The Surveillance For Enteric Fever In Asia Project, Mohammad Tahir Yousafzai, Sadia Shakoor, Irum Fatima Dehraj, Junaid Mehmood, Rozina Thobani, Aneeta Hotwani, Najeeb Rehman, Seema Irfan, Abdul Momin Kazi, Mohammed J. Hunzai

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Precise enteric fever disease burden data are needed to inform prevention and control measures, including the use of newly available typhoid vaccines. We established the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project (SEAP) to inform these strategies.
Methods: From September, 2016, to September, 2019, we conducted prospective clinical surveillance for Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S Typhi) and Paratyphi (S Paratyphi) A, B, and C at health facilities in predetermined catchment areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Kathmandu and Kavrepalanchok, Nepal; and Karachi, Pakistan. Patients eligible for inclusion were outpatients with 3 or more consecutive days of fever in the last 7 …

Treating Cytokine Storm In Patients With Covid-19, Ahmed Abdelhaleem, Deekshitha Turaka, Shameera Shaik Masthan, Steven B Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Resolving The Repression Pathway Of Virulence Gene Hila In Salmonella, Alexandra King, Lon Chubiz Phd, Brenda Pratte, Lauren Daugherty

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Salmonella is a relatively abundant, virulent species of bacteria that is most known for spreading gastrointestinal diseases through food. These illnesses result in approximately 1.35 million infections, including over 25,000 hospitalizations each year, in the U.S. alone (CDC.gov). As antibiotic resistance becomes an increasingly urgent public health problem, the importance of developing alternative treatment methods is only becoming more crucial. One of the genes responsible for this virulence is known as hilA. HilA is the main transcriptional regulator of Salmonella Pathogenicity Island-1 gene (UniProt). SPI-1 plays an important role in the invasion of Salmonella into epithelial cells. The proteins encoded …

A Case Report Of Pulmonary Actinomycosis: A Diagnostic Quagmire, Sarah Akbani, Aderinsola O. Ademiluyi, Jonathan Dean, Vinita Mathur

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

The implications of misdiagnosis can be drastic, especially when the correct diagnosis is treatable. Pulmonary actinomycosis is one of the complications of infection with actinomyces, an anaerobic gram-positive organism that is usually found as a part of the normal flora in the human body infection. It is a very rare disease and is frequently mistaken with other diagnoses owing to its nonspecific presentation. In this report, we present a 67-year-old male with a mass like lesion on a CT scan of his chest that was done due to progressively worsening productive cough, weight loss and fatigue. These symptoms could have …

Antimicrobial Stewardship Meets Transitions Of Care: Defining Length Of Therapy For Community-Acquired Pneumonia (Cap), Christopher Whitman, Sarah E. Moore Pharmd, Matthew Song Pharmd, Bcidp, Brian C. Bohn Pharmd, Bcidp, Ashley M. Wilde

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Introduction: Hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship efforts have traditionally focused on inpatient settings. Antibiotic prescribing at discharge is often an overlooked area of focus for antimicrobial stewardship programs. Discharge prescribing optimization is necessary to combat antibiotic overuse.

Methods: This was an observational, retrospective cohort study at a four–adult community hospital system. Four hundred adult patients admitted with community-acquired pneumonia and discharged with antibiotics were included. The primary outcome was overall (inpatient and discharge) antibiotic length of therapy. The secondary outcome was percentage of patients discharged on a fluoroquinolone who had not received one in the hospital. Descriptive statistics were utilized.

Results: The …

Effect Of Bovine Lactoferrin On Seroconversion Following Polio Vaccine Administration In Children: Protocol For A Double-Blinded Randomised Controlled Trial, Atif Habib, Sidrah Nausheen, Shanila Nooruddin, Tooba Javed, Tariq Samejo, Amjad Hussain, Suneeta Namdave, Sehrish Amirali, Muhammad Umer, Lumaan Sheikh

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Introduction: The oral polio vaccine (OPV) has substantial results in eliminating wild poliovirus and the vaccine of choice in polio eradication. However, the mucosal immunity induced by the OPV is still uncertain. Literature has shown that bovine lactoferrin (BLF) is a safe and useful protein found in cow's milk with extraordinary antimicrobial, antiviral, antiinflammatory and immune-modulatory functions that help children's gut to fight against micro-organisms like poliovirus. However, limited data exist regarding the effect of BLF on polio vaccine immune response. The primary objective is to evaluate the effect of BLF in enhancing mucosal and humoral immunity in children following …

Covid-19 Case Complicated With Organizing Pneumonia And Pneumothorax: Correspondence, Hammad A. Bhatti, Minh Q. Ho

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Flippase Inhibitors As Antimicrobial Agents, Robert Tancer

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Drug resistant microbes are a considerable challenge for modern medicine to overcome. The research described in this dissertation involved development of lipid flippase inhibitors and investigating their potential as antimicrobial agents against various drug resistant microbes. The microbes primarily investigated were methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) & Cryptococcus neoformans. Chapter 1 reviews the historical perspective and summarizes the current state of the field of research. In Chapter 2, the design space of an antimicrobial peptide known as humimycin was explored and the effects of modifications on its structure were observed against MRSA. Several key observations resulted. Most notably, the …

Covid-19, Vaccination, And Heart Transplantation, Forest W. Arnold

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Safety And Efficacy Of Silver-Coated Biomaterials In Vivo, Megan Klem, Darien L. Seidman, Rahyan Mahmoud, Manuella Adu, Lei Yu, Jeffrey Hettinger, Renee M Demarest

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Overtreatment and overuse of antibiotics in healthcare and agricultural settings have contributed to the selective pressure on bacterial strains to develop resistance. Resistance can develop as a result of mutations and subsequent resistance genes that allow bacteria to survive against antibiotics. Novel silver-oxide coatings were developed and were previously demonstrated to prevent adhesion of gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia Coli and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa) to the disc, but did not prevent gram-positive bacterial adherence (Streptococcus Aureus). In order to determine whether the silver-oxide coatings are bacterial static and may be preventing progression to biofilm formation, in vivo analysis of S. Aureus attached to …

Neurosyphilis: A Monkey Among Men, Cameron Rowe Do, Nathan Buckley Do, Bhaskar Chhetri Md, Suresh Paudel Md

Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives

Neurosyphilis is the progression of the untreated sexually transmitted infection caused by Treponema pallidum. When the initial infection is not adequately treated, progression of primary syphilis can lead to a wide variety of serious health sequelae. While neurosyphilis can appear up to 10-30 years after the initial infection, syphilis can invade the nervous system at any stage of infection and can imitate symptoms of many other diseases. This variety of symptoms is why syphilis has been called “The Great Pretender” or “The monkey among diseases” (12). This is a case report of an 83-year-old female with a history of multiple …

Investigation On Bacterial Signaling Through Generation Of A Ppgpp Biosensor, Andrew Robinson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) is a bacterial signaling molecule involved in activating the stringent response, a cellular reaction to environmental stress that downregulates cell division and metabolism processes to conserve nutrients. The stringent response is implicated in some instances of antibiotic persistence, so broadening the current understanding of ppGpp signaling is useful. This thesis seeks to generate a ppGpp biosensor that will bind ppGpp and emit fluorescent light in its presence, which will allow for improved research into the pathways and functions of the signaling molecule. To generate a novel ppGpp biosensor, I converted a biosensor previously used to detect cyclic …

Cyclic-Di-Gmp-Binding Proteins Regulate Acinetobacter Baumannii Motility, Gabriel Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Acinetobacter baumannii is a prevalent nosocomial pathogen where, like many other infectious bacteria, A. baumannii is increasingly considered a multi-drug resistant pathogen. This research study was designed to find a way to affect the persistence of A. baumannii such that it can be applied to a hospital setting to prevent further nosocomial infections. One regulatory mechanism potentially used by A. baumannii to persist on hospital surfaces is through the use of the bacterial second messenger cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP). This nucleotide signal is regulated in response to environmental conditions, and then activates c-di-GMP-binding proteins that induce phenotypic changes. One c-di-GMP-regulated phenotype is …

Genetic Characterization Of A Klebsiella Pneumoniae Secreted Anti-Microbial Protein, Ethan Becker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are a major source of ailment in modern-day nosocomial settings, with numerous risks including leading to possible further drug resistance or spreading to those who cannot fight off the infection due to immune suppression or dysfunction. Previous work in our laboratory has determined that Klebsiella pneumoniae possesses inhibitory effects on the growth of a variety of bacteria that contain antimicrobial-resistant properties in the Enterobacteriaceae family, a major source of nosocomial antimicrobial-resistance. This novel property of K. pneumoniae inhibits the growth of Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Enterobacter cloacae through an anti-microbial protein. The antimicrobial protein secreted from K. …

Bacteriophages: Paving The Road For The Future Of Medicine, Luke Brinkerhoff

Honors Theses

Bacteriophages are a possible solution to antibiotic resistance, which is predicted to be detrimental world-wide by the year 2050. Personal field research was also conducted for a project studying the characteristics of two bacteriophages on a single bacterial host.

Bartonella Henselea Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis Mimicking Vasculitis: A Case Report With Literature Review, Troy J. Fishman, Efrain Irizarry, Ayesha Kaleem, Robert Yancey, Uma Iyer

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

We present one of the first reported cases of Bartonella henselae prosthetic valve endocarditis, which mimicked p-antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (p-ANCA), an anti-proteinase 3 positive necrotizing glomerulonephritis caused by a cat scratch resulting in temporary dialysis. Documentation of such infections is necessary as zoonotic infections are becoming more prevalent with early identification essential for proper treatment. Although pauci-immune patterns are not a unique finding in bacterial endocarditis associated with glomerulonephritis, they are an atypical finding in Bartonella henselae endocarditis. Furthermore, p-ANCA-associated vasculitis can also be responsible for renal and cardiac disease. Because of the similar disease presentation of different etiologies (autoimmune …

Bacteriophages: Paving The Road For The Future Of Medicine, Luke Brinkerhoff

Scholars Day Conference

Antibiotics will not be used forever by society due to antibiotic resistance. By the year 2050, it is predicted to have caused millions of casualties throughout the world. Thankfully, bacteriophages and phage therapy could be a potential solution to this problem.

New Paenibacillus Bacteria Genome Assembly, Makenna Kager

Scholars Day Conference

Due to DLA16’s ability to produce antibiotics it was selected for whole genome sequencing.

The Discovery And Analysis Of Mycobacteriophage “Rita”, Anna Fakhri

Chemistry & Biochemistry Student Scholarship

Anna Fakhri ’24
Major: Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kathleen Cornely, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Mycobacteriophage “Rita” was isolated on Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 from an enriched soil sample from North Easton, Massachusetts. As Rita infects Mycobacterium smegmatis, further study of the phage was completed in order to determine its ability to be utilized in phage therapy for infections caused by pathogenic Mycobacterium, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium abscessus. Once isolated, the phage DNA was analyzed through PCR to determine the phage belonged to cluster F and subcluster F1. The phage DNA was sequenced, and a genome annotation was completed. The annotation …

Diversity Of Bacteriophage In Burkholderia Species, Abigail Price

Honors Projects

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria and offer the potential of a therapeutic alternative to chronic infections that do not respond to antibiotic-based therapies. B. vietnamiensis is one of a number of Burkholderia species involved with chronic drug resistant infections in the lungs of individuals with compromised respiratory systems, as found in those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and, most especially, are of particular significance in patients with cystic fibrosis. The diversity of the Burkholderia species is explored by using online databases and looking at bacteriophage or phage-encoding viruses found in B. vietnamiensis. The open reading frames …