Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Gateway

Outbreak of a novel coronavirus

This timely review summarises the ongoing outbreak of a novel coronavirus (HCoV-EMC), which has caused a number of fatal cases in the UK and Middle East.

CD4+ specificity in HIV-1 infections

Activation levels of herpes virus-specific CD4+ T cell populations are significantly elevated in untreated HIV+ individuals, suggesting that the elevated level of immune activation that characterizes chronic HIV infection may be influenced by the persistence of other antigens

Eukaryotic gene transfer

A survey of the genomes of eukaryotic microbial parasites reveals extensive lateral gene transfer from prokaryotes

Gene expression during poxvirus infection

A microarray study in cells infected with cowpox, monkeypox or vaccinia virus showed differential expression of immune responses genes, providing a key resource for understanding these important zoonotic infections

Differences in furious and paralytic rabies

Lower rabies virus (RV) antigen is found in paralytic rabies compared to furious in several CNS regions of dogs, but is associated with greater brainstem inflammation in paralytic rabies, which could retard RV propagation towards the cerebral hemispheres.

A new canine bocavirus

A new species of bocavirus has been identified in the liver of a dog with haemorrhagic gastoenteritis and is highly genetically distinct from the two known canine bocaviruses.

The spread of influenza in schools

A low-cost ranking method for modeling the spread of influenza in schools identifies subpopulations at higher risk of early infection than randomly selected communities, which could be effective for predicting and preventing epidemics.

Modeling infection transmission

Gerardo Chowell and Cécile Viboud comment on a novel method that identifies risk of influenza transmission and allows early detection of infection in schools, but caution that this promising method needs testing on outbreaks in different settings.

Phage therapy to prevent food poisoning

Bacillus cereus is a cause of food poisoning, which could be prevented through the use of lytic bacteriophage. This study describes a novel phage, isolated from sewage, in the family Myoviridae. This phage is able to infect a broad range of Bacillus species, including B. cereus and B. anthracis, indicating its potential application in food preservation.

Swine virus protects from human influenza

A swine influenza virus that grows to high titres and exhibits cross-reactivity was identified and used as an inactivated vaccine to protect mice from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain.