WSU BIOL209 Microbiology

Scientists are developing a device that utilizes retroreflectors to rapidly tell first-responders exactly which disease-causing microbe has been deployed in a bioterrorism attack. Perfecting this device could play a large role in preventing the harmful effects of bioterrorism globally.

Supplemental paper for presentation.

Supplemental paper for presentation.

Supplemental paper for presentation.

Focus paper for presentation.

It's amazing to think that even though there is no widely-accepted evidence that these inventions have prevented infections or death, hospitals are still spending over $125,000 per machine to attempt to ensure cleanliness.

Mexico and Brazil both reported a significant decline in mortality and hospitalizations in kids under the age of 5 caused by gastroenteritis in post-vaccine years.

For gas gangrene presentation

For Gas Gangrene presentation

For Gas Gangrene presentations

H7N9 strain that is capable of spreading quicker than the H5N1 strain. 100 people in China have been affected and killed more than 20. Doesn't immediately cause the noticeable symptoms like most flu strains would, making it difficult to monitor. 

Supplemental paper discussing the mechanism of action for acyclovir, an antiviral treatment for Herpes simplex virus encephalitis (HSE).

Good food doesn't mean good infection control!!

An outbreak of morbillivirus caused the death of 5 dolphins in Gulf St Vincent in the past six weeks. Warmer waters due to the recent algal bloom could play a role in the manifestation of this virus.

Researchers have been able to reconstruct the genome sequence of a bacterial strain which bypasses the need for growing bacteria in the lab. This could stop an outbreak in its tracks due to the increased speed of identifying the bacteria.

This paper focused on the reduction in mortality from childhood diarrhoeal disease after species A rotavirus vaccine was introduced in Latin America. Supplemental paper to Rotavirus presentation.

The vaccine routes would use non-toxic fragments of alpha toxin or a non-toxic forms of whole toxin as immunogens. The antibodies would protect the alpha-toxins from binding to the C-domain cell membrane allowing for leukocytes to clear the bacteria.

The main therapy of Gas Gangrene is amputation even before systemic infection, hyperbaric oxygen, or penicillin treatment therapy. Combination therapies were tested on mice with Gas Gangrene, which proved that metronidazole and penicillin together produced a higher mortality rate than that of metronidazole alone. But, metronidazole and clindamycin were more effective than penicillin alone. So some combination therapies are effective, while others are more dangerous.

Clostridial toxins are the main cause of gas gangrene. The toxins produce PLC and PFO, which lead to shock, vascular dysfunction, acute inflammatory response, and decreases endothelial cell and neutrophil function