1. Microbiology

Category Archives: Microbiology

Small changes in ag practices could reduce produce-borne illness

Posted on by

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Oct-2013

Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology

Researchers from Cornell University have identified some agricultural management practices in the field that can either boost or reduce the risk of contamination in produce from two major foodborne pathogens: salmonella, the biggest single killer among the foodborne microbes, and Listeria monocytogenes. Their findings are published ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

"This is going to help make produce safer," says Laura Strawn, a researcher on the study. "We could significantly reduce risk of contamination through changes that occur a few days before the harvest."

Many of the risk factors were influenced by when they were applied to fields which suggests that adjustments to current practices may reduce the potential for contamination with minimal cost to growers, says Strawn.

Foodborne illness sickens an estimated 9.4 million, and kills around 1,300 annually in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Produce accounts for nearly half the illnesses, and 23 percent of the deaths.

"The research is the first to use field collected data to show the association between certain management practices and an increased or decreased likelihood of salmonella and L. monocytogenes," says Strawn.

For salmonella, manure application within the year prior to the researchers' sampling boosted the odds of a contaminated field, while the presence of a buffer zone between the fields and potential pathogen reservoirs such as livestock operations or waterways was protective.

Irrigation within three days before sample collection raised the risk of listeria contamination six-fold. Soil cultivation within the week before sampling also increased the chances of contamination.

See the rest here:
Small changes in ag practices could reduce produce-borne illness

Canadian scientists fine-tune possible Ebola virus therapy

Posted on by

TORONTO - Scientists at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory are continuing to fine-tune a possible treatment for Ebola virus infection, one of the deadliest known to humankind.

In a newly published article, the Winnipeg-based scientists reported that their combination therapy saved three of four cynomolgus macaques and four of four rhesus macaques when it was given three days after the animals were infected with Ebola Zaire, the deadliest strain.

The scientists hope to test the drug cocktail in humans beginning in late 2014 or early 2015, if they can get approval from Canadian and U.S. drug regulators.

The work builds on earlier research which showed a cocktail of three cloned antibodies saved four of four primates when given 24 hours after infection and two of four treated 48 hours after infection.

This time the researchers added interferon-alpha, a chemical made by the immune system, to the treatment regime.

Two of four primates survived when they were given the chemical one day after infection, and then the antibody cocktail four days later.

In order for a treatment to be useful against the five types of Ebola viruses or their cousin, the Marburg virus, it must be something that can enhance survival when given days after infection, which is when cases would typically come to light.

"The concept of combining different treatments to improve efficacy and extend the treatment window is certainly interesting and the data look promising," Tom Geisbert, an expert in viral hemorrhagic fevers, said of the work. Geisbert is a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

The senior author of the study is Gary Kobinger, head of the special pathogens program at the Winnipeg lab. The laboratory is part of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

He said in an interview that the aim of this work is to find a way to put a lid on the infection, to give the immune system a chance to fight it off.

Read the original here:
Canadian scientists fine-tune possible Ebola virus therapy

Research and Markets: Global Clinical Laboratory Services Market to 2019: Clinical Chemistry, Medical Microbiology …

Posted on by

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5w7f6f/clinical) has announced the addition of the "Clinical Laboratory Services Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019" report to their offering.

The global market for clinical laboratory services is expected to record a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period of 2013 to 2019, to grow from a USD 162.71 billion market in 2012 to a USD 241.37 billion market in 2019

The clinical diagnostic tests performed by laboratories can be broadly classified into four major categories, namely, clinical chemistry, medical microbiology & cytology, human and tumour genetics and other esoteric tests. Ranging from routine blood and urine tests to high-end genetic analysis including fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), molecular expression testing etc., clinical laboratories offer numerous tests that help detect disease progression and abnormalities. The three major types of service providers in this market include hospital-based laboratories, clinic-based laboratories and stand-alone laboratories.

With the increasing incidence rates of debilitating conditions such as cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases, the number of patients that will opt for such tests will continue to increase in the future and thereby increase the demand for these services. Moreover, the percentage of aged population in the U.S. is expected to grow to an estimated 20% by 2030. Such a large population of elderly people in the U.S. alone will lead to high testing volumes for clinical laboratories. Diagnostics manufacturers such as Roche Holdings, Genomic Health, Abbott Diagnostics, Qiagen, etc. are focusing their efforts towards developing products and systems that would enable highly accurate analysis of patient samples and also enable processing of thousands of samples at a time. This will help clinical laboratories to cope with the rising demand and in turn ensure revenue generation.

The market is highly oligopolistic in nature with a few major players accounting for more than 50% of the market. Some of the market leaders in this space include Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Quest Diagnostics, Inc., Sonic Healthcare, Healthscope, Genoptix Medical Laboratory, Labco S.A., Charles River Laboratories, Bio-Reference Laboratories, Spectra Laboratories, and Abbott Laboratories.

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

Chapter 3 Market Overview

Read the original:
Research and Markets: Global Clinical Laboratory Services Market to 2019: Clinical Chemistry, Medical Microbiology ...

Men-only hepatitis B mutation explains higher cancer rates

Posted on by

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Oct-2013

Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology

A team of researchers has identified a novel mutation in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Korea that appears only in men and could help explain why HBV-infected men are roughly five times more likely than HBV-infected women to develop liver cancer. Although some women do progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer, the mutation is absent in HBV in women. The research is published ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

"This is the first mutation found that can explain the gender disparity in incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma," says Bum-Joon Kim of Seoul National University, Korea, an author on the study.

In the study, the researchers randomly collected and analyzed serum samples from 292 patients with chronic HBV infection who visited one of 3 hospitals in Korea from 2003-2005. Previous studies had suggested that a gene mutation known as W4P/R was associated with higher incidence of liver cancer and cirrhosis. They developed an assay to specifically identify HBV with the W4P/R mutation. When compared to patient outcomes, the W4P/R mutation was significantly associated with severe liver disease and was found exclusively in male patients.

The investigators believe the assay they developed to discover the mutation may hold promise as a diagnostic for predicting male progression to cirrhosis and liver cancer. They caution that first larger studies are necessary to confirm their findings, as only 67 of the 292 samples came from women.

HBV infection is a global health problem, with 350 million chronic carriers of the virus, a number that is roughly equivalent to the combined populations of the US and Canada. The prevalence of infection ranges from less than half a percent in the United States to around 10 percent in Asia, to as high as 15 percent in parts of Africa. Major means of transmission include injection drug abuse, unprotected sex, and transmission via childbirth. Worldwide mortality is about 600,000 annually, according to the World Health Organization. In the US, despite the availability of a vaccine, an estimated 3,000 die annually from hepatocellular cancer or chronic liver disease caused by hepatitis B.

###

A copy of the manuscript can be found online at http://bit.ly/asmtip1013a. Formal publication is scheduled for the December 2013 issue of Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Read this article:
Men-only hepatitis B mutation explains higher cancer rates

Canadian scientists fine-tuning possible Ebola virus therapy

Posted on by

Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press Published Wednesday, October 16, 2013 7:12PM EDT

TORONTO -- Scientists at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory are continuing to fine-tune a possible treatment for Ebola virus infection, one of the deadliest known to humankind.

In a newly published article, the Winnipeg-based scientists reported that their combination therapy saved three of four cynomolgus macaques and four of four rhesus macaques when it was given three days after the animals were infected with Ebola Zaire, the deadliest strain.

The scientists hope to test the drug cocktail in humans beginning in late 2014 or early 2015, if they can get approval from Canadian and U.S. drug regulators.

The work builds on earlier research which showed a cocktail of three cloned antibodies saved four of four primates when given 24 hours after infection and two of four treated 48 hours after infection.

This time the researchers added interferon-alpha, a chemical made by the immune system, to the treatment regime.

Two of four primates survived when they were given the chemical one day after infection, and then the antibody cocktail four days later.

In order for a treatment to be useful against the five types of Ebola viruses or their cousin, the Marburg virus, it must be something that can enhance survival when given days after infection, which is when cases would typically come to light.

"The concept of combining different treatments to improve efficacy and extend the treatment window is certainly interesting and the data look promising," Tom Geisbert, an expert in viral hemorrhagic fevers, said of the work. Geisbert is a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

The senior author of the study is Gary Kobinger, head of the special pathogens program at the Winnipeg lab. The laboratory is part of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Read more here:
Canadian scientists fine-tuning possible Ebola virus therapy

Winnipeg lab fine-tunes Ebola virus therapy

Posted on by

;

Gary Kobinger works in a mobile laboratory installed by specialists of the National Public Health Agency of Canada, in Mweka, Congo, Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. Scientists at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory are continuing to fine-tune a possible treatment for Ebola virus infection, one of the deadliest known to humankind.

TORONTO Scientists at Canadas National Microbiology Laboratory are continuing to fine-tune a possible treatment for Ebola virus infection, one of the deadliest known to humankind.

In a newly published article, the Winnipeg-based scientists reported that their combination therapy saved three of four cynomolgus macaques and four of four rhesus macaques when it was given three days after the animals were infected with Ebola Zaire, the deadliest strain.

The scientists hope to test the drug cocktail in humans beginning in late 2014 or early 2015, if they can get approval from Canadian and U.S. drug regulators.

The work builds on earlier research which showed a cocktail of three cloned antibodies saved four of four primates when given 24 hours after infection and two of four treated 48 hours after infection.

This time the researchers added interferon-alpha, a chemical made by the immune system, to the treatment regime.

Two of four primates survived when they were given the chemical one day after infection, and then the antibody cocktail four days later.

In order for a treatment to be useful against the five types of Ebola viruses or their cousin, the Marburg virus, it must be something that can enhance survival when given days after infection, which is when cases would typically come to light.

The concept of combining different treatments to improve efficacy and extend the treatment window is certainly interesting and the data look promising, Tom Geisbert, an expert in viral hemorrhagic fevers, said of the work. Geisbert is a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

More:
Winnipeg lab fine-tunes Ebola virus therapy

Canadian scientists work to fine-tune possible Ebola virus therapy

Posted on by

Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press Published Wednesday, October 16, 2013 7:12PM EDT

TORONTO -- Scientists at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory are continuing to fine-tune a possible treatment for Ebola virus infection, one of the deadliest known to humankind.

In a newly published article, the Winnipeg-based scientists reported that their combination therapy saved three of four cynomolgus macaques and four of four rhesus macaques when it was given three days after the animals were infected with Ebola Zaire, the deadliest strain.

The scientists hope to test the drug cocktail in humans beginning in late 2014 or early 2015, if they can get approval from Canadian and U.S. drug regulators.

The work builds on earlier research which showed a cocktail of three cloned antibodies saved four of four primates when given 24 hours after infection and two of four treated 48 hours after infection.

This time the researchers added interferon-alpha, a chemical made by the immune system, to the treatment regime.

Two of four primates survived when they were given the chemical one day after infection, and then the antibody cocktail four days later.

In order for a treatment to be useful against the five types of Ebola viruses or their cousin, the Marburg virus, it must be something that can enhance survival when given days after infection, which is when cases would typically come to light.

"The concept of combining different treatments to improve efficacy and extend the treatment window is certainly interesting and the data look promising," Tom Geisbert, an expert in viral hemorrhagic fevers, said of the work. Geisbert is a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

The senior author of the study is Gary Kobinger, head of the special pathogens program at the Winnipeg lab. The laboratory is part of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Read more here:
Canadian scientists work to fine-tune possible Ebola virus therapy

Canadian national lab scientists in Winnipeg work to fine-tune possible Ebola virus therapy

Posted on by

By Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press Published Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:42PM CST Last Updated Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:44PM CST

TORONTO -- Scientists at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory are continuing to fine-tune a possible treatment for Ebola virus infection, one of the deadliest known to humankind.

In a newly published article, the Winnipeg-based scientists reported that their combination therapy saved three of four cynomolgus macaques and four of four rhesus macaques when it was given three days after the animals were infected with Ebola Zaire, the deadliest strain.

The scientists hope to test the drug cocktail in humans beginning in late 2014 or early 2015, if they can get approval from Canadian and U.S. drug regulators.

The work builds on earlier research which showed a cocktail of three cloned antibodies saved four of four primates when given 24 hours after infection and two of four treated 48 hours after infection.

This time the researchers added interferon-alpha, a chemical made by the immune system, to the treatment regime.

Two of four primates survived when they were given the chemical one day after infection, and then the antibody cocktail four days later.

In order for a treatment to be useful against the five types of Ebola viruses or their cousin, the Marburg virus, it must be something that can enhance survival when given days after infection, which is when cases would typically come to light.

"The concept of combining different treatments to improve efficacy and extend the treatment window is certainly interesting and the data look promising," Tom Geisbert, an expert in viral hemorrhagic fevers, said of the work. Geisbert is a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

The senior author of the study is Gary Kobinger, head of the special pathogens program at the Winnipeg lab. The laboratory is part of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Excerpt from:
Canadian national lab scientists in Winnipeg work to fine-tune possible Ebola virus therapy

Antimicrobial Test Laboratories Cites Benefits to Modified AOAC Disinfectant Test

Posted on by

Round Rock, TX (PRWEB) October 16, 2013

Antimicrobial Test Laboratories (ATL) - a contract microbiology lab founded in 2006 by microbiologist Dr. Benjamin Tanner - has announced that AOAC Internationals altered passing criteria for two key methods used for disinfectant registration will benefit companies needing testing in major ways.

According to Dr. Tanner: AOAC International, a standards-setting organization, recently published changes to test methods used by disinfectant manufacturers to register their products with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), notably the Use-Dilution Method (UDM) for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The methods now permit a greater number of failures per test, reducing the impact of ordinary variability on failure rates. This is a big change that will positively impact companies seeking testing.

This is a great development for industry, said Jason Williams, Microbiology Manager at Antimicrobial Test Laboratories. Previously, manufacturers were only allowed one failing test surface per each set of 60 tested. Now, they are allowed up to three failing surfaces for Staph and Six for Pseudomonas.

Recent changes to AOAC methods are the direct result of years of hard work by members of industry and employees of EPA, and represent a shining example of industry and regulators working together to improve registration criteria, noted Dr. Tanner. Improved performance standards will enable new disinfectants to enter the market while at the same time making efficacy determinations more clear and reliable for EPA.

One interesting outcome of the change is its effect on test-method-choice by makers of spray disinfectants.

According to Tanner: Liquid spray products can be tested for registration using either the Use-Dilution Method or the Germicidal Spray Products Method. Historically, spray product manufacturers would choose the Germicidal Spray Products Method, because it had the same pass/fail criteria but demonstrated less variability. Now that the performance standard has been changed for the Use-Dilution Method, we expect most companies to use it for registration instead.

Prospective disinfectant registrants should be aware that recent changes to the Use-Dilution Method performance standard come with a catch, noted Mr. Williams. Now all three required batches of product must be tested on different days.

Further, the Use-Dilution method is technique-sensitive, added Tanner: Despite the new performance standard, companies will benefit from working with laboratories that have conducted the method for years and have well-trained personnel who are experienced with regard to the delicate technique involved in transferring the contaminated surfaces into and out of the disinfectant solutions.

Experienced laboratories, such as Antimicrobial Test Labs, are familiar with the full range of requirements to ensure successful registration with EPA. For a complimentary needs assessment, visit Use-Dilution Method (UDM) or call 512-310-TEST (8378).

Continued here:
Antimicrobial Test Laboratories Cites Benefits to Modified AOAC Disinfectant Test

Premiere: See Yeasayer’s New Music Video Shot in the World’s Trippiest Laboratory

Posted on by

The tower of Naturalis in the Dutch province of Leiden is like something sprung from the mind of Terry Gilliam: seven stories of shelves lined with preserved animals, insects, and fossils. Row upon row of jars containing discomfiting specimens. The tower houses the largest collection of natural history objects in Holland, and its sealed from the public unless youre Ruben van Leer, and you want to film the music video for the latest Yeasayer single, Glass of the Microscope. In which case you get the whole place to yourself.

For a moment, among these scientific objects, we felt the entire history of the city, van Leer, a Dutch filmmaker and artist, told WIRED. We wanted to fuse that history with ideas of an evolutionary future. After technology saves the world as Silicon Valley wants us to believe what then?

The last track on Yeasayers acclaimed 2012 album Fragrant World, Glass of the Microscope is heavy with the bands characteristic silky synths and torpid melodies. Theres a post-apocalyptic vibe in the video that is subtle but persistent, imagining band members Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder as scientists struggling to find a cure for an unnamed global affliction. In addition to the Naturalis tower, the band filmed in molecular biologist Hans Tankes lab at Leiden University, one of the oldest research universities in Europe and the place where the 17th-century Dutch microbiologist Antoine van Leeuwenhoek developed an early prototype of the electron microscope.

Van Leer specializes in the refraction of the scientific through art. His in-progress opera film, Symmetry, was the first project selected by the arts@CERN program in Geneva, where he spent time shooting film at the Large Hadron Collider and thinking about how concepts in high-energy particle physics inform narratives of bodies in motion on a macroscopic scale.

Through technology, we can observe our world from an increasing number of perspectives, and interact with its data, said van Leer. In this way, storytelling becomes a part of reality. Pop culture becomes science becomes culture again.

Theres a tension between analog and digital as well as the scientific and the philosophical throughout the new video, which layers film shot through microscopes with 3-D computer animation created using a Microsoft Kinect motion sensor camera. As objects preserved in jars merge with objects pressed between plates of glass beneath the microscope, human bodies dance through those same microscopic images.

What if the causes of certain material manifestations that seem so big in our world can be found on a microscopic scale within ourselves? asked van Leer. Through the pressure and response of our environment, well be forced to think in more symbiotic ways. In the end, this cure for what ails the world is left to the imagination of the audience.

A final, delicious fact about van Leer: his father is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the prog-rock group Focus, whose instrumental cut Hocus Pocus blew up in the U.S. in the early 70s. As a kid, van Leer says he would ask his father why he became a musician, and his dad would reply, I make music for the spheres. Van Leer is similarly enigmatic when he speaks about his own work and what he hopes to achieve with it. The power of art, for me, lies in aspiration, he said. We already have the power to create. What world will we make?

Read the original:
Premiere: See Yeasayer's New Music Video Shot in the World's Trippiest Laboratory


  1. Microbiology