scholarly journals Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Pertactin-Deficient Bordetella pertussis in the United States

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. Pawloski ◽  
A. M. Queenan ◽  
P. K. Cassiday ◽  
A. S. Lynch ◽  
M. J. Harrison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Bordetella Pertussis ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Routine Surveillance ◽  
Nucleotide Insertion ◽  
Positive Isolate

ABSTRACTPertussis has shown a striking resurgence in the United States, with a return to record numbers of reported cases as last observed in the 1950s.Bordetella pertussisisolates lacking pertactin, a key antigen component of the acellular pertussis vaccine, have been observed, suggesting thatB. pertussisis losing pertactin in response to vaccine immunity. Screening of 1,300 isolates from outbreak and surveillance studies (historical isolates collected from 1935 up to 2009, isolates from the 2010 California pertussis outbreak, U.S. isolates from routine surveillance between 2010-2012, and isolates from the 2012 Washington pertussis outbreak) by conventional PCR and later by Western blotting andprnsequencing analyses ultimately identified 306 pertactin-deficient isolates. Of these pertactin-deficient strains, 276 were identified as having an IS481in theprngene (prnIS481positive). The firstprnIS481-positive isolate was found in 1994, and the nextprnIS481-positive isolates were not detected until 2010. The prevalence of pertactin-deficient isolates increased substantially to more than 50% of collected isolates in 2012. Sequence analysis of pertactin-deficient isolates revealed various types of mutations in theprngene, including two deletions, single nucleotide substitutions resulting in a stop codon, an inversion in the promoter, and a single nucleotide insertion resulting in a frameshift mutation. All but one mutation type were found inprn2 alleles. CDC 013 was a predominant pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profile in the pertactin-positive isolates (203/994) but was found in only 5% (16/306) of the pertactin-deficient isolates. Interestingly, PFGE profiles CDC 002 and CDC 237 represented 55% (167/306) of the identified pertactin-deficient isolates. These results indicate that there has been a recent dramatic increase in pertactin-deficientB. pertussisisolates throughout the United States.

scholarly journals Revelation by Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Genotyping That Mutations Leading to a Premature Stop Codon in inlA Are Common among Listeria monocytogenes Isolates from Ready-To-Eat Foods but Not Human Listeriosis Cases

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 2783-2790 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Van Stelten ◽  
J. M. Simpson ◽  
T. J. Ward ◽  
K. K. Nightingale
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism ◽  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Premature Stop Codon ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphism ◽  
Pathogenic Potential ◽  
Single Nucleotide

ABSTRACT Listeria monocytogenes utilizes internalin A (InlA; encoded by inlA) to cross the intestinal barrier to establish a systemic infection. Multiple naturally occurring mutations leading to a premature stop codon (PMSC) in inlA have been reported worldwide, and these mutations are causally associated with attenuated virulence. Five inlA PMSC mutations recently discovered among isolates from France and the United States were included as additional markers in our previously described inlA single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping assay. This assay was used to screen >1,000 L. monocytogenes isolates from ready-to-eat (RTE) foods (n = 502) and human listeriosis cases (n = 507) for 18 inlA PMSC mutations. A significantly (P < 0.0001) greater proportion of RTE food isolates (45.0%) carried a PMSC mutation in inlA compared to human clinical isolates (5.1%). The proportion of L. monocytogenes with or without PMSC mutations in inlA was similar among isolates from different RTE food categories except for deli meats, which included a marginally higher proportion (P = 0.12) of isolates carrying a PMSC in inlA. We also analyzed the distribution of epidemic clone (EC) strains, which have been linked to the majority of listeriosis outbreaks worldwide and are overrepresented among sporadic cases in the United States. We observed a significant (P < 0.05) overrepresentation of EC strains in deli and seafood salads and a significant (P < 0.05) underrepresentation of EC strains in smoked seafood. These results provide important data to predict the human health risk of exposure to L. monocytogenes strains that differ in pathogenic potential through consumption of contaminated RTE foods.

scholarly journals The History of Bordetella pertussis Genome Evolution Includes Structural Rearrangement

2017 ◽  
Vol 199 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Weigand ◽  
Yanhui Peng ◽  
Vladimir Loparev ◽  
Dhwani Batra ◽  
Katherine E. Bowden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nucleotide Sequence ◽  
Bordetella Pertussis ◽  
Gene Order ◽  
Complete Genome ◽  
Whooping Cough ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nucleotide Sequence Diversity ◽  
Genome Assemblies

ABSTRACT Despite high pertussis vaccine coverage, reported cases of whooping cough (pertussis) have increased over the last decade in the United States and other developed countries. Although Bordetella pertussis is well known for its limited gene sequence variation, recent advances in long-read sequencing technology have begun to reveal genomic structural heterogeneity among otherwise indistinguishable isolates, even within geographically or temporally defined epidemics. We have compared rearrangements among complete genome assemblies from 257 B. pertussis isolates to examine the potential evolution of the chromosomal structure in a pathogen with minimal gene nucleotide sequence diversity. Discrete changes in gene order were identified that differentiated genomes from vaccine reference strains and clinical isolates of various genotypes, frequently along phylogenetic boundaries defined by single nucleotide polymorphisms. The observed rearrangements were primarily large inversions centered on the replication origin or terminus and flanked by IS481, a mobile genetic element with >240 copies per genome and previously suspected to mediate rearrangements and deletions by homologous recombination. These data illustrate that structural genome evolution in B. pertussis is not limited to reduction but also includes rearrangement. Therefore, although genomes of clinical isolates are structurally diverse, specific changes in gene order are conserved, perhaps due to positive selection, providing novel information for investigating disease resurgence and molecular epidemiology. IMPORTANCE Whooping cough, primarily caused by Bordetella pertussis, has resurged in the United States even though the coverage with pertussis-containing vaccines remains high. The rise in reported cases has included increased disease rates among all vaccinated age groups, provoking questions about the pathogen's evolution. The chromosome of B. pertussis includes a large number of repetitive mobile genetic elements that obstruct genome analysis. However, these mobile elements facilitate large rearrangements that alter the order and orientation of essential protein-encoding genes, which otherwise exhibit little nucleotide sequence diversity. By comparing the complete genome assemblies from 257 isolates, we show that specific rearrangements have been conserved throughout recent evolutionary history, perhaps by eliciting changes in gene expression, which may also provide useful information for molecular epidemiology.

scholarly journals Complete Genome Sequences of Bordetella pertussis Isolates with Novel Pertactin-Deficient Deletions

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (37) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Weigand ◽  
Yanhui Peng ◽  
Pamela K. Cassiday ◽  
Vladimir N. Loparev ◽  
Taccara Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Bordetella Pertussis ◽  
Complete Genome ◽  
The United States ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Respiratory Pathogen ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Vaccine Immunogen ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Acellular Vaccine

ABSTRACT Clinical isolates of the respiratory pathogen Bordetella pertussis in the United States have become predominantly deficient for the acellular vaccine immunogen pertactin through various independent mutations. Here, we report the complete genome sequences for four B. pertussis isolates that harbor novel deletions responsible for pertactin deficiency.

scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase CTX-M-65-Producing Salmonella enterica Serovar Infantis Isolates from Humans, Food Animals, and Retail Chickens in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Tate ◽  
Jason P. Folster ◽  
Chih-Hao Hsu ◽  
Jessica Chen ◽  
Maria Hoffmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
One Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphism ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Quality Snps

ABSTRACT We sequenced the genomes of 10 Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis isolates containing bla CTX-M-65 obtained from chicken, cattle, and human sources collected between 2012 and 2015 in the United States through routine National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) surveillance and product sampling programs. We also completely assembled the plasmids from four of the isolates. All isolates had a D87Y mutation in the gyrA gene and harbored between 7 and 10 resistance genes [aph(4)-Ia, aac(3)-IVa, aph(3′)-Ic, bla CTX-M-65, fosA3, floR, dfrA14, sul1, tetA, aadA1] located in two distinct sites of a megaplasmid (∼316 to 323 kb) similar to that described in a bla CTX-M-65-positive S. Infantis isolate from a patient in Italy. High-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (hqSNP) analysis revealed that all U.S. isolates were closely related, separated by only 1 to 38 pairwise high-quality SNPs, indicating a high likelihood that strains from humans, chickens, and cattle recently evolved from a common ancestor. The U.S. isolates were genetically similar to the bla CTX-M-65-positive S. Infantis isolate from Italy, with a separation of 34 to 47 SNPs. This is the first report of the bla CTX-M-65 gene and the pESI (plasmid for emerging S. Infantis)-like megaplasmid from S. Infantis in the United States, and it illustrates the importance of applying a global One Health human and animal perspective to combat antimicrobial resistance.

NCSS notable trade book lesson plan: the girl who buried her dreams in a can

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-126
Author(s):  
Takisha Durm
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
The United States ◽  
Elementary Grades ◽  
Effect Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Future Date

PurposeThe Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can, written by Dr Tererai, profiles a cultural, yet global experience of the power of believing in one's dream. Through this study of the similarities and differences of how children in the United States and abroad live and dream of a better life, this lesson seeks to enhance students' understandings of the power and authority they possess to effect change not only within their own lives but also in the lives of countless others in world. After reading the text, students will work to create vision boards illustrating their plans to effect change within their homes, schools, communities, states or countries. They will present their plans to their peers. To culminate the lesson, the students will bury their dreams in can and collectively decide on a future date to revisit the can to determine how far they have progressed in accomplishing their goals.Design/methodology/approachThis is an elementary grades 3–6 lesson plan. There was no research design/methodology/approach included.FindingsAs this is a lesson plan and no actual research was represented, there are no findings.Originality/valueThis is an original lesson plan completed by the first author Takisha Durm.

Washington will rethink its foreign chip strategy

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Export Controls ◽  
Political Pressure ◽  
Technical Standards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Technology Competition ◽  
Business In China

Significance Follow-on action from Washington and responses from foreign actors will shape the US government’s adversarial policy towards China in semiconductors and other strategic technologies. Impacts The Biden administration will likely conclude that broad-based diversion of the semiconductor supply chain away from China is not feasible. The United States will rely on export controls and political pressure to prevent diffusion to China of cutting-edge chip technologies. The United States will focus on persuading foreign semiconductor leaders to help develop US capabilities, thereby staying ahead of China. Washington will focus on less direct approaches to strategic technology competition with China, notably technical standards-setting. Industry leaders in the semiconductor supply chain worldwide will continue expanding business in China in less politically sensitive areas.

Canada-US ties will see fewer irritants under Biden

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Oil Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Keystone Xl ◽  
Keystone Xl Pipeline

Significance Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is preparing to welcome a more predictable and stable partner in Biden than outgoing Republican President Donald Trump. However, Biden is also expected quickly to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, cutting another lifeline to Canada’s oil industry and creating some strain in Canada-US ties. Impacts Improved Canada-US ties will persist even if Trudeau loses the next federal election to Conservative Erin O’Toole. Canada will re-engage militarily with UN peacekeeping and NATO deployments. Trudeau will encourage Biden to end US prosecution of Meng Wanzhou, allowing Canada to release her; Biden may agree. Canada’s border with the United States will open in stages as COVID-19 recedes. Ottawa will push Biden to end ‘Buy American’ procurement policies, with little success.

Washington will engage more with South-east Asia

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
East Asia ◽  
The United States ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Set Up

Significance She addressed two key issues during her trip: tensions in post-coup Myanmar and China’s growing regional footprint. Shortly after she left the region, the United States announced that it would donate unused COVID-19 vaccines abroad, including to South-east Asia. Impacts Washington will tighten its sanctions on the Myanmar military while supporting ASEAN’s five-point plan to ease the country’s crisis. The National Unity Government, a parallel administration to Myanmar’s junta set up by its opponents, will try to attract greater US backing. Manila and Washington may extend negotiations over renewing their Visiting Forces Agreement to prevent the pact expiring in August.

Associations of Community Water Lead Concentrations with Hemoglobin Concentrations and Erythropoietin-Stimulating Agent Use among Patients with Advanced CKD

2021 ◽  
pp. ASN.2020091281
Author(s):  
John Danziger ◽  
Kenneth J. Mukamal ◽  
Eric Weinhandl
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Kidney Disease ◽  
The United States ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Water Systems ◽  
Community Water ◽  
Lead Levels

BackgroundAlthough patients with kidney disease may be particularly susceptible to the adverse health effects associated with lead exposure, whether levels of lead found commonly in drinking water are associated with adverse outcomes in patients with ESKD is not known.MethodsTo investigate associations of lead in community water systems with hemoglobin concentrations and erythropoietin stimulating agent (ESA) use among incident patients with ESKD, we merged data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Information System (documenting average 90th percentile lead concentrations in community water systems during 5 years before dialysis initiation, according to city of residence) with patient-level data from the United States Renal Data System.ResultsAmong 597,968 patients initiating dialysis in the United States in 2005 through 2017, those in cities with detectable lead levels in community water had significantly lower pre-ESKD hemoglobin concentrations and more ESA use per 0.01 mg/L increase in 90th percentile water lead. Findings were similar for the 208,912 patients with data from the first month of ESKD therapy, with lower hemoglobin and higher ESA use per 0.01 mg/L higher lead concentration. These associations were observed at lead levels below the EPA threshold (0.015 mg/L) that mandates regulatory action. We also observed environmental inequities, finding significantly higher water lead levels and slower declines over time among Black versus White patients.ConclusionsThis first nationwide analysis linking EPA water supply records to patient data shows that even low levels of lead that are commonly encountered in community water systems throughout the United States are associated with lower hemoglobin levels and higher ESA use among patients with advanced kidney disease.

Neither side is ready to step back in Georgian crisis

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
National Movement ◽  
Election Victory ◽  
Political Turmoil

Significance The authorities went ahead with the arrest of Nika Melia, leader of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), on February 23 even after the prime minister resigned in protest. Georgian Dream's actions have caused concern in Western capitals that approved its election victory when the opposition cried foul. Impacts The crisis is a setback for the government's stated plan to apply for EU membership in 2024. There is growing talk in the United States about individual sanctions targeting Ivanishvili and his associates. Political turmoil will harm hopes of foreign direct investment and the imminent Anaklia port tender.

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