Wolbachia is a genus of alpha-proteobacteria found in obligate intracellular association with a wide variety of arthropods, including an estimated 10-20% of all insect species [1]. Wolbachia represents one of a number of recently identified 'reproductive parasites' [2] which manipulate the reproduction of their hosts in ways that enhance their own transmission [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]. The i...

The placenta of domestic sheep plays a key role in horizontal transmission of classical scrapie. Domestic goats are frequently raised with sheep and are susceptible to classical scrapie, yet potential routes of transmission from goats to sheep are not fully defined. Sparse accumulation of disease-associated prion protein in cotyledons casts doubt about the role of the goat's placenta. Thus, rel...

We examine the transmission of small and moderately large internal gravity wavepackets through uniformly and nonuniformly stratified fluids using fully nonlinear numerical simulations. The simulations of finite-amplitude waves in a uniformly stratified fluid show that the weakly nonlinear theory developed for horizontally periodic wavepackets extends well to the dynamics of wavepackets with hor...

Eggshell penetration by pathogens is considered a potential route for their transmission in poultry flocks. Additionally, in case of zoonotic pathogens, contact with infected eggs or their consumption can result in human infection. Chlamydia psittaci is a zoonotic bacterium that causes a respiratory disease in poultry and humans. In this study, we provide an experimental evidence for eggshell p...

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and practices of hygiene rules for transvaginal ultrasound by sonographers practicing in Togo. Their knowledge of these rules is good. In practice, they mainly use condoms to protect the vaginal probe, which is sufficient to prevent horizontal transmission of infection. The shortcomings are at the level of hand hygiene; they do not routinely...

BACKGROUND Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) infection in early childhood is common throughout sub-Saharan Africa with prevalence increasing throughout childhood. Specific routes of transmission have not been clearly delineated, though HHV-8 is present in high concentrations in saliva. METHODS To understand the horizontal transmission of HHV-8 within households to children, we enrolled for cross-se...

Zoonoses from wildlife threaten global public health. Hendra virus is one of several zoonotic viral diseases that have recently emerged from Pteropus species fruit-bats (flying-foxes). Most hypotheses regarding persistence of Hendra virus within flying-fox populations emphasize horizontal transmission within local populations (colonies) via urine and other secretions, and transmission among col...