Echinococcus granulosus exhibits substantial genetic diversity that has important implications for the design and development of vaccines, diagnostic reagents and drugs effective against this parasite. DNA approaches that have been used for accurate identification of these genetic variants are presented here as is a description of their application in molecular epidemiological surveys of cystic...

It is hard to believe that as recently as a decade ago, some of us were finding it virtually impossible to get an epidemiologic study funded from the National Cancer Institute if it required collection and analysis of DNA. Now, it is virtually impossible to get anything funded if you do not! The rapid transformation of epidemiology into the molecular world has been so swift and dramatic that by...

The first part of this work investigates the molecular epidemiology of a human enterovirus (HEV), echovirus 30 (E-30). This project is part of a series of studies performed in our research team analyzing the molecular epidemiology of HEV-B viruses. A total of 129 virus strains had been isolated in different parts of Europe. The sequence analysis was performed in three different genomic regions:...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a serious opportunistic pathogen in certain compromised hosts, such as those with cystic fibrosis, thermal burns and cancer. It also causes less severe noninvasive disease, such as otitis externa and hot tub folliculitis, in normal hosts. P. aeruginosa is phenotypically very unstable, particularly in patients with chronic infection. Phenotypic typing techniques are use...

1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Epidemiology of group B Streptococcus 3.1. Disease presentation and incidence 3.2. Asymptomatic colonization 3.3. Transmission and pathogenesis 3.4. Risk factors 4. Prevention efforts 5. Overview of molecular methods 6. Phenotypic characteristics 6.1. Serotype 6.2. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles 6.3. Expressed virulence factors 6.3.1. Polysaccharide capsule 6....

1Department of Biological Science, Okinawa Prefectural Institute of Health and Environment, Okinawa 901-1202; 2Awase Daiichi Clinic, Okinawa 904-2172; 3Aozora Pediatric Clinic, Okinawa 901-1302; 4Gushi Kodomo Clinic, Okinawa 901-0244; 5Gunma Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, Gunma 371-0052; and 6Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infec...

Molecular epidemiology has significant potential in preventing cancer and other diseases caused by environmental exposures (related to lifestyle, occupation, or ambient pollution). This approach attempts to prevent cancer by incorporating laboratory methods to document the molecular dose and preclinical effects of carcinogens, as well as factors that increases individual susceptibility to carci...

Molecular typing methods based on the analysis of the genetic structure of bacteria, are used to address many different problems such as the study of genomic organisation and evolution, the identification of patterns of infection, the identification of sources of transmission, the epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases and for investigations into outbreaks. Of particular interest i...

Lung cancer occurs through a complex multistage process that results from the combination of carcinogen exposure and genetic susceptibilities. The primary etiology of lung cancer is tobacco smoking, but an understanding of why some smokers develop lung cancer, and others do not, remains unclear. Current studies focus on genetic susceptibilities to lung cancer, and how they modify the effects of...