Since 1994, The National Neisseria Network has examined and analysed isolates of Neisseria meningitidis from cases of invasive meningococcal disease in Australia by means of a collaborative laboratory program. The phenotypes (serogroup, serotype and serosubtype) and antibiotic susceptibility of 338 isolates of N. meningitidis from invasive cases of meningococcal disease were determined in 2001....

The environmental reservoirs for Vibrio cholerae are natural aquatic habitats, where it colonizes the chitinous exoskeletons of copepod molts. Growth of V. cholerae on a chitin surface induces competence for natural transformation, a mechanism for intra-species gene exchange. The antigenically diverse O-serogroup determinants of V. cholerae are encoded by a genetically variable biosynthetic clu...

AIM Identification of different serogroups of Dichelobacter nodosus prevailing in the region and to understand the degree of genetic heterogeneities among the different isolates of D. nodosus. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 150 exudate samples of footrot lesions with a lesion score of 2-4 were collected from naturally infected sheep. The samples were screened by polymerase chain reaction (P...

The aim of this study is to explore the dispersion, clonality, and virulence of Legionella pneumophila serogroups 2 to 14 in the Greek environment. Eighty L. pneumophila serogroup 2 to 14 strains isolated from water distribution systems of hotels, hospitals, athletic venues, and ferries in Greece were tested by monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for serogroup discrimination and molecularly by amplifi...

BACKGROUND Currently, to our knowledge, quality of output water of dental chair units is not covered by specific regulations in the European Union, and national recommendations are heterogeneous. In Germany, water used in dental chair units must follow drinking water quality. In the United States of America, testing for aerobic heterotrophic bacteria is recommended. The present study was perfor...

neisseria meningitidis is a major causative agent of bacterial septicemia and meningitis in humans. currently, there are no vaccines to prevent disease caused by strains of n.meningitidis serogroup b. the class 1 outer membrane protein (omp) has been named pora which is a cation selective transmembrane protein of 45 kda that forms trimeric pore in the meningococcal outer membrane. pora from ser...

Clusters of meningococcal disease caused by a hyperinvasive lineage of Neisseria meningitidis, the ST11 complex, bearing a serogroup C polysaccharide capsule, have been prominent in Europe and North America since the early 1990s. This situation has led to expensive public health measures for outbreak control and, finally, to the introduction of a serogroup C glyconjugate vaccine into the primar...

Escherichia coli serogroup O103 has been associated with gastrointestinal illness and hemolytic uremic syndrome. To develop PCR-based methods for detection and identification of this serogroup, the DNA sequence of the 12,033-bp region containing the O antigen gene cluster of Escherichia coli O103 was determined. Of the 12 open reading frames identified, the E. coli O103 wzx (O antigen flippase)...

A guinea pig model of experimental legionellosis was established for assessment of virulence of isolates of Legionella longbeachae. The results showed that there were distinct virulence groupings of L. longbeachae serogroup 1 strains based on the severity of disease produced in this model. Statistical analysis of the animal model data suggests that Australian isolates of L. longbeachae may be i...

Determining the profile of antigen expression among meningococci is important for epidemiologic surveillance and vaccine development. To this end, two new mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been derived against Neisseria meningitidis proteins (class 5). The MAbs were reactive against outer membrane antigens and were bactericidal. Selected anti-class 5 MAbs [(5.1)-3E6-2; (5.3)-3BH4-C7; (5.4...