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Borna disease virus and depression
414
News & Comment
TRENDS in Microbiology Vol.9 No.9 September 2001
resistant to Bt toxin Cry14A, the mechanism of Bt-resistance seen in the C. elegans mutants could be general enough to be common in diverse species. AV http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/ mcbt.htm
Legionnaires’ outbreak
Detecting pathogens in food
A community outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Spanish city of Murcia was reported in July. So far, 470 people have presented with clinical symptoms. Almost 80% of the cases are male and 84% are >50 years of age. One hundred and seventy-eight of the cases with clinical diagnosis have also been diagnosed by urinary antigen detection. A 65-year-old man has already died. The people affected are Spanish and two foreigners with residence in Murcia; no tourists have been involved to date. A detailed epidemiological and environmental investigation is being conducted by the regional health authorities to ascertain exposure to aerosols. The current hypothesis is that cooling towers in four locations are the most likely sources of infection, but other possibilities are also being investigated. CK http://www.eurosurv.org/update
Bt-resistance gene found For decades, farmers have relied on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins to control pests. The biological insecticide has also been used against disease vectors in Africa. However, researchers are concerned about the eventual development of resistance to the Bt toxin. A research team at the University of California, San Diego have now linked Bt toxin resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans to a missing enzyme. Mutants unable to produce galactosyltransferase – and therefore unable to attach carbohydrates to lipids and proteins – were resistant to Bt toxin Cry5B. The toxin passed straight through the gut lumen in the mutants, instead of entering the gut cells and destroying the intestine. The researchers hypothesize that the attached carbohydrates missing in the mutants would normally act as toxin receptors. Given that the mutants were also http://tim.trends.com
George Bush’s proposal to scrap certain tests for food-borne pathogens in school lunches created a stir last spring. Testing standards were considered too strict and resulting costs too high. However, Bush later reversed the decision to end the requirement that beef served in school lunch programs be screened for Salmonella. The development of new biosensors could soon make testing relatively simple and cost effective. The surface plasmon resonance biosensor, which is under development at Michigan State University, links anti-0157:H7 antibodies to an optical prism. No preparation of the samples is required, and the 4 cm biosensor can even be hooked up to a laptop computer. Although biosensors are improving, researchers say that deciding how to sample remains a challenge. AV http://news.bmn.com/news http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/ parenting/04/05/school.meat.02/index.html
Improved access to TB drugs People suffering from deadly strains of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) now have access to so-called second-line drugs at sharply reduced prices and to a system designed to promote the use of the drugs in the most effective manner, thanks to international efforts led by the WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Harvard Medical School. Some countries will be able to save as much as 94% of their current spending on tuberculostatic drugs. MSF was instrumental in negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry for the second-line drugs, which currently cost as much as US $19 000 to treat one person. WHO and its international partners are helping countries to ensure that these drugs are used effectively and are providing technical support to improve the treatment available to sufferers of MDR-TB. It is estimated that 1.7 million people still die unnecessarily from TB each year. CK http://www.who.int
Hot-foot syndrome no reason to dance Public pools have been linked to an uncomfortable health hazard. Canadian doctors are calling the infection, which causes red or purple sores on the soles, the ‘Pseudomonas hot-foot syndrome’. The abrasive surface of some pool floors provides a method of entry for the bacteria, with children being more vulnerable because of their tender feet. Although the infection is not dangerous and goes away on its own, the condition can be so severe that just wearing socks or shoes can be very painful. Researchers from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, who identified the health hazard in a local wading pool, are recommending that heavy chlorination, improved sterilization of pool equipment and sanding of pool floors be used to reduce the risk of infection. AV http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/ news/2001/08/01/Consumers/hotfoot_010801
Borna disease virus and depression High amounts of circulating immune complexes of Borna disease virus correlates with severity of depression, according to Dr Liv Bode of the Robert KochInstitut in Berlin, Germany. The virus targets limbic structure neurons and is known to cause behavioral abnormalities in animals. Using a highly sensitive enzyme immune assay to analyze 3000 human plasma samples, Dr Bode’s group found that Borna disease virus-specific circulating immune complexes in humans were approximately 10 times higher than those detected by previous serological studies. In a group of 56 patients with varying degrees of depression the infection rate approached 100%. Infection rate in a healthy control group of 65 subjects was only 32%. The investigators also noted that high immune complex levels paralleled severe depression. They conclude that ‘an aetiopathogenic role of Borna disease virus in mood disorders seems considerably strengthened, given the significant coincidence of severe disease and antigenemia’. CK http://id.medscape.com/40030.rhtml? srcmp=id-070601
0966-842X/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:
News & Comment
TRENDS in Microbiology Vol.9 No.9 September 2001
resistant to Bt toxin Cry14A, the mechanism of Bt-resistance seen in the C. elegans mutants could be general enough to be common in diverse species. AV http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/ mcbt.htm
Legionnaires’ outbreak
Detecting pathogens in food
A community outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Spanish city of Murcia was reported in July. So far, 470 people have presented with clinical symptoms. Almost 80% of the cases are male and 84% are >50 years of age. One hundred and seventy-eight of the cases with clinical diagnosis have also been diagnosed by urinary antigen detection. A 65-year-old man has already died. The people affected are Spanish and two foreigners with residence in Murcia; no tourists have been involved to date. A detailed epidemiological and environmental investigation is being conducted by the regional health authorities to ascertain exposure to aerosols. The current hypothesis is that cooling towers in four locations are the most likely sources of infection, but other possibilities are also being investigated. CK http://www.eurosurv.org/update
Bt-resistance gene found For decades, farmers have relied on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins to control pests. The biological insecticide has also been used against disease vectors in Africa. However, researchers are concerned about the eventual development of resistance to the Bt toxin. A research team at the University of California, San Diego have now linked Bt toxin resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans to a missing enzyme. Mutants unable to produce galactosyltransferase – and therefore unable to attach carbohydrates to lipids and proteins – were resistant to Bt toxin Cry5B. The toxin passed straight through the gut lumen in the mutants, instead of entering the gut cells and destroying the intestine. The researchers hypothesize that the attached carbohydrates missing in the mutants would normally act as toxin receptors. Given that the mutants were also http://tim.trends.com
George Bush’s proposal to scrap certain tests for food-borne pathogens in school lunches created a stir last spring. Testing standards were considered too strict and resulting costs too high. However, Bush later reversed the decision to end the requirement that beef served in school lunch programs be screened for Salmonella. The development of new biosensors could soon make testing relatively simple and cost effective. The surface plasmon resonance biosensor, which is under development at Michigan State University, links anti-0157:H7 antibodies to an optical prism. No preparation of the samples is required, and the 4 cm biosensor can even be hooked up to a laptop computer. Although biosensors are improving, researchers say that deciding how to sample remains a challenge. AV http://news.bmn.com/news http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/ parenting/04/05/school.meat.02/index.html
Improved access to TB drugs People suffering from deadly strains of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) now have access to so-called second-line drugs at sharply reduced prices and to a system designed to promote the use of the drugs in the most effective manner, thanks to international efforts led by the WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Harvard Medical School. Some countries will be able to save as much as 94% of their current spending on tuberculostatic drugs. MSF was instrumental in negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry for the second-line drugs, which currently cost as much as US $19 000 to treat one person. WHO and its international partners are helping countries to ensure that these drugs are used effectively and are providing technical support to improve the treatment available to sufferers of MDR-TB. It is estimated that 1.7 million people still die unnecessarily from TB each year. CK http://www.who.int
Hot-foot syndrome no reason to dance Public pools have been linked to an uncomfortable health hazard. Canadian doctors are calling the infection, which causes red or purple sores on the soles, the ‘Pseudomonas hot-foot syndrome’. The abrasive surface of some pool floors provides a method of entry for the bacteria, with children being more vulnerable because of their tender feet. Although the infection is not dangerous and goes away on its own, the condition can be so severe that just wearing socks or shoes can be very painful. Researchers from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, who identified the health hazard in a local wading pool, are recommending that heavy chlorination, improved sterilization of pool equipment and sanding of pool floors be used to reduce the risk of infection. AV http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/ news/2001/08/01/Consumers/hotfoot_010801
Borna disease virus and depression High amounts of circulating immune complexes of Borna disease virus correlates with severity of depression, according to Dr Liv Bode of the Robert KochInstitut in Berlin, Germany. The virus targets limbic structure neurons and is known to cause behavioral abnormalities in animals. Using a highly sensitive enzyme immune assay to analyze 3000 human plasma samples, Dr Bode’s group found that Borna disease virus-specific circulating immune complexes in humans were approximately 10 times higher than those detected by previous serological studies. In a group of 56 patients with varying degrees of depression the infection rate approached 100%. Infection rate in a healthy control group of 65 subjects was only 32%. The investigators also noted that high immune complex levels paralleled severe depression. They conclude that ‘an aetiopathogenic role of Borna disease virus in mood disorders seems considerably strengthened, given the significant coincidence of severe disease and antigenemia’. CK http://id.medscape.com/40030.rhtml? srcmp=id-070601
0966-842X/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: