Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) belongs to the most-clinically significant non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) pathogens with constant increase in disease prevalence, mainly in several industrialized western countries where tuberculosis is less prevalent. Upon entry into the alveolar space, MAH is engulfed by resident-macrophages, where the pathogen adapts to the hostile phagosomal...
Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) is a schooling whitefish native to the Bering Sea that is prized for its fillets, surimi, roe, and milt. Fillets are frequently used for popular products such as fish and chips. If collected, roe and milt are commonly exported to South Korea and Japan. However, no...
Vibrio coralliilyticus (Vcor) is a bacterial pathogen that is well adapted to shellfish hatcheries and is very pathogenic to the larvae of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Vcor has been associated with several large scale larval mortality events in the Pacific Northwest that interrupt the supply of seed oysters available...
Mycobacterium avium is a ubiquitous environmental organism found in water and soil. It can cause disease in patients with pre-existing pulmonary conditions, immunocompromised patients with the most prevalent being AIDS patients, as well as apparently healthy people. Studies have indicated that, upon macrophage uptake, Al. avium prevents phagosome-lysosome fusion, thus...
Marine bacteria play vital roles in every niche of the ocean, from small-scale symbioses to large-scale productivity and the regulation of Earth’s climate. Recent advances in molecular tools now allow us to probe the genetic potential of entire microbial communities. The next step is linking these diverse communities to the...
Curbing overall disease burden with faster intervention requires early stage and accurate diagnostics. Ultrasound (US) provides a safe, nonionizing, inexpensive, and noninvasive imaging modality that has become commonplace in diagnostics. Paired with the relatively new technology of photoacoustic imaging (PAI), optical level resolution becomes feasible with the deeper signal penetration...
Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections in the United Stated have been linked to consumption of raw shellfish, particularly oysters, with symptoms of headache, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting. Depuration, as a post-harvest process, has a long history of being applied in shellfish industry to reduce sewage bacteria. In order to reduce the...
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is frequently isolated or detected from raw seafoods, especially shellfish. Also, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. are pathogens that are frequently found in ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood, such as smoked fish and shellfish, seafood salad, cooked shrimp and crabmeat, and seafood consumed raw. Two studies to improve safety in RTE...
C. perfringens type A isolates are the causative agents of C. perfringens type A food poisoning (FP) and non-food-borne (NFB) human gastrointestinal diseases. In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial effect of essential oil constituents (cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), and carvacrol) against C. perfringens FP and NFB isolates grown...
Clostridium perfringens is a spore-forming pathogenic bacterium that causes a variety of diseases in human and animals. C. perfringens type A isolates produce enterotoxin (CPE) causing food poisoning (FP) and non-food-borne (NFB) gastrointestinal (GI) diseases including antibiotic-associated diarrhea and sporadic diarrhea. C. perfringens type A food poisoning currently ranks as...