Tag: zoonoses
Human movements shape Bartonella diversification and infection patterns
A study in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by Hannah Frank and colleagues at Stanford University, California suggests that humans play an important role in disease risk, infection patterns, and distribution of Bartonella, advancing current understanding of Bartonella’s evolutionary history and how the bacteria may be transmitted between humans and other animal species. Cross-species Bartonella transmission […]
One Health research programme: first grant recipients announced
A £5 million translational research programme led by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and funded by Research England, has awarded its first tranche of grants to the total value of £1 million. The programme – The Bloomsbury SET: Connecting Capability to Combat the Threat from Infectious Disease and Antimicrobial Resistance – adopts a ‘one health’ […]
Pathogenic Leptospira strains identified in Uruguay cattle
Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonosis with worldwide distribution. Among many other mammalian species, Leptospira infects cattle, eliciting acute signs in calves, and chronic disease in adult animals often leading to abortions. In South America, beef and dairy export are leading sources of national income. Despite the importance of bovine health, food safety, and bovine-related dissemination […]
Vampire bats carry Bartonella at high rates
Bartonella are globally distributed bacteria that can cause endocarditis in humans and domestic animals. In Latin America, common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) are frequently infected by Bartonella, and their subsistence on blood creates a risk for bacterial transmission from bats to humans and livestock. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by Daniel Becker […]
Ruminant livestock are important hosts of Leptospira in northern Tanzania
Leptospirosis, which affects more than one million people worldwide each year, is known to be transmitted to humans from a wide range of animals. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have discovered that more than 7 percent of the cattle and 1 percent of sheep and goats in local slaughterhouses in northern Tanzania […]
Pandemic potential of H9N2 avian influenza viruses studied
Researchers have identified the molecular mechanisms that enable H9N2 viruses – the most common type of avian influenza virus – to infect humans, helping improve risk assessments for its potential to cause pandemic. Although H9N2 viruses are considered less pathogenic than some types of avian influenza virus, they still cause significant losses for the poultry […]