Ixodes ricinus is not an epidemiologically relevant vector of Bartonella species in the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)

Bartonella are hemoparasites exploiting a range of mammals as reservoir hosts. Several species are zoonotic pathogens. Fleas, lice, and other arthropods, such as ticks, have been implicated as vectors. While the competence of ticks as vectors of Bartonella species has recently been demonstrated, the epidemiological significance of ticks as vectors of Bartonella species in wildlife populations remains unknown. We used the presence of deer at study sites to control the presence of Ixodes ricinus ticks, and used this system to determine whether I. ricinus contributes to the epidemiology of Bartonella species infections in small mammals. Ticks were present at all sites with deer, but were absent from all sites without deer; however, the abundance of ticks on small mammals did not affect the probability of wood mice being infected with Bartonella species. Data presented here indicate that I. ricinus is not involved in the transmission of Bartonella in woodland rodents.A. Harrison was supported by a Ph.D. studentship from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).http://www.liebertpub.com/publication.aspx?pub_id=67ab201

Rickettsia mongolotimonae Infection in South Africa

We report the first laboratory-confirmed case of Rickettsia mongolotimonae infection in Africa. The patient sought treatment for an eschar on his toe; lymphangitis, severe headaches, and fever subsequently developed. After a regimen of doxycycline, symptoms rapidly resolved. R. mongolotimonae infection was diagnosed retrospectively by serologic tests and molecular-based detection of the organism in biopsy specimens of eschar material

Strategies of exploitation of mammalian reservoirs by Bartonella species

Numerous mammal species, including domestic and wild animals such as ruminants, dogs, cats and rodents, as well as humans, serve as reservoir hosts for various Bartonella species. Some of those species that exploit non-human mammals as reservoir hosts have zoonotic potential. Our understanding of interactions between bartonellae and reservoir hosts has been greatly improved by the development of animal models for infection and the use of molecular tools allowing large scale mutagenesis of Bartonella species. By reviewing and combining the results of these and other approaches we can obtain a comprehensive insight into the molecular interactions that underlie the exploitation of reservoir hosts by Bartonella species, particularly the well-studied interactions with vascular endothelial cells and erythrocytes

Multilocus sequence typing of pathogenic treponemes isolated from cloven-hoofed animals and comparison to treponemes isolated from humans

Treponema species are implicated in many diseases of humans and animals. Digital dermatitis (DD) treponemes are reported to cause severe lesions in cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and wild elk, causing substantial global animal welfare issues and economic losses. The fastidiousness of these spirochetes has previously precluded studies investigating within-phylogroup genetic diversity. An archive of treponemes that we isolated enabled multilocus sequence typing to quantify the diversity and population structure of DD treponemes. Isolates (n = 121) were obtained from different animal hosts in nine countries on three continents. The analyses herein of currently isolated DD treponemes at seven housekeeping gene loci confirm the classification of the three previously designated phylogroups: the Treponema medium, Treponema phagedenis, and Treponema pedis phylogroups. Sequence analysis of seven DD treponeme housekeeping genes revealed a generally low level of diversity among the strains within each phylogroup, removing the need for the previously used "-like" suffix. Surprisingly, all isolates within each phylogroup clustered together, regardless of host or geographic origin, suggesting that the same sequence types (STs) can infect different animals. Some STs were derived from multiple animals from the same farm, highlighting probable within-farm transmissions. Several STs infected multiple hosts from similar geographic regions, identifying probable frequent between-host transmissions. Interestingly, T. pedis appears to be evolving more quickly than the T. medium or T. phagedenis DD treponeme phylogroup, by forming two unique ST complexes. The lack of phylogenetic discrimination between treponemes isolated from different hosts or geographic regions substantially contrasts with the data for other clinically relevant spirochetes

Flame retardants in UK furniture increase smoke toxicity more than they reduce fire growth rate

This paper uses fire statistics to show the importance of fire toxicity on fire deaths and injuries, and the importance of upholstered furniture and bedding on fatalities from unwanted fires. The aim was to compare the fire hazards (fire growth and smoke toxicity) using different upholstery materials. Four compositions of sofa-bed were compared: three meeting UK Furniture Flammability Regulations (FFR), and one using materials without flame retardants intended for the mainland European market. Two of the UK sofa-beds relied on chemical flame retardants to meet the FFR, the third used natural materials and a technical weave in order to pass the test. Each composition was tested in the bench-scale cone calorimeter (ISO 5660) and burnt as a whole sofa-bed in a sofa configuration in a 3.4 × 2.25 × 2.4 m3 test room. All of the sofas were ignited with a No. 7 wood crib; the temperatures and yields of toxic products are reported. The sofa-beds containing flame retardants burnt somewhat more slowly than the non-flame retarded EU sofa-bed, but in doing so produced significantly greater quantities of the main fire toxicants, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. Assessment of the effluents' potential to incapacitate and kill is provided showing the two UK flame retardant sofa-beds to be the most dangerous, followed by the sofa-bed made with European materials. The UK sofa-bed made only from natural materials (Cottonsafe®) burnt very slowly and produced very low concentrations of toxic gases. Including fire toxicity in the FFR would reduce the chemical flame retardants and improve fire safety. [Abstract copyright: Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.