IRR: Grounded in history: Spring 2022, issue 26

This issue in particular has a heavy focus on history. We seek not to rewrite history but to redefine it. Our emerging scholars offer critical analysis on myths, misconceptions, and misinformation. From articles on the Italian mafia, the role of agriculture in the Middle East, to the TRIPS waiver, we use history as a lesson and as a framework to guide the future of diplomacy. At the same time that we’ve engaged with global history, the International Relations Review also has sought to shift our own trajectory. The journal has historically published a print edition every year, but in the 2021 - 2022 academic year, we’ve increased both the quality and quantity of our content. With a team of more than 100 students, the International Relations Review pushes new frontiers with a podcast, blog, and journal

A Genomic Approach to Resolving Relapse versus Reinfection among Four Cases of Buruli Ulcer

YesBackground. Increased availability of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques allows, for the first time, to distinguish relapses from reinfections in patients with multiple Buruli ulcer (BU) episodes. Methodology. We compared the number and location of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified by genomic screening between four pairs of Mycobacterium ulcerans isolates collected at the time of first diagnosis and at recurrence, derived from a collection of almost 5000 well characterized clinical samples from one BU treatment center in Benin. Principal Findings. The findings suggest that after surgical treatment—without antibiotics—the second episodes were due to relapse rather than reinfection. Since specific antibiotics were introduced for the treatment of BU, the one patient with a culture available from both disease episodes had M. ulcerans isolates with a genomic distance of 20 SNPs, suggesting the patient was most likely reinfected rather than having a relapse. Conclusions. To our knowledge, this study is the first to study recurrences in M. ulcerans using NGS, and to identify exogenous reinfection as causing a recurrence of BU. The occurrence of reinfection highlights the contribution of ongoing exposure to M. ulcerans to disease recurrence, and has implications for vaccine development.This work was supported by the UBS Optimus Foundation (Zurich, Switzerland) and the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation of the Flemish Government (Belgium). KV was supported by a VLADOC PhD scholarship of VLIRUOS (Belgium)