Day 2 :
Keynote Forum
Robert M Hoffman
AntiCancer Inc, University of California San Diego, USA
Keynote: Tumor-Targeting Salmonella typhimurium A1-R: An Overview
Time : 9.00 - 9:30
Biography:
Robert M. Hoffman completed his Ph.D. in Biology at Harvard University in 1971. His post-doctoral training was at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston and Institutes of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Biology, Moscow, Russia. He has been a member of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine faculty since 1979 and is currently Professor of Surgery. He began his cancer research career in 1965 and in 1984 he founded AntiCancer, Inc. AntiCancer focuses on tumor-targeting bacteria; fluorescent protein-expressing patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) mouse models of cancer; recombinant protein-based cancer drugs and diagnostics; as well as pluripotent hair follicle stem cells. Dr. Hoffman has published approximately 800 scientific papers which have been cited more than 30,000 times. In 2016, Dr. Hoffman was awarded the Sun Lee Prize from the International Society for Experimental Microsurgery.
Abstract:
The development of the tumor-targeting amino-acid auxotrophic strain S. typhimurium A1 and the in vivo selection and characterization of the high-tumor-targeting strain S. typhimurium A1-R will be discussed. Efficacy of S. typhimurium A1-R in nude-mouse models of prostate, breast, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer, as well as sarcoma and glioma in orthotopic mouse models is described. Also reviewed is efficacy of S. typhimurium A1 - R targeting of primary bone tumor and lung metastasis of high grade osteosarcoma, breast-cancer brain metastasis, and experimental breast-cancer bone metastasis in orthotopic mouse models. The efficacy of S. typhimurium A1-R on pancreatic cancer stem cells, on pancreatic cancer in combination with anti-angiogenic agents, as well as on cervical cancer, soft-tissue sarcoma, and pancreatic cancer patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) mouse models.
- Workshop on Recent progress in medical microbiology and diagnostics
Location: Double Tree by Hilton Hotel San Francisco Airport , USA
- Diagnostic Microbiology | Antimicrobials and Antimicrobial Resistance
Location: Sequoia
Chair
Marco Manfredi
Pietro Barilla Childrens Hospital, Italy
Session Introduction
Alexander Suvorov
Institute of Experimental Medicine, Russia
Title: Recombinant chimeric protein PSPF as novel vaccine against Streptococcus pneumonia
Biography:
Dr. Alexander Suvorov is presently acting as Head of Molecular Microbiology division of Federal, State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Institute of Experimental Medicine” in Russia
Abstract:
Objectives: Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of bacterial infections among adults and children. Recombinant polypeptides vaccines, based on the conservative and immunogenic sites of surface pneumococcal proteins could be an advantageous vaccine alternative.
Methods: A chimeric recombinant protein named PSPF was constructed from conservative and immunogenic fragments of S. pneumoniae surface proteins PspA, Spr1875, PsaA and the S. typhiurium flagellin terminal domains FliC1 and FliC2. PSPF protein was expressed in E.coli and used for immunization of the inbred or line mice (BALB/c and Albino Swiss) which were later infected with different S. pneumoniae serotypes. Specific humoral immune response was evaluated by ELISA. Protective efficacy was evaluated according to survival rates or lung and blood bacterial cell counts. Experiments with animals were performed with the necessary ethical requirements.
Results: PSPF showed a high immunogenic activity when applied by intranasal or subcutaneous routes. Specific IgM, IgG and IgA were detected in serum and broncho-alveolar fluid. PSPF-specific IgG recognized all S. pneumoniae serotypes studied. PSPF immunization increased resistance of adult BALB/c mice to lethal intraperitoneal infection with serotype 19F (25-40%) and intranasal infection with serotype 3 (25%). PSPF-immunized infant Swiss mice showed an improved clearance of serotypes 3, 6Ð’, 14 and 19F from the lungs and complete absence in blood. The addition of Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain as PSPF adjuvant significantly improved results of vaccination.
Shashi Sharma
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, USA
Title: Cleavage sensitive antibody for the detection of type A botulinum neurotoxin
Biography:
Shashi K Sharma currently serves as Team Leader of Special Pathogens and Select Agents (SPSA) at the Division of Microbiology in the Office of Regulatory Science. He oversees a group of researchers and support scientists engaged in a multi-parameter research program to develop and apply microbiological and molecular genetic strategies for detecting and identifying select agent and bacterial foodborne pathogens. His early work on the development of monoclonal antibodies and immunodiagnostics of HIV and Typhoid including a unique detection system based on liposomal technology for Syphilis antigen. Sharma received his PhD in Microbiology from University of Bhopal, India in 1992. In 1994, he joined the Department of Biochemistry, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he worked on the structure and function of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins. Dr. Sharma came to the Food and Drug Administration in 2002 and has since carried out numerous experiments relating to the detection and identification of select agents and foodborne pathogens. He is a member of the American Society for Microbiology and has co-authored more than 50 publications and book chapters on detection and identification of select agents such as Botulinum, Ricin, Bacillius anthracis and Francisella tularensis. His current research focuses on the development and validation of an effective and sensitive detection system for Clostridium botulinum toxins in foods. He has served in advisory role to the US government agencies on select agents assay development and a founding executive board member of Institute of Advance Science, Dartmouth, MA.
Abstract:
Background & Aim: Contemporary technologies and assay methods are being explored continuously for rapid and sensitive detection of biologically active BoNTs in food and environmental samples to facilitate enhanced public health response. Previously, FRET based substrates were used to detect the presence of active BoNTs in samples. However their efficacy to screen food samples and identify serotypes associated with unknown samples is largely limited. In this work, we have evaluated the application of cleavage sensitive monoclonal antibodies (CSM) to detect enzymatically active BoNT Type-A using Biolayer Interferometry (BLI). CSM are developed to recognize only the neo-epitopes that are generated after the cleavage of target substrates by BoNTs.
Methods: BLI platform (Pall Fortebio Octet) was used to evaluate the ability of type-A CSM (CSM-A) to specifically detect the catalytic action of BoNT/A, by measuring its binding to the BoNT/A cleaved fragment of SNAP-25. BLI is a powerful, versatile, rapid and label-free biosensor tool for characterizing the real-time kinetics of binding interactions between ligands and analytes. Full-length His-SNAP-25 (ligand) was coated on the surface of the sensor tips. Toxin and CSM-A (analyte) were placed in 96-well polypropylene plates. SNAP-25 coated sensor tips were then exposed to the wells containing toxin at different concentration (0, 1, 3, 6 and 12.5 ng/ml) and for varying incubation times (30-90 minutes). The loaded tips were then incubated with CSM-A, and the binding activity of the CSM-A was studied.
Results: The CSM-A based BLI assay demonstrated concentration and activity dependent binding characteristics and can reliably report BoNT/A enzymatic activity. Notably it required less than 5 hours for sensitive and specific detection of BoNT/A. The preliminary studies showed that CSM-A based BLI assay was able to detect active toxins dilutions in the range of 1 ng/ml (in buffer).
Zsolt Boldogkoi
University of Szeged, Hungary
Title: Full-length isoform sequencing reveals a hidden complexity in the transcriptome of a herpesvirus
Biography:
Zsolt Boldogkoi has received his PhD in Molecular Biology from Szent Istvan University at Godollo. He has worked at the Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, USA as a PhD student then had Post-doctoral training at University of Bonn. His primary field of interest is the molecular biology of herpesviruses, the regulation of gene expression analysis and utilization of herpesviruses as tools. He has published more than 70 papers in reputed journals. He is currently the Head of Department of Medical Biology at Faculty of Medicine of University of Szeged.
Abstract:
A single molecule long-read sequencing platform was used to characterize the polyadenylated fraction of the lytic transcriptome of pseudorabies virus (PRV). Both amplified and non-amplified isoform sequencing protocols were applied to complete the transcriptional annotation of the viral genes. Our analyses revealed previously unrecognized protein-coding and non-coding genes, novel mono and polycistronic transcription units, as well as extensive transcriptional overlaps between neighboring and distal genes. Our investigations identified several non-coding transcripts overlapping all three replication origins of the PRV. This study revealed that the entire PRV genome is utilized for transcription, including both DNA strands in all coding and intergenic regions. The genome-wide presence of transcript overlaps suggests a crosstalk between genes through the interaction of transcription apparatuses with a potential function in the control of gene expression. The Ori-overlapping transcripts are supposed to represent an interaction between the transcription and replication machineries, which might play a role in the control of DNA synthesis. This study also demonstrated the utility of Pacific Biosciences RS II platform for the analysis of quantitative data, since we could evaluate the relative amounts of transcripts produced throughout the viral life cycle
Franklin Bright
University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, USA
Title: Optimization of a nuclease-activated non-invasive optical imaging approach for S. aureus infections
Biography:
Franklin Bright is currently pursuing his PhD in the Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Iowa, USA. He has received his Master’s degree in Microbiology at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY, USA. Following his Master’s research, he has worked as a Microbiologist carrying out antibiotic research at NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, MA, USA) for 5 years. While working at NovoBiotic, he engineered a strain library of over 4000 bacterial isolates.
Abstract:
We previously described a novel molecular imaging technology capable of rapidly detecting S. aureus infections in mice. This was accomplished with an activatable near infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe consisting of a Cy5.5 fluorophore and a quencher attached to opposite ends of a synthetic oligonucleotide (RNA) sequence which is selectively cleaved by a secreted nuclease of S. aureus. Intravenous administration of this probe enabled the rapid detection of S. aureus infections in mouse thighs with non-invasive imaging. We are currently optimizing this approach for clinical applicability. This includes generating and testing probes with longer-wavelength fluorophores (i.e., that absorb and emit light of >750 nanometers). Near infrared wavelengths of >750 nanometers are known to penetrate tissues to a much greater extent than the ~700 nanometer light required to image the Cy5.5 fluorophore and could thus enable deeper imaging of tissues. However, the ability to robustly quench such “800 nm” fluorophores in vivo (a valuable endpoint for this optimization) has not been developed. Here, we will describe second generation quenched near-infrared fluorescent probes that include 800 nm fluorophores in place of Cy5.5. Quenching and nuclease-mediated activation were observed in vitro in buffer and in anticoagulated blood. Preliminary data indicate fluorescence increases at S. aureus infection sites and sites of nuclease injection in mice. Efforts to thoroughly characterize these probes in vivo, including in an S. aureus subcutaneous catheter biofilm infection model are ongoing.
Biography:
Dr. Francis Oronsaye is presently working as an associate professor at University of Benin, Nigeria from where he pursued PhD in Medical Microbiology. After attaining doctorate, he served in various positions including lecturer, senior lecturer and pricipal investigator for various projects involved in the same university. He has attended more than 20 international conferences and delivered talks in his field of expertise. He is a member of International Research and Development Institute and American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He has published more than 50 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He was also successful in designing a lotion for treating all kinds of superficial infections of bacterial and fungal origin. It is currently undergoing toxicology testing and is also awaiting NAFDAC registration.
Abstract:
Objectives: To determine the trend in sero prevalence of HIV-associated Tuberculosis (TB) in Benin City, Nigeria from 1990-1999. Patients suffering from HIV infection are prone to attack by various organisms because their highly compromised immune system. Treatment of TB has been of serious worry to Clinical Bacteriologist. Therefore to be co-infected with the dreaded HIV/AIDS compounds the health problem of such patients. Quaranteing such patients is a faster way of treatment and prevention of spread of the disease to others. The documentation of such cases becomes of public health advantage both for epidemiological and statistical details.
Methods: A prospective record was kept of WHO presented of symptoms suggestive of TB at the health centers. Patients confirmed to be TB infected by presence of acid and alcohol fast bacilli (AAFB) by Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) staining method, of their sputa were screened for HIV antibodies.
Results: This study revealed a rising trend in HIV and TB co-infection from 0% in 1990-1992 to 2% in 1993/1994 and 1999 the prevalence has increased to 3.5 from 2.8% in 1998. More males than females were infected with a ration of 1.5:1. The highest prevalence was observed among individuals aged 20-49 years.
Conclusion: Our presentation highlighted the magnitude of the problem with HIV-associated TB infection in this city.
Marjan M. Hashemi
Brigham Young University, USA
Title: In vitro activity of ceragenins against colistin-resistant clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae
Biography:
Marjan M.Hashemi is a Ph.D. student at Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University. She has published 3 papers in reputed journals and attended 6 conferences.
Abstract:
The emergence of drug-resistance bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumoniae is of global concern and underscores the urgent need for development of novel antibiotics. Ceragenins were designed to mimic the antibacterial activities of endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and ceragenins have been shown to possess broad-spectrum activities against Gram-positive and -negative bacteria and fungi(1, 3). As small molecules, ceragenins can be produced at large scale relatively inexpensively, and because ceragenins are not peptide-based, they are not substrates for proteases(2). The objective of this work was a comparative study of representative ceragenins and AMPs, including LL-37, cecropin A, and magainin I, against six clinical isolates of colistin-resistant K. pneumoniae (MICs ranging from 16 to 200 µg/mL). MIC assays demonstrated high antibacterial activity of ceragenins against the colistin-resistant strains (MICs ranging from 1 to 8 µg/mL). Killing curves confirmed MBC results and showed that ceragenins, at concentrations of MIC × 2 and MIC × 4, were bactericidal for all tested colistin-resistant and susceptible strains. Through serial passaging, a highly colistin resistant strain (MIC >300 µg/mL) was generated; this strain remained susceptible to lead ceragenins (MICs 1 to 3 µg/mL). Additionally, the disruptive antibacterial effect of a lead ceragenin, CSA-131, on the cell membrane of bacteria was observed through scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The evolutionarily conserved antibacterial mechanism common to AMPs is mimicked by ceragenins, and these antimicrobials retain activity against highly drug resistant K. pneumoniae.
- Special Session
Location: San Francisco
Session Introduction
David Massey
HIV/AIDS Advocate Atlanta Metro, USA
Title: HIV Disclosure: Say what you need to say!
Biography:
David L. Massey is an internationally published motivational speaker who travels sharing his story of “Life Beyond the Diagnosis.” He also works in public health in Atlanta, GA and has been granted a national platform to speak through strategic partnerships with non-profit organizations raising awareness around HIV/AIDS. Through this work he has been part of cutting edge development in the introduction of PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylactics) as well as served as a subject matter expert in workshops surrounding condom distribution and the Fundamentals of HIV/AIDS Prevention training and implementation. As an advocate connected with various audiences he hopes to educate while addressing the stigma still attached to those persons living with HIV/AIDS.
Abstract:
This is a commentary to be used as a practical guide for persons living with HIV to disclose their status. It provides answers in a non-threatening and thoughtful way to ensure comprehension of the receiver. This can also be used as a form of information sharing to those who may not know the ramifications surrounding not disclosing their HIV status. This oral presentation gives suggested language to use when disclosing leading to the desired outcome. The outcome itself is to promote way of blocking transmission of HIV/AIDS to other persons through the art of conversation involving disclosure. Knowing what to say and how with sexual partners as well as those who make the policies surrounding criminalization are just as important. This is from one man’s account of sharing his status with his partner and how the interaction changed both of their lives forever.
- Workshop on Recent Progress in Medical Microbiology and Diagnostics by Claudia Gravekamp, Ananda M Chakrabarty, Arup Roy-Burman
Location: San Francisco
Session Introduction
Claudia Gravekamp, Ananda M Chakrabarty, Arup Roy-Burman
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA
University of Illinois College of Medicine, USA
University of California at San Francisco, USA
Title: Recent Progress in Medical Microbiology and Diagnostics
Biography:
Abstract:
- Microbial theory of cancer, Bacterial Disease Treatments, Causes and transmission of infectious diseases
Location: San Francisco
Chair
Claudia Gravekamp
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA
Session Introduction
Dora Tombacz
University of Szeged, Hungary
Title: Analysis of the dynamic transcriptome of a herpesvirus using full-length single molecule sequencing
Biography:
Dora Tombacz has completed her MSc in Biology in 2006 and PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Szeged, Hungary in 2010. She is working in the Department of Medical Biology as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at University of Szeged in the Boldogkoi’s group. Her primary field of interest is the analysis of herpesvirus gene expression and utilization of herpesviruses as tools in various fields of biology including neurobiology and cardiology. She is currently working with next and 3rd generation sequencing techniques, focusing on virology and genomics of human diseases at the University of Szeged, Hungary and the Stanford University, USA.
Abstract:
Full-length RNA sequencing is a powerful tool in identifying novel transcripts and isoforms. In this study we have shown the quantitative analysis of the dynamic transcriptome of the Pseudorabies virus (PRV). Poly(A)+ RNA fraction was purified from PK-15 cells infected with PRV after 1-2-4-6-8-12 hours infection and was converted to dscDNA. SMRTbell libraries were prepared following the very low (10 ng) input protocol and then were sequenced on PacBio RSII single-molecule real-time (SMRT) platform. Raw reads were mapped to the PRV reference genome (KJ717942.1) using the BLASR and GMAP aligners. SMRT cells yielded 54,467 viral reads with a mean read length of 1,287 nucleotides and the majority of the PRV transcript isoforms was represented in each sample. The kinetics of the transcripts was characterized by the changes in the relative amounts of reads aligning to them in the different samples. Read counts were also normalized to the number of reads aligning to the Sus scrofa mitochondrial genome to show the overall increase in the relative copy number of PRV reads in the later stages of infection. Normalization by the changes of the relative amounts of viral DNA in our samples showed a drastic drop of the viral gene expression after 4 hours post infection. Our results are mostly concordant with previous kinetic characterizations of PRV transcripts using qRT-PCR analysis with the distinction that the latter one cannot distinguish between the transcript isoforms, while SMRT sequencing can. Our study shows that data from long-read sequencing can be used for quantitative analysis of transcripts.
Sagar Aryal
St. Xavier’s College, Nepal
Title: Molecular characterization of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from different hospitals in Kathmandu Valley
Biography:
Sagar Aryal has completed his Master’s degree in Medical Microbiology from St. Xavier’s College, Kathmandu, Nepal. He is currently working as a Teaching Assistant at St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu, Nepal. He has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as the Founder and Executive Editor of International Journal of Microbiology and Allied Sciences (IJOMAS).
Abstract:
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the deadliest and common major infectious diseases in developing and industrialized countries. Global TB control efforts have been severely hampered by the lack of diagnostic tests that are rapid, accurate, simple to use and can be applied at the point of clinical care. A total of 238 isolates from Kathmandu valley were tested for drug resistance. Extracted DNA was processed for Multiplex Allele Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (MAS-PCR) for the detection of TB by using MPB64 and IS6110 primers and later mutation in katG and rpoB was detected using specific primers for drug resistance patterns. Out of 238 suspected cases, MAS-PCR was found to be positive for 35 (14.70%) isolates. Among 35 positive isolates, rpoB526 mutation and katG315 mutation was found in 5 (14.29%) and 3 (8.57%) isolates respectively. Two (5.71%) isolates showed resistance to both rpoB and katG confirming the multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis. The use of these assays in the clinical setting would significantly reduce the time to diagnosis of MDR tuberculosis, enabling the administration of appropriate treatment regimens at the outset of therapy and to estimate the economic and disease burden of tuberculosis which is essential to inform health policy, increase disease awareness and assess the impact of tuberculosis control technologies.
Biography:
Mmuoegbulam Oluchi Augusta is currently a PhD student of the Department of Microbiology, University of Calabar, Nigeria. She did Molecular Biology Research on the taxonomic classification, plasmid profile and antibiotic resistance of some microbial isolates from Nigeria at CPQBA-UNICAMP, Brazil under TETFUND sponsorship as part of her present PhD program.
Abstract:
The phylum Proteobacteria is made up of many characterized polar flagellated, Gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic bacteria with the genus Stenotrophomonas and Xanthomonas being accommodated in the family Xanthomonadaceae while the genus Pseudomonas belong to the family pseudomonadaceae. The 16S rRNA sequences of the 12 hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon utilizing Proteobacteria in this study were determined and matched with available sequences in the ribosomal database project (RDP). Only one isolate was found to belong to the family Pseudomonadaceae and was of the genus Pseudomonas (Specie: P. aerugonosa DSM 50071 THE978271) while 11 were found to belong to the family Xanthomonadaceae and were of the genus Stenotrophomonas. Among the 11 Stenotrophomonas, 6 were identified to be Pseudomonas beteli (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia ATCC 19861 TAB021406), 3 as Pseudomonas hibiscicola and 2 as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia IAM 12423 TAB294553). The blast comparison also showed the closeness of the genus Stenotrophomonas to the genus Pseudomonas in their 16S rRNA sequence as seen in P. beteli which is known as S. maltophilia, ATCC 19861. P. beteli, P. hibiscicola and S. maltophilia-IAM 12423 were all species of the genus Stenotrophomonas. The antibiotic resistance study of all the proteobacteria using gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and clavulin showed that P. Aerugonosa DSM 50071 was resistant to clavulin with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2000 µg/ml and a minimum bactericidal concentration of 2000 µg/ml. P. beteli ATCC 19861 and Pseudomonas hibiscicola ATCC 19867 had low level resistance to gentamicin while P. aeruginosa DSM 50071 and S. maltophilia IAM 12423/S. pavanii ICB 89 were sensitive.
Anton van Niekerk
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Title: Three ethical issues in the development of public genetic health policies in Africa
Biography:
Anton van Niekerk is a distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Applied Ethics at Stellenbosch University, South Africa and one of South Africa’s best known Bioethicists. He is the author of 18 books and 145 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He is a Member of the National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC), the highest policy making body for research ethics in the country. In 1995, he was awarded the Stals Prize for Philosophy by the SA Academy for Science and Arts. He is a founding Director and Chairperson of the Board of the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA). He was the Director of the International Association of Bioethics (IAB) from 2007 to 2012. He is a former President of the Philosophical Society of Southern Africa, a former Editor of the South African Journal of Philosophy.
Abstract:
It is of paramount importance that sensible and prudent public policies for the introduction and management of genetic research, technologies and therapies be adopted for countries on the African continent. The author agrees with Buchanan et al., when they claim that it is “unwise to consider the ethics of genetics only at the individual level. What matters is not merely the ethics of the individual scientist, physician or counselor, but the broader questions of justice, of claims for freedom and for protection from harm and our obligations towards future generations”. What is therefore important is the development of a “public and institutional policy on genetics” that is adopted for the needs of, specifically, the people of Africa. The author delineates three such issues and indicates some moral aspects that accompany their understanding as well as the challenges that they pose. The three issues are: The kinds of genetic technologies that are appropriate for African needs, The lessons about public health policy to be learned from (especially South African) policymakers’ appropriation of scientific expertise and Concerns about informed consent of patients and the competence of health care professionals in administering appropriate genetic remedies in African societies.
Joseph L Mathew
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India
Title: Elimination of measles through routine vaccination in India and other developing countries: Time to deliver old wine in a new bottle!
Biography:
Joseph L Mathew works at the Advanced Pediatrics Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. He has contributed extensively to evidence-based policy-making for several vaccines in the Indian context, especially hepatitis B, Hib, IPV, MMR, PCV, influenza, varicella, acellular pertussis, HPV, rotavirus and typhoid conjugate vaccines. He is one of the first to identify the rapid waning of maternal measles antibodies in infancy, creating a pool of susceptible infants/children. He has nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications to his credit and delivered numerous presentations related to vaccinology in national and international meetings.
Abstract:
Despite three decades of universal infant measles vaccination, India has the world’s largest measles burden. Vaccination in India (as in most developing countries) is timed at 9 months of age expecting infant protection through maternal (transplacental) antibodies till then, although this has not been proven scientifically. We conducted two prospective cohort studies in 2005 and 2015 (coinciding with 20 and 30 years of universal vaccination) to evaluate measles susceptibility in infants and to identify the appropriate age for vaccination. In these studies, anti-measles IgG antibodies were measured by quantitative ELISA in 60 and 130 infants at birth, 3 months, 6 months and 9 months prior to vaccination. Susceptibility was determined by antibody titer <200 mIU/ml. The first study (2005) showed that 0%, 12%, 51% and 100% infants were susceptible at birth, 3 months, 6 months and 9 months respectively. The second study (2015) confirmed susceptibility in 0%, 23%, 84% and 100% infants. Preterm infants were more susceptible that term infants at 3 months and 6 months. These data suggest that most Indian infants become susceptible to measles well before the age of routine infants vaccination. Further the two time series showed that more infants were susceptible in 2015 than 2005; this could be due to greater proportion of mothers having vaccine-induced immunity than natural immunity. These data argue for earlier (rather than later) vaccination with measles vaccine in India and probably other developing countries also. This novel approach resembles serving old wine in a new bottle.
Arunkumar G
Capsule Medical Academy, India
Title: Study of the effect of mobile phone radiation on antibiotic sensitivity in micro organisms
Biography:
Dr. Arunkumar is presently acting as a Managing Director of Capsule Medical Academy in Trivandrum, India.
Abstract:
Mobile phone radiation exposure for long term is harmful to human beings and other living organisms. Nowadays antibiotic resistance is the common tragedy in our modern allopathic treatment especially in the case of tuberculosis. This study was based on the effect of mobile phone radiation on the antibiotic sensitivity in Escherichia coli. The difference in sensitivity of E. coli that exposed to mobile phone radiation was studied. The mechanism of resistance of these pathogenic bacteria has to be found out as soon as possible for improving patient care. This study may be repeated with other type of micro organisms, both Gram positive and Gram negative with other antibiotics for further investigations. This study has found that, such radio frequency radiation exposed E. coli shows decreased sensitivity than other non-radiated E. coli towards Gentamycin. This topic helps to take preventive measures to withstand our healthy living system. This study throws light in to resistance developed by microorganisms to normally used antibiotics. This research indicates that, the organisms achieve resistance not only due to the numerous commonly known reasons like patients’ non compliance, etc but also due to in vitro exposure of RF waves. Now our world has been surrounded by numerous mobile phone towers & this may cause serious health problems. All of them may know about some hazardous effects of mobile tower and mobile phone radiation but not known about this effects on drugs through microorganisms. Due to the single cell structure, the microorganisms absorb radiation through their entire surface, which were surrounded by mobile tower radiation. When a healthy individual infected with microorganisms which has previously developed resistance or any change in susceptibility from its environment, it may cause failure to response of the individual to the normally used drugs or its dose. On the basis of this study, further research should be necessary about the hazardous effects of the mobile phone radiation to the pathogenic Gram positive & Gram negative bacteria, virus and fungus.
Shumaila Ali
Jinnah University for Women, Pakistan
Title: Development of a PCR-based rapid method for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in food samples after enrichment steps
Biography:
Shumaila Ali has completed her MPhil in Microbiology from Jinna University for Women, Karachi, Pakistan under the supervision of Dr. Abdul Basit Khan at the Microbiology Department. She is also a Lecturer of Microbiology Department at Jinnah University for Women.
Abstract:
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram positive, facultative and opportunistic pathogen causing food-borne infections in human worldwide. Although cause major problems in immunocompromised individuals such as pregnant women, neonate and elderly. The old conventional methods for the identification of L. monocytogenes in foods are laborious and require almost 3-5 days giving ready results. To overcome this problem we have demonstrated a fast, non-conventional, simple, sensitive and rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based method by using the primers for prfA gene sequence for the detection of Listeria in food samples. Experiments were to observe the sensitivity of this primer in number of combinations. Optimization studies were conducted using milk samples spiked with different inoculum size and for different time intervals. It was observed that this method efficiently detect minimum contamination of Listeria as tested with spiked samples in around 14 hours. Comparable results were observed when this method was applied to detect Listeria in naturally contaminated samples along with conventional methods. The proposed method can be employed to detect Listeria monocytogenes in parallel to standard conventional methods.
- Video Presentation
Location: San Francisco
Session Introduction
Syra Madad
NYC Health + Hospitals, USA
Title: Emergency management preparedness and response to Zika virus build upon best practices and lessons learned from Ebola
Biography:
Syra Madad is the Director, System-wide Special Pathogens Program at New York City Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest municipal healthcare delivery system. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Biotechnology Program at the University of Maryland University College and Core Faculty in the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC). She has a strong background in academia, teaching in graduate, undergraduate and professional programs with courses ranging from advanced microbiology to bioterrorism and biosecurity. She has held various faculty appointments, including Assistant Professor, Deputy Chair and Director of Education for various academic institutions in Maryland, New York and Texas.
Abstract:
The rapid dissemination of Zika virus across the World Health Organization’s Region of the Americas has direct impacts on the U.S. healthcare delivery system with hospitals around the nation ramping up prevention and response efforts, including staying abreast of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Zika guidelines, learning about the clinical signs of Zika, evaluating pregnant women for potential Zika virus exposure and discussing prevention with patients. In New York City (NYC), the most populous city in the United States and consisting of five boroughs, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Bronx and Staten Island has reported >463 travel-associated cases of Zika virus disease including 49 cases in pregnant women and three cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome. This suggests that many healthcare systems across the city and throughout the state must be prepared to care for patients with possible Zika virus disease. To prepare for and manage this unprecedented public health threat, NYC Health + Hospitals built its Zika Preparedness and Response Action Plan with systems established during the 2014 Ebola virus disease outbreak and tailored it for the early recognition and management of persons with Zika virus disease. To ensure that NYC Health + Hospitals is prepared to manage Zika virus disease cases and mitigate further disease transmission, the system is closely coordinating internally with its integrated system of hospitals and externally with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the New York State Department of Health (DOH). This presentation will focus on best practices, lessons learned from the Ebola response at NYC Health + Hospitals and how the processes and procedures in place for Ebola were augmented and refined to build the response for Zika.
- Posters
Location: San Francisco
Session Introduction
Alexander Suvorov
Institute of Experimental Medicine, Russia
Title: Designing recombinant viral-vector vaccine for combined protection against influenza and group B streptococci
Biography:
Dr. Alexander Suvorov is presently acting as Head of Molecular Microbiology division of Federal, State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Institute of Experimental Medicine” in Russia
Abstract:
Background: Development of safe and effective vaccines against group B streptococci (GBS) is of high priority due to the fact that GBS is the main cause of newborn mortality and recently became among the major threat of the elderly. One of the promising approaches for GBS vaccine design is the use of cold-adapted influenza viruses contained in live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) as vectors to deliver GBS antigens to the target cells. We analyzed immune epitopes of ScaAB protein and modeled chimeric influenza proteins carrying various combinations of ScaAB epitopes.
Methods: Three-dimensional structure of chimeric influenza hemagglutinin (HA) carrying ScaAB epitopes were modeled using sequence of H7N9 influenza A virus. Experimental MHC I and MHC II-restricted T cell epitopes for H-2(d) haplotype were analyzed using the tools of the Immune Epitope Data Base. Three-dimensional modeling of chimeric influenza HAs carrying ScaAB epitopes at the N-terminus was performed by homology algorithm using on-line resource SWISS-MODEL. The chimeric HA-ScaAB molecules were modeled using a program USCF Chimera 1.10.2 and visualized using RasMol 2.7.5 and Chimera 1.10.2 program.
Results: We selected several cassettes containing up to 3 ScaAB experimental B-cell epitopes as well as several predicted MHC I and MHC II-restricted T cell epitopes specific for Balb/c mice. Three-dimensional modeling demonstrated that these epitopes are exposed at the surface of the viral particles and do not compromise influenza HA structure.
Conclusions: The recombinant LAIV-GBS chimeric vaccine is the first attempt to design recombinant vaccine for simultaneous protection against influenza and GBS.