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Rocky Mountain Laboratories
Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) is part of the NIH Intramural Research Program and is located in Hamilton, Montana. Operated by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, RML conducts research on maximum containment pathogens such as Ebola as well as research on prions and intracellular pathogens such as ''Coxiella burnetii'' and ''Francisella tularensis''. RML operates one of the few Biosafety level 4 laboratories in the United States, as well as Biosafety level 3 and ABSL3/4 laboratories. History RML evolved as a result of research on Rocky Mountain spotted fever that began around 1900, in the Bitterroot Valley. A deadly disease of unknown origin plagued early settlers of the valley. It was known locally as "black measles" because of its severe, dark rash. Montana researchers were working in the area in makeshift cabins and tents. RML formally began as the Montana Board of Entomology Laboratory. It was opened in 1928 by the Montana State Board of Entomology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (also known by its acronym RMBL — pronounced 'rumble') is a high-altitude biological field station located near Crested Butte, in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado in the West Elk Mountains. The laboratory was founded in 1928. Research areas include the ecology of the region, climate change, pollination biology, and a long-running study of the yellow-bellied marmot. The laboratory offers courses for undergraduate students, including National Science Foundation-funded REU students, and provides support for researchers from universities and colleges. History RMBL was founded in 1928 on the remains of an abandoned mining town in Gothic, Colorado. Approximately 180 people are in residence there during the summer field season. Over 1500 scientific publications have been based on work from the Laboratory (currently 30–50 per year). Research The diversity and depth of research at the lab make the area around Gothic, Colorado a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. The diseases are caused by specific types of bacterial infection. Epidemic typhus is caused by '' Rickettsia prowazekii'' spread by body lice, scrub typhus is caused by '' Orientia tsutsugamushi'' spread by chiggers, and murine typhus is caused by '' Rickettsia typhi'' spread by fleas. Vaccines have been developed, but none is commercially available. Prevention is achieved by reducing exposure to the organisms that spread the disease. Treatment is with the antibiotic doxycycline. Epidemic typhus generally occurs in outbreaks when poor sanitary conditions and crowding are present. While once common, it is now rare. Scrub typhus occurs in Southeast Asia, Japan, and northern Australia. Murine typhus occurs in tropical and subtropi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borrelia Burgdorferi
''Borrelia burgdorferi'' is a bacterial species of the spirochete class in the genus '' Borrelia'', and is one of the causative agents of Lyme disease in humans. Along with a few similar genospecies, some of which also cause Lyme disease, it makes up the species complex of ''Borrelia burgdorferi'' sensu lato. The complex currently comprises 20 accepted and 3 proposed genospecies. ''B. burgdorferi'' sensu stricto exists in North America and Eurasia and until 2016 was the only known cause of Lyme disease in North America. ''B. burgdorferi'' are often mistakenly described as Gram negative because of their two external membranes, but they lack lipopolysaccharide and possess many surface lipoproteins, unlike true Gram-negative bacteria. Microbiology ''Borrelia burgdorferi'' is named after the researcher Willy Burgdorfer, who first isolated the bacterium in 1982. ''Borrelia burgdorferi'' is a microaerophile, requiring small amounts of oxygen in order to undergo glycolysis and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willy Burgdorfer
Wilhelm Burgdorfer (June 27, 1925 – November 17, 2014) was a Swiss-American scientist and an international leader in the field of entomology, medical entomology. He discovered the bacterial pathogen that causes Lyme disease, a spirochete named ''Borrelia burgdorferi'' in his honor. Early life and education Burgdorfer was born on June 27, 1925, in Basel, Switzerland.Memorial page. ''Daly Leach Memorial Chapel.'' He earned his Ph.D. in zoology, parasitology, and bacteriology from the University of Basel and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel.Lucy Bauer: ''The Great Willy Burgdorfer, 1925–2014'', I am Intramural Blog, NIH Intramural Research Program, https://irp.nih.gov/blog/post/2015/02/the-great-willy-burgdorfer-1925-2014, posted Monday, February 2, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), sometimes called zombie deer disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting deer. TSEs are a family of diseases thought to be caused by misfolded proteins called prions and include similar diseases such as BSE (mad cow disease) in cattle, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, and scrapie in sheep. Natural infection causing CWD affects members of the deer family. In the United States, CWD affects mule deer, white-tailed deer, red deer, sika deer, elk, bison, antelope, caribou, and moose. The transmission of CWD to other species such as squirrel monkeys and humanized mice has been observed in experimental settings. In 1967, CWD was first identified in mule deer at a government research facility in northern Colorado, United States. It was initially recognized as a clinical "wasting" syndrome and then in 1978, it was identified more specifically as a TSE disease. Since then, CWD has been found in free-rang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of the disease, the cow becomes unable to function normally. There is conflicting information about the time between infection and onset of symptoms. In 2002, the World Health Organization suggested it to be approximately four to five years. Time from onset of symptoms to death is generally weeks to months. Spread to humans is believed to result in variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD). , a total of 233 cases of vCJD had been reported globally. BSE is thought to be due to an infection by a misfolded protein, known as a prion. Cattle are believed to have been infected by being fed meat-and-bone meal that contained either the remains of cattle who spontaneously developed the disease or scrapie-infected sheep products. The United Kingdo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scrapie
Scrapie () is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the nervous systems of sheep and goats. It is one of several transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), and as such it is thought to be caused by a prion. Scrapie has been known since at least 1732 and does not appear to be transmissible to humans. However, it has been found to be experimentally transmissible to humanised transgenic mice and non-human primates. The name scrapie is derived from one of the clinical signs of the condition, wherein affected animals will compulsively scrape off their fleeces against rocks, trees or fences. The disease apparently causes an itching sensation in the animals. Other clinical signs include excessive lip smacking, altered gaits and convulsive collapse. Scrapie is infectious and transmissible among conspecifics, so one of the most common ways to contain it (since it is incurable) is to quarantine and kill those affected. However, scrapie tends to persist in flocks and can also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also known as prion diseases, are a group of progressive, incurable, and fatal conditions that are associated with the prion hypothesis and affect the brain and nervous system of many animals, including humans, cattle, and sheep. According to the most widespread hypothesis, they are transmitted by prions, though some other data suggest an involvement of a ''Spiroplasma'' infection. Mental and physical abilities deteriorate and many tiny holes appear in the cortex causing it to appear like a sponge when brain tissue obtained at autopsy is examined under a microscope. The disorders cause impairment of brain function which may result in memory loss, personality changes, and abnormal or impaired movement which worsen over time. TSEs of humans include Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker syndrome, fatal familial insomnia, and kuru, as well as the recently discovered variably protease-sensitive prionopat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chlamydia Trachomatis
''Chlamydia trachomatis'' () is a Gram-negative, Anaerobic organism, anaerobic bacterium responsible for Chlamydia infection, chlamydia and trachoma. ''C. trachomatis'' exists in two forms, an extracellular infectious elementary body (EB) and an intracellular non-infectious reticulate body (RB). The EB attaches to host cells and enter the cell using Effector (biology), effector proteins, where it transforms into the metabolically active RB. Inside the cell, RBs rapidly replicate before transitioning back to EBs, which are then released to infect new host cells. The earliest description of ''C. trachomatis'' was in 1907 by Stanislaus von Prowazek and Ludwig Halberstädter as a protozoan. It was later thought to be a virus due to its small size and inability to grow in laboratories. It was not until 1966 when it was discovered as a bacterium by Electron microscope, electron microscopy after its internal structures were visually observed. There are currently 18 Serotype, serovars of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. For others, symptoms may appear 30 to 180 days after becoming infected and can include a rapid onset of sickness with nausea, vomiting, yellowish skin, fatigue, yellow urine, and abdominal pain. Symptoms during acute infection typically last for a few weeks, though some people may feel sick for up to six months. Deaths resulting from acute stage HBV infections are rare. An HBV infection lasting longer than six months is usually considered chronic. The likelihood of developing chronic hepatitis B is higher for those who are infected with HBV at a younger age. About 90% of those infected during or shortly after birth develop chronic hepatitis B, while less than 10% of those infected after the age of five develop chronic cases. Most of those ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow Fever Vaccine
Yellow fever vaccine is a vaccine that protects against yellow fever. Yellow fever is a viral infection that occurs in Africa and South America. Most people begin to develop immunity within ten days of vaccination and are 99% protected within one month, and this appears to be lifelong. The vaccine can be used to control outbreaks of disease. It is given either by injection into a muscle or just under the skin. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends routine immunization in all countries where the disease is common. This should typically occur between nine and twelve months of age. Those traveling to areas where the disease occurs should also be immunized. Additional doses after the first are generally not needed. The yellow fever vaccine is generally safe. This includes in those with HIV infection but without symptoms. Mild side effects may include headache, muscle pains, pain at the injection site, fever, and rash. Severe allergies occur in about eight per mill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Public Health Service
The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant secretary for health oversees the PHS. The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) is the federal uniformed service of the PHS, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. PHS had its origins in the system of marine hospitals that originated in 1798. In 1871, these were consolidated into the Marine Hospital Service, and shortly afterwards the position of Surgeon General and the PHSCC were established. As the system's scope grew to include quarantine authority and research, it was renamed the Public Health Service in 1912. A series of reorganizations in 1966–1973 began a shift where PHS' divisions were promoted into departmental operating agencies. PHS was established as a thin layer of hierarchy above ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
