Pathogens MDPI

10/02/2025

A U.S. Isolate of Theileria orientalis Ikeda Is Not Transstadially Transmitted to Cattle by Rhipicephalus microplus

⭐Explore this Editor's Choice article here: https://brnw.ch/21wQACI

Theileria orientalis Ikeda has caused an epidemic of bovine anemia and abortion across several U.S. states. This apicomplexan hemoparasite is transmitted by Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks; however, it is unknown if other North American ticks are competent vectors. Since the disease movement is larg...

07/02/2025

🦠 Can putrescine depletion stop Leishmania donovani?

New research from Pacific University reveals that removing putrescine causes proliferation arrest and apoptosis-like cell death in L. donovani, a parasite responsible for visceral leishmaniasis.

📖 Read the full study: https://brnw.ch/21wQyfE

The polyamine pathway in Leishmania parasites has emerged as a promising target for therapeutic intervention, yet the functions of polyamines in parasites remain largely unexplored. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and spermidine synthase (SPDSYN) catalyze the sequential conversion of ornithine to putr...

07/02/2025

📢 Call for Papers: Special Issue on Bacterial Antimicrobial Resistance!

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health concern, affecting humans, animals, and the environment. The rise of resistant bacterial strains threatens our ability to treat infections effectively.

📖 Pathogens is launching a Special Issue titled "Current Progress on Bacterial Antimicrobial Resistance," led by Guest Editor Dr. Valentina Virginia Ebani. We welcome research articles, reviews, and case reports on AMR’s molecular mechanisms, epidemiology, clinical impact, and control strategies.

🔍 Topics include:
✔️ AMR in humans and animals
✔️ Environmental spread of resistant bacteria
✔️ Molecular resistance mechanisms
✔️ One Health approach to AMR control

📅 Submission Deadline: 20 August 2025
📌 Indexed in PubMed and many more 📚 | Impact Factor: 3.3 | CiteScore: 6.4

Submit your work and contribute to the fight against AMR! 💡✍️
🔗 Learn more & submit: https://brnw.ch/21wQxX1

07/02/2025

🦠 First Detection of Alphacoronavirus in Bats from the Pantanal!

New research uncovers the first evidence of Alphacoronavirus in bats from the world's largest wetland, the Pantanal, Brazil. This discovery sheds light on bat virology and potential zoonotic risks.

📖 Read the full article: https://brnw.ch/21wQxLb

Coronaviruses (CoV) infect a wide variety of hosts, causing epidemics in humans, birds, and mammals over the years. Bats (order Chiroptera) are one of the natural hosts of the Coronaviridae family. They represent 40% of the total number of mammal species in the Pantanal, a biodiversity hotspot in So...

05/02/2025

🔬 New Special Issue Open for Submissions!

📢 Special Issue: Zoonotic Parasites in Livestock: A One Health Perspective
📝 Guest Editor: Dr. Helga Waap
📅 Submission Deadline: 31 December 2025

Parasitic zoonoses pose significant threats to both human and animal health, impacting global public health and the livestock industry. This Special Issue invites original research and reviews addressing parasite-related threats at the human–livestock–environment interface. Topics include surveillance, epidemiology, diagnostics, drug resistance, and the environmental impact of anti-parasitic pharmaceuticals.

🔗 Submit your manuscript: https://brnw.ch/21wQuWm

04/02/2025

Plasma-Activated Tap Water with Oxidative Potential Has an Inactivating Effect on Microbiological Contaminants in Aqueous Suspensions 🚰

🔗Link to full article: https://brnw.ch/21wQtvD

Plasma-activated water (PAW) generated from tap water has gained attention as a disinfectant when used directly in its pure form. Little is known about the application of PAW for bacterial inactivation in aqueous environments because its use in fluids results in dilutions. We investigated the effect...

04/02/2025

Trueperella Pyogenes—Strain Diversity and Occurrence in Dairy Herds

📖Explore more: https://brnw.ch/21wQtai

Trueperella (T.) pyogenes is a mastitis-causing pathogen formerly known to cause severe clinical mastitis (CM), especially during the summer, leading to milk losses and low recovery rates. Unfortunately, its transmission behavior within herds is unclear. 🤔

The diversity and occurrence of T. pyogenes were monitored to gain an initial insight into the infection transmission behavior of T. pyogenes in dairy herds and to lay a foundation for following targeted investigations.

CM milk samples were collected from German herds, and one Swedish farm was sampled for isolates from subclinical mastitis. All in all, 151 T. pyogenes isolates from 16 herds were isolated, identified by MALDI TOF analysis and typed with RAPD PCR. Of these, 17 isolates originated from subclinical mastitis cases. We found that T. pyogenes mastitis occurred year-round, and clinical mastitis cases were caused by multiple strains (31 affected animals/28 strains).

Instances of multiple cows being infected with the same T. pyogenes strain were rare and typically only involved a small number of animals at a time. However, if several quarters of a cow were affected, it was likely the same strain. Unlike clinical infections, subclinical T. pyogenes infections, in one investigated farm, harbored a dominant strain.

Additionally, we found that T. pyogenes infections tended to persist and stay within a herd for a minimum of 7 months in the same or different cows.

Trueperella (T.) pyogenes is a mastitis-causing pathogen formerly known to cause severe clinical mastitis (CM), especially during the summer, leading to milk losses and low recovery rates. Unfortunately, its transmission behavior within herds is unclear. The diversity and occurrence of T. pyogenes w...

04/02/2025

Difference in the Intestinal Microbiota between Breastfeed Infants and Infants Fed with Artificial Milk: A Systematic Review 🍼

🔓Read now: https://brnw.ch/21wQsTa

The gut microbiota (GM) plays a crucial role in human health, particularly during the first years of life. Differences in GM between breastfed and formula (F)-fed infants may influence long-term health outcomes. This systematic review aims to compare the gut microbiota of breastfed infants with that of F-fed infants and to evaluate the clinical implications of these differences.

The gut microbiota (GM) plays a crucial role in human health, particularly during the first years of life. Differences in GM between breastfed and formula (F)-fed infants may influence long-term health outcomes. This systematic review aims to compare the gut microbiota of breastfed infants with that...

28/01/2025

Ticks and Rickettsiae Associated with Wild Animals Sold in Bush Meat Markets in Cameroon

📖Explore this article: https://brnw.ch/21wQjs8

Ticks are obligate blood-sucking parasites of wild animals and transmit many zoonotic microorganisms that can spread to domesticated animals and then to humans.

In Cameroon, little is known about tick diversity among wildlife, especially for animals which are hunted for human consumption. Therefore, this survey was undertaken to investigate tick and Rickettsia species diversity parasitizing the wild animals sold in bush meat markets in Cameroon.

In total, 686 ticks were collected and identified to the species level based on morphology, and some were genetically analyzed using the 16S rRNA gene. Eighteen tick species belonging to five genera were identified: Amblyomma spp. (Amblyomma compressum, Amblyomma flavomaculatum, and Amblyomma variegatum), Haemaphysalis spp. (Haemaphysalis camicasi, Haemaphysalis houyi, Haemaphysalis leachi, and Haemaphysalis parmata), Hyalomma spp. (Hyalomma nitidum, Hyalomma rufipes, and Hyalomma truncatum), Ixodes spp. (Ixodes rasus and Ixodes moreli), and Rhipicephalus spp. (Rhipicephalus guilhoni, Rhipicephalus moucheti, Rhipicephalus muhsamae, Rhipicephalus microplus, Rhipicephalus camicasi, and Rhipicephalus linnaei).

In terms of Rickettsia important for public health, two Rickettsia spp., namely Rickettsia aeschlimannii and Rickettsia africae, were detected in Hyalomma spp. and Amblyomma spp., respectively. Distinct tick–pathogen patterns were present for divergent sequences of R. africae associated with exclusively A. variegatum vectors (type strain) versus vectors comprising A. compressum, A. flavomaculatum, and A. variegatum. This suggests possible effects of vector species population dynamics on pathogen population circulation dynamics.

Furthermore, Candidatus Rickettsia africaustralis was detected for the first time in Cameroon in I. rasus. This study highlights the high diversity of ticks among wildlife sold in bush meat markets in Cameroon.

Ticks are obligate blood-sucking parasites of wild animals and transmit many zoonotic microorganisms that can spread to domesticated animals and then to humans. In Cameroon, little is known about tick diversity among wildlife, especially for animals which are hunted for human consumption. Therefore,...

28/01/2025

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Insect Pathogens: Implications for Plant Reproduction

🔓Read the full analysis here: https://brnw.ch/21wQiYj

Despite extensive work on both insect disease and plant reproduction, there is little research on the intersection of the two. Insect-infecting pathogens could disrupt the pollination process by affecting pollinator population density or traits.

Pathogens may also infect insect herbivores and change herbivory, potentially altering resource allocation to plant reproduction. We conducted a meta-analysis to (1) summarize the literature on the effects of pathogens on insect pollinators and herbivores and (2) quantify the extent to which pathogens affect insect traits, with potential repercussions for plant reproduction.

We found 39 articles that fit our criteria for inclusion, extracting 218 measures of insect traits for 21 different insect species exposed to 25 different pathogens. We detected a negative effect of pathogen exposure on insect traits, which varied by host function: pathogens had a significant negative effect on insects that were herbivores or carried multiple functions but not on insects that solely functioned as pollinators.

Particular pathogen types were heavily studied in certain insect orders, with 7 of 11 viral pathogen studies conducted in Lepidoptera and 5 of 9 fungal pathogen studies conducted in Hymenoptera. Our results suggest that most studies have focused on a small set of host–pathogen pairs.

To understand the implications for plant reproduction, future work is needed to directly measure the effects of pathogens on pollinator effectiveness.

Despite extensive work on both insect disease and plant reproduction, there is little research on the intersection of the two. Insect-infecting pathogens could disrupt the pollination process by affecting pollinator population density or traits. Pathogens may also infect insect herbivores and change...

28/01/2025

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex in Sputum Samples Using Droplet Digital PCR Targeting mpt64

🔗Link to article: https://brnw.ch/21wQiMW

This study compared the sensitivity of ddPCR with that of GeneXpert and AFB smear microscopy in 180 leftover sputum samples from patients suspected of having TB on the basis of clinical symptoms and radiography.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. It is challenging to find methods of diagnosis of active pulmonary TB that are sensitive enough to detect cases for proper treatment before unintentional transmission. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is a highly sensitive method to detect...

23/01/2025

Intramammary Ethno-Veterinary Formulation in Bovine Mastitis Treatment for Optimization of Antibiotic Use

Increasing pressure on animal and human health as well as food security, due to antimicrobial resistance, is leading to increased demand for natural-product-derived antibiotics worldwide.

Considering the importance of bovine mastitis as well as the huge challenge posed by mastitis therapy in cattle production, the main goal of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the essential oil-based pharmaceutical (Phyto-Bomat), as an alternative to the existing treatment with antibiotics.

Why not explore the complete study on our website? Click here for easy access ➡️ https://brnw.ch/21wQcSA

The therapeutic response of the cows was monitored using clinical and bacteriological cure of the proposed formulation. Among 550 dairy cows, 75 were diagnosed with a clinical or subclinical form of mastitis and divided into three experimental groups: treated with antibiotic; Phyto-Bomat; antibiotic and Phyto-Bomat.

Indicators of bacteriological cure were somatic cell count (SCC), total bacterial count, and causative agent isolation, while the clinical cure was accessed by observing physical udder conditions. All mentioned indicators were assessed before and after the treatment (1st and 7th day post-treatment), with all of the three therapeutic protocols.

After Phyto-Bomat treatment, no visible signs of irritation were noticed, while no significant effect in reducing SCC and total bacterial count was observed. Phyto-Bomat has shown promising results in the treatment of mastitis, without the risk of udder irritation, alone or in combination with antibiotics as part of a mastitis control program during lactation.

Increasing pressure on animal and human health as well as food security, due to antimicrobial resistance, is leading to increased demand for natural-product-derived antibiotics worldwide. Considering the importance of bovine mastitis as well as the huge challenge posed by mastitis therapy in cattle ...

23/01/2025

Clostridioides difficile (CD) is a Gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium that infects mainly hospitalized and elderly people who have been treated with long-term antibiotic therapy leading to dysbiosis.

The deteriorating demographic structure and the increase in the number of antibiotics used indicate that the problem of CD infections (CDI) will continue to increase.

Thus far, there is no vaccine against CD on the market. Unfortunately, clinical trials conducted using the CD toxin-based antigens did not show sufficiently high efficacy, because they did not prevent colonization and transmission between patients.

It seems that the vaccine should also include antigens found in the bacterium itself or its spores in order not only to fight the effects of toxins but also to prevent the colonization of the patient. This literature review summarizes the latest advances in research into vaccine antigens that do not contain CD toxins.

💻Read the full study: https://brnw.ch/21wQcxI

Clostridioides difficile (CD) is a Gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium that infects mainly hospitalized and elderly people who have been treated with long-term antibiotic therapy leading to dysbiosis. The deteriorating demographic structure and the increase in the number of antibiotics used indicate ...

23/01/2025

Helicobacter pylori Virulence Factors and Clarithromycin Resistance-Associated Mutations in Mexican Patients

👓Read now: https://brnw.ch/21wQclL

Persistent infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is an important factor in gastric diseases. The vacA and cagA virulence factors of H. pylori contribute to the development of these diseases. Triple therapy containing clarithromycin has been used to eradicate this infection. Unfortunately, r...

20/01/2025

Avian Influenza: Strategies to Manage an Outbreak🐤

Avian influenza (AI) is a contagious disease among the poultry population with high avian mortality, which generates significant economic losses and elevated costs for disease control and outbreak eradication.

Explore the most important strategies: www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/4/610

Avian influenza (AI) is a contagious disease among the poultry population with high avian mortality, which generates significant economic losses and elevated costs for disease control and outbreak eradication. AI is caused by an RNA virus part of the Orthomyxoviridae family; however, only Influenzav...

20/01/2025

Leishmaniases are neglected diseases caused by protozoans of the genus Leishmania that threaten millions of people worldwide. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by L. major is a typical zoonosis transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies and maintained in rodent reservoirs.

Read the full article here: www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/4/614

The female sand fly was assumed to become infected by feeding on the skin lesion of the host, and the relative contribution of asymptomatic individuals to disease transmission was unknown. In this study, we infected 32 Meriones shawi, North African reservoirs, with a natural dose of L. major obtained from the gut of infected sand flies.

Skin manifestations appeared in 90% of the animals, and xenodiagnosis with the proven vector Phlebotomus papatasi showed transmissibility in 67% of the rodents, and 45% were repeatedly infectious to sand flies. Notably, the analysis of 113 xenodiagnostic trials with 2189 sand flies showed no significant difference in the transmissibility of animals in the asymptomatic and symptomatic periods; asymptomatic animals were infectious several weeks before the appearance of skin lesions and several months after their healing.

These results clearly confirm that skin lesions are not a prerequisite for vector infection in CL and that asymptomatic animals are an essential source of L. major infection. These data are important for modeling the epidemiology of CL caused by L. major.

Leishmaniases are neglected diseases caused by protozoans of the genus Leishmania that threaten millions of people worldwide. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by L. major is a typical zoonosis transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies and maintained in rodent reservoirs. The female sand fly was assu...

20/01/2025

Natural and Engineered Resistance Mechanisms in Plants against Phytoviruses 🌿

Explore the full review here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/4/619

Plant viruses, as obligate intracellular parasites, rely exclusively on host machinery to complete their life cycle. Whether a virus is pathogenic or not depends on the balance between the mechanisms used by both plants and viruses during the intense encounter.

Antiviral defence mechanisms in plants can be of two types, i.e., natural resistance and engineered resistance. Innate immunity, RNA silencing, translational repression, autophagy-mediated degradation, and resistance to virus movement are the possible natural defence mechanisms against viruses in plants, whereas engineered resistance includes pathogen-derived resistance along with gene editing technologies.

The incorporation of various resistance genes through breeding programmes, along with gene editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas technologies, holds great promise in developing virus-resistant plants. In this review, different resistance mechanisms against viruses in plants along with reported resistance genes in major vegetable crops are discussed.

Plant viruses, as obligate intracellular parasites, rely exclusively on host machinery to complete their life cycle. Whether a virus is pathogenic or not depends on the balance between the mechanisms used by both plants and viruses during the intense encounter. Antiviral defence mechanisms in plants...

16/01/2025

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a microbial infection of the endocardial surface, most commonly affecting native and prosthetic valves of the heart. The epidemiology and etiology of the disease have evolved significantly over the last decades.

🔗Explore the full review: https://brnw.ch/21wQ3ya

With a growing elderly population, the incidence of degenerative valvopathies and the use of prosthetic heart valves have increased, becoming the most important predisposing risk factors.

This change in the epidemiology has caused a shift in the underlying microbiology of the disease, with Staphylococci overtaking Streptococci as the main causative pathogens. Other rarer microbes, including Streptococcus agalactiae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Coxiella burnetti and Brucella, have also emerged or re-emerged. Valvular IE caused by these pathogens, especially Staphylococcus aureus, is often associated with a severe clinical course, leading to high rates of morbidity and mortality.

Therefore, prompt diagnosis and management are crucial. Due to the high virulence of these pathogens and an increased incidence of antimicrobial resistance, surgical valve repair or replacement is often necessary. As the epidemiology and etiology of valvular IE continue to evolve, diagnostic methods and therapies need to be progressively advanced to ensure satisfactory clinical outcomes.

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a microbial infection of the endocardial surface, most commonly affecting native and prosthetic valves of the heart. The epidemiology and etiology of the disease have evolved significantly over the last decades. With a growing elderly population, the incidence of degen...