Zebrafish are Resistant to Staphylococcus aureus Endophthalmitis

Design and Husbandry Considerations for a Containment Level 2 Aquatic Facility

The greatly increased use of aquatic species to study disease over the past 20 years necessitates understanding their husbandry and housing requirements to optimize research and welfare and to ensure compliance with regulations. To achieve these goals, aquatic systems have expanded from pet shop and home aquaria to research-grade systems incorporating designs and features to increase their robustness, practicality, and flexibility. Moreover, these last decades have seen the increasing use of aquatic animals for infectious disease research using containment level 2 (CL2)/biosafety level 2 pathogens. In this study, we discuss the facility design requirements and modifications, which must be considered for the planning, construction, and use of an aquatic facility for zebrafish infected with CL2 pathogens. These include decontamination of water and equipment, racking and filtration design, personal protective equipment, and husbandry procedures. This guidance is based on our experience in the design and ongoing management of such facilities.

Staphylococcus aureus Vaccine Research and Development: The Past, Present and Future, Including Novel Therapeutic Strategies

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important human pathogens worldwide. Its high antibiotic resistance profile reinforces the need for new interventions like vaccines in addition to new antibiotics. Vaccine development efforts against S. aureus have failed so far however, the findings from these human clinical and non-clinical studies provide potential insight for such failures. Currently, research is focusing on identifying novel vaccine formulations able to elicit potent humoral and cellular immune responses. Translational science studies are attempting to discover correlates of protection using animal models as well as in vitro and ex vivo models assessing efficacy of vaccine candidates. Several new vaccine candidates are being tested in human clinical trials in a variety of target populations. In addition to vaccines, bacteriophages, monoclonal antibodies, centyrins and new classes of antibiotics are being developed. Some of these have been tested in humans with encouraging results. The complexity of the diseases and the range of the target populations affected by this pathogen will require a multipronged approach using different interventions, which will be discussed in this review.

The cereus matter of Bacillus endophthalmitis

Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) endophthalmitis is a devastating intraocular infection primarily associated with post-traumatic injuries. The majority of these infections result in substantial vision loss, if not loss of the eye itself, within 12-48 h. Multifactorial mechanisms that lead to the innate intraocular inflammatory response during this disease include the combination of robust bacterial replication, migration of the organism throughout the eye, and toxin production by the organism. Therefore, the window of therapeutic intervention in B. cereus endophthalmitis is quite narrow compared to that of other pathogens which cause this disease. Understanding the interaction of bacterial and host factors is critical in understanding the disease and formulating more rational therapeutics for salvaging vision. In this review, we will discuss clinical and research findings related to B. cereus endophthalmitis in terms of the organism's virulence and inflammogenic potential, and strategies for improving of current therapeutic regimens for this blinding disease.