shigella

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TWiM explores the role of biofilms in infection by coronaviruses, and development of a Shigella vaccine using outer membrane vesicles derived from Salmonella

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Links for this episode

• Biofilms and coronaviruses (Appl Envir Micro)
• Outer membrane vesicle vaccine (Appl Envir Micro)
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Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

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One afternoon, you’re at work when your stomach starts cramping, and you make a run for the bathroom. You make it just in time! This happens several more times before you finally decide to go home. You don’t really become concerned until you notice there’s blood in your stool. You go to the doctor, and he suspects you might be infected with shigella. What is this? How serious is it? What do you need to do to get rid of it?

La diarrea es una enfermedad que consiste en el aumento habitual de las evacuaciones; puede ser aguda, persistente o crónica y el tratamiento antibiótico debe ser evaluado en caso de no autolimitarse.

Nuestra invitada: Dra. María José Reyes Fentanes (@majo_refent), infectóloga e internista.

Time stamps

Introducción                                                                     00:00

Presentación de Dra. María José Reyes                        00:45

Preámbulo                                                                         03:05

Caso clínico.                                                                      03:40

Definición de diarrea aguda                                             04:10

Datos clave de la historia clínica                                      06:15

Diarreas comunes                                                             07:40

Más datos clave                                                                15:40

Estudios de extensión                                                      18:40

Pacientes inmunocomprometidos                                    23:20

Tratamiento.                                                                        27:05

Las reacciones febriles                                                       32:25

Diarrea persistente                                                              35:00

Puntos para llevar a casa                                                    38:15

Tony Maurelli is a professor of microbiology and immunology in the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.  Dr. Maurelli’s major research interest lies in the genetics of bacterial pathogenesis – the genetic nuts and bolts of how bacteria infect humans and make us sick.

Dr. Maurelli’s work has uncovered “antivirulence genes” in Shigella flexneri, a major cause of dysentery and food borne illness.  This is an interesting concept: antivirulence genes undermine pathogenicity, so they must be broken or dropped from the genome for a bacterium to take good advantage of a host and cause disease.  These genes are a hindrance, so to become an effective pathogen, Shigella must stop using them.

In this interview, I talked with Dr. Maurelli about antivirulence genes, about whether the naming system for bacteria should be fixed, and about his favorite bacteria.