Bacteriology 2015 welcomes multiple research groups with expertise in Microbiology, Molecular bacteriology, Clinical diagnostic bacteriology, Bacterial infections, Industrial bacteriology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases from all over the world to Valencia, Spain. We are delighted to invite you all to attend and register for the “3^rd International Conference on Bacteriology and Infectious Diseases (Bacteriology - 2015)” which is going to be held during August 4-6, 2015 in Valencia, Spain.

OMICS International Organizes Bacteriology conference along with 300+ Conferences Every Year across USA, Europe & Asia with support from 1000 more scientific societies and Publishes 400+ Open access journals which contains over 30000 eminent personalities, reputed scientists as editorial board members

The organizing committee is gearing up for an exciting and informative conference program including plenary lectures, symposia, workshops on a variety of topics, poster presentations and various programs for participants from all over the world. We invite you to join us at the Bacteriology conference 2015, where you will be sure to have a meaningful experience with scholars from around the world. All members of the Bacteriology-2015 organizing committee look forward to meeting you in Valencia, Spain.  For more details..

Track 1: Bacterial Pathogenesis, Virulence and Counter measures

The research in the development of effective chemical countermeasures for gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial infections involves biofilms. The pathogenic nature of many infectious bacteria is enhanced by their ability to form surface associated, protected communities known as "biofilms". Due to various factors, bacteria in biofilm communities display significantly greater resistance to traditional antimicrobial therapies than their planktonic brethren. In nature, and in many medical situations, colonies of bacteria construct and live in a biofilm, made up principally of capsule material.  Particularly, several classes of chemical compounds have shown promise in combating biofilms when used in conjunction with traditional antimicrobials. The vast majority of these compounds exert their anti-biofilm properties through disruption of "quorum sensing," a common means of intercellular communication in bacterial communities that allows coordinated expression of virulence factors and facilitates formation of the oft-complex architecture of mature bacterial biofilms. Successful pathogens, such as Pseudomonas syringae, have developed countermeasures and inject virulence proteins into the host plant cell to suppress immunity and cause devastating diseases. Despite intensive research efforts, the molecular targets of bacterial virulence proteins that are important for plant disease development have remained obscure. Rotaviruses are the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children of <5 years of age worldwide and they are the cause of approximately half a million deaths each year. The worldwide epidemiological impact of RV infection pointed the development of safe and effective vaccines against RVs as a public health priority.

Bacterial surface components may have a primary biological function that has nothing to do with pathogenicity. Thus, the function of the LPS in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria has to do with its permeability characteristics, rather than its toxicity for animals. However, there are endless examples wherein a bacterial surface component plays an indispensable role in the pathogenesis of infectious disease.

The pathogenesis of many bacterial infections cannot be separated from the host immune response, for much of the tissue damage is caused by the host response rather than by bacterial factors. The degree of virulence is related directly to the ability of the organism to cause disease despite host resistance mechanisms; it is affected by numerous variables such as the number of infecting bacteria, route of entry into the body, specific and nonspecific host defense mechanisms, and virulence factors of the bacterium. Virulence can be measured experimentally by determining the number of bacteria required to causing animal death, illness, or lesions in a defined period after the bacteria are administered by a designated route. Consequently, calculations of a lethal dose affecting 50 percent of a population of animals (LD50) or an effective dose causing a disease symptom in 50 percent of a population of animals (ED50) are useful in comparing the relative virulence of different bacteria. Since the 1990s, the number of new antibacterial drugs has plummeted and the number of antibiotic-resistant infections has risen, which has decreased the effective treatment of many disorders, including sepsis. We aimed to assess whether funding for bacteriology and antibiotic research to UK researchers had increased in response to this global crisis. We identified 609 projects within the specialty of bacteriology, 196 (32•2%) of which were on antibiotics. Of £13 846•1 million of available research funding, £269•2 million (1•9%) was awarded to bacteriology projects and £95•0 million (0•7%) was awarded for research on antibiotics. Additionally, £181•4 million in European Union (EU) funding was awarded to antibiotic research consortia including researchers based within the UK, including two EU Innovative Medicines Initiative awards, totaling £85•2 million.

Track 2: News in Harmful bacteria

S. pyogenes is the cause of many important human diseases, ranging from mild superficial skin infections to life-threatening systemic diseases. Infections due to certain strains of S. pyogenes can be associated with the release of bacterial toxins. Since 1978, enteropathogenic E. coli have come to be appreciated anew as a separate class of diarrheagenic E. coli that cause diarrhea by distinct pathogenic mechanisms. The relative importance of enteropathogenic E. coli as a cause of sporadic diarrhea in both industrialized and developing countries needs to be reassessed.

Some strains of V. cholerae cause the disease cholera. CTXφ (also called CTXphi) is a filamentous phage that contains the genes for cholera toxin. Infectious CTXφ particles are produced when V. cholerae infects humans. Phage particles are secreted from bacterial cells without lysis. When CTXφ infects V. cholerae cells, it integrates into specific sites on either chromosome. Gene transfer is fairly common amongst bacteria and recombination of different V. cholerae genes can lead to new virulent strains.

Typhoid fever occurs when Salmonella bacteria enter the lymphatic system and cause a systemic form of salmonellosis. Endotoxins first act on the vascular and nervous apparatus, resulting in increased permeability and decreased tone of the vessels, upset thermal regulation, vomiting and diarrhea. In severe forms of the disease, enough liquid and electrolytes are lost to upset the water-salt metabolism, decrease the circulating blood volume and arterial pressure, and cause hypovolemic shock. Septic shock may also develop. Shock of mixed character (with signs of both hypovolemic and septic shock) are more common in severe salmonellosis. Oliguria and azotemia develop in severe cases as a result of renal involvement due to hypoxia and toxemia.

An estimated 700 million infections occur worldwide each year. While the overall mortality rate for these infections is 0.1%, over 650,000 of the cases are severe and invasive, and have a mortality rate of 25%.

Diarrhea is a leading killer of children, accounting for 9 per cent of all deaths among children under age 5 worldwide. In 2013, this translated into 1,600 young children dying each day, or about 580,000 children a year. Most deaths from diarrhea occur among children less than 2 years of age living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite this heavy toll, progress is being made. From 2000 to 2013, the total annual number of deaths from diarrhea among children under 5 decreased by more than 50 per cent – from over 1.2 million to fewer than 0.6 million. Many more children could be saved through the widespread use of a simple solution of oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc supplementation.

Since 2004, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) have recommended treating childhood diarrhea by replacing fluids through oral rehydration therapy. Along with continued feeding, oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc supplements are the recommended methods for treating diarrhea and these could be saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of children each year if they were available to all. These interventions have proved cost-effective, affordable and relatively straightforward to implement. However, worldwide, just about 40 per cent of children under age 5 with diarrhea receive the recommended treatment of oral rehydration therapy and continued feeding. Coverage of this treatment package is lowest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (36 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively), the regions with the most deaths from diarrhea.

Cholera remains a global threat and is one of the key indicators of social development. While the disease no longer poses a threat to countries with minimum standards of hygiene, it remains a challenge to countries where access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation cannot be guaranteed. Almost every developing country faces cholera outbreaks or the threat of a cholera epidemic.

Dehydration, also known as hypohydration, is not enough body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. The term dehydration may be used loosely to refer to any condition where fluid volume is reduced; most commonly, it refers to hypernatremia (loss of free water and the attendant excess concentration of salt), but is also used to refer to hypovolemia (loss of blood volume, particularly plasma). This occurs mostly in children and can be categorized under pediatric bacteriology.

Dehydration occurs when water loss exceeds water intake, usually due to exercise or disease. Most people can tolerate a three to four percent decrease in body water without difficulty. A five to eight percent decrease can cause fatigue and dizziness. Over ten percent can cause physical and mental deterioration, accompanied by severe thirst. A decrease more than fifteen to twenty-five percent of the body water is invariably fatal. Mild dehydration is characterized by thirst and general discomfort and usually resolved with oral rehydration.

In the end of the 1980´s and early 1990´s approximately 5000 people (incidence 56/100,000) were reported with salmonella infection. The number of reported cases declined in the mid 2000´s to 3500 but has in recent years increased slightly. In 2013, 2838 cases were reported. The majority (approximately 80-85%) of the reported cases were infected abroad. The low number of cases infected domestically, out of the total number of reported cases, reflects the favorable salmonella situation of the Swedish food-producing animals. In recent years, it has become more common for different types of vegetables to be associated with salmonella outbreaks. These types of products often come from countries other than Sweden, and are often eaten without being heat-treated first. All these types of conditions are going to be discussed at bacteriology congress.

Track 3: Immune Defense against bacterial pathogens: Innate and Adaptive immunity

The innate immune system and the adaptive immune system each comprise both humoral and cell-mediated components.

Different animal species can be more or less resistant to specific pathogens.

Within a species, individual organisms may be more or less susceptible to a pathogen based on age, nutrition, stress, disease state, and chemicals in their environment.

Whether a pathogen can cause disease in a host is dependent not only on the virulence of the pathogen, but also on the genetic background and health of the host. Some species have an innate susceptibility to a pathogen not shared with other related hosts. For example, humans are the only host for the agents of syphilis, gonorrhea, measles and poliomyelitis. In contrast, we have innate resistance to canine distemper virus and feline leukemia virus. These differences in susceptibility may be related to a number of factors. The resistant host may lack a cellular receptor required by the pathogen for attachment or penetration of the host. The temperature of the host may also preclude the growth of a potential pathogen.

Individuals within a species can also exhibit different susceptibility or resistance to a pathogen when compared to others. The age of an individual can have an overall effect on disease resistance, with the very young and the very old being more susceptible to infection by a wide variety of pathogens. Stress in the form of extreme exertion, shock, a change in environment, climate change, nervousness or muscle fatigue can have a negative impact on health. Each of these conditions is thought to increase the release of cortisol from the adrenal cortex, causing a suppression of the inflammatory response, thereby facilitating infection.

1.        Differences in susceptibility to certain pathogens

-Absence of specific tissue or cellular receptors for attachment (colonization) by the pathogen.

-Temperature of the host and ability of pathogen to grow.

-Lack of the exact nutritional requirements to support the growth of the pathogen.

-Lack of a target site for a microbial toxin.

2.        Anatomical defense

The structural integrity of the body surfaces, i.e., the skin and mucous membranes, forms an effective barrier to initial lodgment or penetration by microorganisms. The skin is a very effective barrier to bacterium, so that no bacterium by itself is known to be able to penetrate unbroken skin. Of course, a puncture, cut or scrape in the skin could introduce infectious bacteria. The mucous membranes are more vulnerable to penetration by infectious bacteria but still pose a formidable barrier of mucus and antimicrobial substances.

The anatomical defenses are associated with all other aspects of non-cellular immunity, including individual resistance, mechanical resistance, chemical resistance and resistance established by the normal flora.

3.        Tissue bactericides, including complement

4.        Microbial antagonism

Microbial antagonism is the method of using established cultures of microorganisms to prevent the intrusion of foreign strains. When introduced to an already-colonized environment, an invasive strain of bacteria tends not to thrive and may go completely extinct.

These 4 can be considered as non-cellular defense.

 5.Inflammation : Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants.

and 6.Phagocytosis: specific form of endocytosis involving the vascular internalization of solids such as bacteria by an organism, and is therefore distinct from other forms of endocytosis such as the vesicular internalization of various liquids

5 &6 are forms of cellular defense.

Immune responses to antigens may be categorized as primary or secondary responses. The primary immune response of the body to antigen occurs on the first occasion it is encountered. Depending on the nature of the antigen and the site of entry this response can take up to 14 days to resolve and leads to the generation of memory cells with a high specificity for the inducing antigen. The humoral response, mediated by B cells with the help of T cells, produces high‐affinity and antigen‐specific antibodies. This is in contrast with the CD8 T‐cell response which leads to the generation of large numbers of antigen‐specific cells that are capable of directly killing infected cells. Antigen‐specific CD4 T cells, which provide help to B cells in the form of cytokines and other stimulatory factors, can also be expanded upon antigenic stimulation.

The secondary response of both B‐ and T cells is observed following subsequent encounter with the same antigen and is more rapid leading to the activation of previously generated memory cells. This has some quantitative and qualitative differences from the primary response.

Key Concepts:

The innate immune system is the first line of defence against infectious agents. When this is breached, the adaptive immune system provides a more efficient response to clearing pathogens. The adaptive immune system has the capacity to ‘remember’ previous antigens, a process termed immunological memory. Antigen‐specific T cells are selected during a primary immune response and expand to produce clones of T cells with high specificity for the activating antigen. In a B cell primary response to a thymus‐dependent antigen, the immune system selects B cells with a high affinity and specificity for the antigen and these become memory cells.The selection of B cells with a high affinity for a given antigen occurs in the germinal centers of secondary lymphoid follicles and requires the enzyme activation‐induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and interactions with other immune cells.The ability to change the isotype of antibody produced (class switching) by a B cell also occurs in germinal centers and requires AID. In a secondary response to the same antigen, memory cells are rapidly activated. This process is quicker and more effective than the primary response. Antibody-mediated beta cellularis immune system, is the aspect of immunity that is mediated by macromolecules (as opposed to cell-mediated immunity) found in extracellular fluids such as secreted antibodies, complement proteins and certain antimicrobial peptides. Humoral immunity is so named because it involves substances found in the humours, or body fluids.

Cell-mediated immunity is an immune response that does not involve antibodies, but rather involves the activation of phagocytes, antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, and the release of various cytokines in response to an antigen. Historically, the immune system was separated into two branches: humoral immunity, for which the protective function of immunization could be found in the humor (cell-free bodily fluid or serum) and cellular immunity, for which the protective function of immunization was associated with cells. CD4 cells or helper T cells provide protection against different pathogens. Cytotoxic T cells cause death by apoptosis without using cytokines; therefore in cell mediated immunity cytokines are not always present.

The statistical errors identified in Infection and Immunity are comparable to those found in similar journals: 54% of the articles reviewed contained errors of analysis (20%), reporting (22%), or both (12%). The most common analysis errors are failure to adjust or account for multiple comparisons (27 studies), reporting a conclusion based on observation without conducting a statistical test (20 studies), and use of statistical tests that assume a normal distribution on data that follow a skewed distribution (at least 11 studies). The most common reporting errors are unlabeled or inappropriate error bars or measures of variability (15 studies) and failure to describe the statistical tests performed (12 studies).

Track 4: Plant microbe symbiosis and pathology

Symbiosis in lichens is the mutually helpful symbiotic relationship of green algae and/or blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) living among filaments of a fungus. The fungus benefits from the algae or cyanobacteria because they produce food by photosynthesis. The algae or cyanobacteria benefit by being protected from the environment by the filaments of the fungus, which also gather moisture and nutrients from the environment, and (usually) provide an anchor to it. The lichen combination of fungus and/or algae and/or cyanobacteria has a very different form (morphology), physiology, and biochemistry than the parts growing by themselves. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation occurs in plants that harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria within their tissues. The best-studied example is the association between legumes and bacteria in the genus Rhizobium. Rhizobium is the most well-known species of a group of bacteria that acts as the primary symbiotic fixer of nitrogen. These bacteria can infect the roots of leguminous plants, leading to the formation of lumps or nodules where the nitrogen fixation takes place. The bacterium’s enzyme system supplies a constant source of reduced nitrogen to the host plant and the plant furnishes nutrients and energy for the activities of the bacterium. About 90% of legumes can become modulated. In the soil the bacteria are free living and motile, feeding on the remains of dead organisms. Free living rhizobia cannot fix nitrogen and they have a different shape from the bacteria found in root nodules. They are regular in structure, appearing as straight rods; in root nodules the nitrogen-fixing form exists as irregular cells called bacteroids which are often club and Y-shaped.

Plant defenses can be classified generally as constitutive or induced. Constitutive defenses are always present in the plant, while induced defenses are produced or mobilized to the site where a plant is injured. There is wide variation in the composition and concentration of constitutive defenses and these ranges from mechanical defenses to digestibility reducers and toxins. Many external mechanical defenses and large quantitative defenses are constitutive, as they require large amounts of resources to produce and are difficult to mobilize. A variety of molecular and biochemical approaches are used to determine the mechanism of constitutive and induced plant defenses responses against herbivore. The study can be categorized under plant bacteriology and those are discussed at our bacteriology conferences.

Induced defenses include secondary metabolic products, as well as morphological and physiological changes. An advantage of inducible, as opposed to constitutive defenses, that they are only produced when needed, and are therefore potentially less costly, especially when herbivory is variable.

Xanthomonas is a genus of Proteobacteria, many of which cause plant diseases. Xanthomonas species can be easily spread in water, movement of infected material such as seed or propagation plants, and by mechanical means such as infected pruning tools. Upon contact with a susceptible host, bacteria enter through wounds or natural plant openings as a means to infect. They inject a number of effector proteins, including TAL effectors, into the plant by their secretion systems (i.e., type III secretion system).

F. graminearum infects wheat spikes from anthesis through the soft dough stage of kernel development. The fungus enters the plant mostly through the flowers; however, the infection process is complex and the complete course of colonization of the host has not been described. Germ tubes seem not to be able to penetrate the hard, waxy surface of the lemma and palea which protect the flower. The fungus enters the plant through natural openings such as stomates, and needs soft tissue such as the flowers, anthers and embryo to infect the plant.From the infected floret, the fungus can grow through the rachis and cause severe damage in a short period of time under favorable conditions. Upon germination of the spores on the anthers and the surface of the developing kernel, hyphae penetrate the epicarp and spread through the seed coat. Successively, the different layers of the seed coat and finally the endosperm are colonized and killed.

The large amount of literature about TMV and its choice for many pioneering investigations in structural biology (including X-ray diffraction), virus assembly and disassembly, and so on, are fundamentally due to the large quantities that can be obtained, plus the fact that it does not infect animals. After growing a few infected tobacco plants in a greenhouse and a few simple laboratory procedures, a scientist can easily produce several grams of the virus. As a result of this, TMV can be treated almost as an organic chemical, rather than an infective agent.

In order to protect themselves from damage, plants have developed a wide variety of constitutive and inducible defenses. Constitutive (continuous) defenses include many preformed barriers such as cell walls, waxy epidermal cuticles, and bark. These substances not only protect the plant from invasion, they also give the plant strength and rigidity. In addition to preformed barriers, virtually all living plant cells have the ability to detect invading pathogens and respond with inducible defenses including the production of toxic chemicals, pathogen-degrading enzymes, and deliberate cell suicide. Plants often wait until pathogens are detected before producing toxic chemicals or defense-related proteins because of the high energy costs and nutrient requirements associated with their production and maintenance.

Track 5: Clinical aspects of bacterial infections

A systemic disease is one that affects a number of organs and tissues, or affects the body as a whole.

Surgical infections occur because of a breakdown of the equilibrium that exists between organisms and the host. This may be due to a breach in a protective surface, changes in host resistance, or particular characteristics of the organism. The possible outcomes are resolution, abscess formation, extensive local spread with or without tissue death, and distant spread.

An emerging infectious disease (EID) is an infectious disease whose incidence has increased in the past 35 years and could increase in the near future. Emerging infections account for at least 12% of all human pathogens. EIDs are caused by newly identified species or strains (e.g. SARS, AIDS) that may have evolved from a known infection (e.g. influenza) or spread to a new population (e.g. West Nile virus) or area undergoing ecologic transformation (e.g. Lyme disease), or be reemerging infections, like drug resistant tuberculosis. Nosocomial infections, such as MRSA are emerging in hospitals and extremely problematic in that they are resistant to many antibiotics. Of growing concern are adverse synergistic interactions between emerging diseases and other infectious and non-infectious conditions leading to the development of novel syndemics are discussed at our infectious disease conferences.

Mycobacteria are a type of germ. There are many different kinds. The most common one causes tuberculosis. Another one causes leprosy. Still others cause infections that are called atypical mycobacterial infections. They aren't "typical" because they don't cause tuberculosis. But they can still harm people, especially people with other problems that affect their immunity, such as AIDS.

Track 6: Epidemiology, emerging infectious diseases and public response planning

Listeriosis primarily causes infections of the central nervous system (meningitis, meningo encephalitis, brain abscess, cerebritis) and bacteremia in those who are immune compromised, pregnant women, and those at the extremes of age (newborns and the elderly), as well as gastroenteritis in healthy persons who have ingested a large inoculum of the organism. Listeria is ubiquitous and is primarily transmitted via the oral route after ingestion of contaminated food products, after which the organism penetrates the intestinal tract to cause systemic infections. The diagnosis of listeriosis requires the isolation of the organism from the blood and/or the cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment includes prolonged administration of antibiotics, primarily ampicillin and gentamicin, to which the organism is usually susceptible. Neisseria is a large genus of bacteria that colonize the mucosal surfaces of many animals. Of the 11 species that colonize humans, only two are pathogens, N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae. Most gonoccocal infections are asymptomatic and self-resolving, and epidemic strains of the meningococcus may be carried in >95% of a population where systemic disease occurs at <1% prevalence.

Neisseria species are Gram-negative bacteria included among the proteobacteria, a large group of Gram-negative forms. Neisseria diplococci resemble coffee beans when viewed microscopically.

Gonnococcal infection, also known as gonorrhea, gonorrhoea and the clap is one of the two most common sexually transmitted infections in the United States along with chlamydia. This infection is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The usual symptoms in men are a burning sensation with urination and penile discharge. Women, on the other hand, are asymptomatic half the time or have vaginal discharge and pelvic pain. In both men and women, if gonorrhea is left untreated, it may spread locally, causing inflammation of the epididymis or pelvic inflammatory disease or throughout the body, affecting joints and heart valves.

The common treatment is with ceftriaxone (Rocephin), as resistance has developed to many previously used antibiotics. Ceftriaxone is typically given in combination with either azithromycin or doxycycline, as gonorrhea infections may occur along with chlamydia, an infection that ceftriaxone does not treat. Some strains of gonorrhea have begun showing resistance to this treatment, which will make infection more difficult to treat.

Meningitis (from Greek μῆνιγξ méninx, "membrane" and the medical suffix -itis, "inflammation") is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs. Meningitis can be life-threatening because of the inflammation's proximity to the brain and spinal cord; therefore, the condition is classified as a medical emergency. The most common symptoms of meningitis are headache and neck stiffness associated with fever, confusion or altered consciousness, vomiting, and an inability to tolerate light (photophobia) or loud noises (phonophobia). Children often exhibit only nonspecific symptoms, such as irritability and drowsiness. If a rash is present, it may indicate a particular cause of meningitis; for instance, meningitis caused by meningococcal bacteria may be accompanied by a characteristic rash.

A lumbar puncture diagnoses or excludes meningitis. A needle is inserted into the spinal canal to extract a sample of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), that envelops the brain and spinal cord. The CSF is examined in a medical laboratory.The first treatment in acute meningitis consists of promptly administered antibiotics and sometimes antiviral drugs. Corticosteroids can also be used to prevent complications from excessive inflammation. Meningitis can lead to serious long-term consequences such as deafness, epilepsy, hydrocephalus and cognitive deficits, especially if not treated quickly. Some forms of meningitis (such as those associated with meningococci, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococci or mumps virus infections) may be prevented by immunization. In 2013 meningitis resulted in 303,000 deaths – down from 464,000 deaths in 1990.

When urinary tract infection (UTI) affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a simple cystitis (a bladder infection) and when it affects the upper urinary tract it is known as pyelonephritis (a kidney infection). Symptoms from a lower urinary tract include painful urination and either frequent urination or urge to urinate (or both); while the symptoms of pyelonephritis include fever and flank pain in addition to the symptoms of a lower UTI. In some cases, a painful burning sensation in the urethra may be present even when not urinating. In the elderly and the very young, symptoms may be vague or non-specific. The main causal agent of both types is Escherichia coli, though other bacteria, viruses or fungi may rarely be the cause.

Urinary tract infections occur more commonly in women than men, with half of women having at least one infection at some point in their lives. Recurrences are common. Risk factors include female anatomy, sexual intercourse and family history. Pyelonephritis, if it occurs, usually follows a bladder infection but may also result from a blood-borne infection. Diagnosis in young healthy women can be based on symptoms alone. In those with vague symptoms, diagnosis can be difficult because bacteria may be present without there being an infection. In complicated cases or if treatment has failed, a urine culture may be useful. In those with frequent infections, low dose antibiotics may be taken as a preventative measure.

In uncomplicated cases, urinary tract infections are easily treated with a short course of antibiotics, although resistance to many of the antibiotics used to treat this condition is increasing. In complicated cases, a longer course or intravenous antibiotics may be needed, and if symptoms have not improved in two or three days, further diagnostic testing is needed. In women, urinary tract infections are the most common form of bacterial infection with 10% developing urinary tract infections yearly. In those who have bacteria or white blood cells in their urine but have no symptoms, antibiotics are generally not needed, although pregnant women are an exception to this recommendation.

Neonatal meningitis, a very serious medical condition in infants. Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges (the protective membranes of the central nervous system (CNS) and is more common in the neonatal period (infants less than 44 days old) than any other time in life and is an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Mortality is roughly half in developing countries and ranges from 8%-12.5% in developed countries. Symptoms seen with neonatal meningitis are often unspecific that may point to several conditions, such as sepsis (whole body inflammation). These can include fever, irritability, and dyspnea. The only method to determine if meningitis is the cause of these symptoms is lumbar puncture (LP; an examination of the cerebrospinal fluid).

The most common causes of neonatal meningitis is bacterial infection of the blood, known as bacteremia (specifically Group B Streptococci (GBS; Streptococcus agalactiae), Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes). Although there is a low mortality rate in developed countries, there is a 50% prevalence rate of neurodevelopmental disabilities in E. coli and GBS meningitis, while having a 79% prevalence for non-E. coli Gram-negative caused meningitis. Delayed treatment of neonatal meningitis may cause include cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, and learning deficiencies.

• Salmonella and Shigella are different groups of Gram-negative bacteria.

Salmonellosis

The most common type of Salmonella bacteria responsible for salmonellosis are Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium. These bacteria tend to live and thrive in the intestines of mammals. Only about 1,000,000 (one million) bacterial cells are needed to cause an infection. This is known as the infective dose and most of these bacterial cells are destroyed by the stomach acid. Only a few cells survive to pass into the small and large intestine where it causes enterocolitis. Infection can occur with as little as 1,000 (one thousand) bacterial cells in a person.

Shigellosis

Most cases of shigellosis are caused by Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri species which are also known as group D and group B Shigella. These bacteria are mainly found in the feces of an infected person.The infective dose of shigellosis is as low as 200 bacterial cells – the number of cells that can cause shigellosis when ingested. During the acute disease a person passes out 100,000,000 (100 million) cells per gram of stool. Therefore even a minute amount of fecal matter from an infected person is sufficient to cause shigellosis.

During 2013, 134 culture-confirmed cases of Shigella infection (2.5 per 100,000 population) were reported. This represents a 66% decrease from the 391 cases reported in 2012, but is 35% higher than the annual number of cases reported during 2003-2012 . S. sonnei accounted for 86 (64%) cases, S. flexneri for 42 (31%) cases, and S. boydii for 3 (2%) cases. The species was not identified in 3 (2%) cases. There were no S. dysenteriae infections reported in 2013. Cases ranged in age from 1 month to 94 years (median, 24.5 years). Twenty-six percent of cases were <5 years of age. Thirty-four (25%) cases were hospitalized. No cases died. Sixty percent of cases reported either non-White race (65 of 122 cases) or Hispanic ethnicity (24 of 116 cases). Of the 110 cases for which travel information was available, 17 (16%) travelled internationally (7 of 72 [10%] S. sonnei, 8 of 33 [24%] S. flexneri, and 2 of 3 [67%] S. boydii). Seventy-one percent of cases resided in the metropolitan area, including 51% in Hennepin County and 12% in Ramsey County.

Track 7: Medical microbiology – from bench top to clinic

Bacterial STDs , such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia, are often cured with antibiotics. However, viral STDs , (the four “H's”) such as HIV , HPV (genital warts), herpes, and hepatitis (the only STD that can be prevented with a vaccine), have no cure, but their symptoms can be alleviated with treatment. Apart from this, malarial infections are also widely spreading especially in African countries. Bacterial toxins and mycobacterial infections are emerging as future epidemic diseases. Various treatments like chemotherapy, antimicrobial treatment and gene silencing are used to cure these infections up to some extent.

Antibiotic use in Europe, expressed in defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants, ranges from 10.0 in the Russian Federation, 14.6 in Sweden to 45.2 in Greece, according to 2008 data from the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption (ESAC) project. The statistics depend on the strength of monitoring systems.

In the European Union (EU), Norway and Iceland, 5–12% of hospital patients acquire an infection during their stay. Each year, an estimated 400 000 present with a resistant strain, of whom 25 000 die, on average.

In addition to causing deaths and increased suffering, AMR has huge economic implications. Multidrug-resistant bacteria in the EU are estimated to cause an economic loss of more than €1.5 billion each year.

Resistance is increasing in Europe for some bacteria, especially Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae, where new resistant mechanisms are emerging and new drugs are not in sight.

Surveillance in 27 EU countries, coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, collects annual data on infections with seven resistant bacteria.

Track 8: Animal Bacterial Diseases

Unlike humans, animals are also prone to bacterial diseases. Infections in animals occur through various paths such as digestive, respiratory, urinary, genital tracts.  Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Jaundice, Diverticulosis/diverticulitis, Cirrhosis, Portal hypertension, Esophageal varices, Dysphagia, Crohn’s Disease, Peritonitis comes under digestive track diseases. Diseases of the respiratory tract, Diseases of the urinary tract and genital tracts, Diseases of the nervous system, Diseases of muscles, bones and joints, Diseases of the cardio-vascular system.

About 60 percent of all human diseases and 75 percent of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, according to the researchers. Most human infections with zoonoses come from livestock, including pigs, chickens, cattle, goats, sheep and camels. Diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, such as bird flu and tuberculosis, can wreak havoc on the health of both organisms. Now researchers have found 13 so-called zoonoses are responsible for 2.2 million human deaths every year.

The study, detailed this week in the report "Mapping of Poverty and Likely Zoonoses Hotspots," shows the vast majority of these illnesses and deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. For instance, Africa's Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania, along with India, had the highest rates of associated illness and death.

"From cyst-causing tapeworms to avian flu, zoonoses present a major threat to human and animal health," lead study author Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya, said in a statement. "Targeting the diseases in the hardest-hit countries is crucial to protecting global health as well as to reducing severe levels of poverty and illness among the world's 1 billion poor livestock keepers."

Out of 56 zoonoses studied, the researchers found 13 that were most important in terms of their impact on human deaths, the livestock sector and the severity of disease in people, along with their amenability to agriculture-based control.

These were, in descending order: zoonotic gastrointestinal disease; leptospirosis; cysticercosis; zoonotic tuberculosis (TB); rabies; leishmaniasis (caused by a bite from certain sandflies); brucellosis (a bacterial disease that mainly infects livestock); echinococcosis; toxoplasmosis; Q fever; zoonotic trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), hepatitis E; and anthrax.

They found many livestock were infected with these zoonoses in poor countries, where: 

27 % of livestock showed signs of current or past infection with bacterial food-borne disease that causes food contamination (a type of zoonotic gastrointestinal disease)

12 % of animals have recent or current infections with brucellosis

10 % of livestock in Africa are infected with trypanosomiasis

7 % of livestock are currently infected with TB

17 % of smallholder pigs show signs of current infection with cysticercosis

26 % of livestock show signs of current or past infection with leptospirosis

25 % of livestock show signs of current or past infection with Q fever

Dependence on livestock

Nearly three-quarters of rural poor people and about one-third of the urban poor depend on livestock for food, income, manure and other services, the researchers say.

As such, the loss of one milking animal can devastate these households, though even worse, the researchers point out, is the loss of a loved one to a zoonotic disease.

The new map of hotspots will give researchers and officials places on which to focus their efforts. The highest zoonosis burden, they found, occurs in just a few countries, particularly Ethiopia, Nigeria and India. These three countries also have the highest number of poor livestock keepers and the highest number of malnourished people.

Track 9: Advances in Antimicrobials, Vaccines and therapeutics

Anti-microbial is the agent that kills or restricts the bacterial growth. To fight against the potential bacteria now-a-days, the manufacturing companies are coming up with more advanced anti-microbial liquids/soaps/sanitizers. 

Immunization/Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions to date, saving millions of lives1 and protecting countless children from illness and disability. As a direct result of immunization, polio is on the verge of eradication. Deaths from measles, a major child killer, declined by 71 per cent worldwide and by 80 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa between 2000 and 2011.2 And 35 of 59 priority countries have eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus.

Immunization has not yet realized its full potential, however. As of end-2013, 21.8 million children under 1 year of age worldwide had not received the three recommended doses of vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis containing vaccine (DTP3), and 21.6 million children in the same age group had failed to receive a single dose of measles-containing vaccine. Given an estimated annual cohort of 133.6 million surviving infants, an additional 11.2 million children would need to have been reached during 2013 to attain 90% DTP3 coverage globally. 

In the spring of 2009, a new flu virus spread quickly across the United States and the world. The first U.S. case of H1N1 (swine flu) was diagnosed on April 15, 2009. By April 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was working to develop a vaccine for this new virus. On April 26, the U.S. government declared H1N1 a public health emergency.

By June, 18,000 cases of H1N1 had been reported in the United States. A total of 74 countries were affected by the pandemic. H1N1 vaccine supply was limited in the beginning. People at the highest risk of complications got the vaccine first.

By November 2009, 48 states had reported cases of H1N1, mostly in young people. That same month, over 61 million vaccine doses were ready. Reports of flu activity began to decline in parts of the country, which gave the medical community a chance to vaccinate more people. 80 million people were vaccinated against H1N1, which minimized the impact of the illness.

The CDC estimates that 43 million to 89 million people had H1N1 between April 2009 and April 2010. They estimate between 8,870 and 18,300 H1N1 related deaths.

On August 10, 2010 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the global H1N1 flu pandemic.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s deadliest diseases:

One third of the world’s population is infected with TB.

In 2013, 9 million people around the world became sick with TB disease. There were around 1.5 million TB-related deaths worldwide.

TB is a leading killer of people who are HIV infected.

A total of 9,582 TB cases (a rate of 3.0 cases per 100,000 persons) were reported in the United States in 2013. Both the number of TB cases reported and the case rate decreased; this represents a 3.6% and 4.3% decline, respectively, compared to 2012.

Measles Outbreaks

Outbreaks in countries to which Americans often travel can directly contribute to an increase in measles cases in the U.S.

Reasons for an increase in cases some years:

2015: The United States experienced a large, multi-state measles outbreak linked to an amusement park in California. The outbreak likely started from a traveler who became infected overseas with measles, then visited the amusement park while infectious; however, no source was identified. Analysis by CDC scientists showed that the measles virus type in this outbreak (B3) was identical to the virus type that caused the large measles outbreak in the Philippines in 2014.

2014: The U.S. experienced 23 measles outbreaks in 2014, including one large outbreak of 383 cases, occurring primarily among unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio. Many of the cases in the U.S. in 2014 were associated with cases brought in from the Philippines, which experienced a large measles outbreak.

In 2014, 1,151 people in the United States have been reported to have mumps.

Since November 2014, CDC has received reports of people with mumps, who are affiliated with professional hockey teams. CDC is working with the states affected, as they conduct public health investigations.

In 2013, 438 people from 39 states in the U.S. were reported to have mumps.

Track 10: Diagnostic Pathology of Infectious Disease

Clinical approach is the method where biopsy is used for diagnosis of an infection.

Virtually every woman is affected by a gynecological condition or infection at some time during her life.

Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted vaginal infection, is the most frequently reported infectious disease in the U.S. However, 75 percent of women have no symptoms and may not seek health care. Left untreated, 40 percent of women will develop PID and many of these women will become infertile.

Group B streptococci (GBS) emerged dramatically in the 1970s as the leading cause of neonatal infection and as an important cause of maternal uterine infection. We review the epidemiology, diagnosis, and therapy of GBS perinatal infection. In 1996, the first national consensus guidelines were released. Since then, there has been a 70% reduction in early-onset neonatal GBS infection, but no decrease in late-onset neonatal GBS disease. In 2002, new national guidelines were released recommending 1) solely a screen-based prevention strategy, 2) a new algorithm for patients with penicillin allergy, and 3) more specific practices in certain clinical scenarios. Yet many clinical issues remain, including implementation of new diagnostic techniques, management of preterm rupture of membranes, use of alternative antibiotic approaches, improvement of compliance, prevention of low birth weight infants, emergence of resistant organisms, and vaccine development. Bacteriology congress is organized by conference series.com