Poxviruses compromise a group of long known important pathogens including some zoonotic members affecting lifestock animals and humans. While whole genome sequence analysis started to shed light into the molecular mechanisms underlying host cell infection, viral replication as well as virulence, our understanding of poxvirus maintenance in nature and their transmission to humans is still poor. During the last two decades, reports on emerging human monkeypox outbreaks in Africa and North America, the increasing number of cowpox virus infections in cats, exotic animals and humans and cases of vaccinia virus infections in humans in South America and India reminded us that - beside the eradicated smallpox virus - there are other poxviruses that can cause harm to men. We start to learn that the host range of some poxviruses is way broader than initially thought and that mainly rodents seem to function as virus reservoir. The following review is aiming to provide an up-to-date overview on the epidemiology of zoonotic poxviruses, emphasizing orthopoxviruses. By outlining the current knowledge of poxvirus transmission, we hope to raise the awareness about modes of acquisition of infections and their proper diagnosis.

Dirofilaria repens is a nematode affecting domestic and wild canids, transmitted by several species of mosquitoes. It usually causes a non-pathogenic subcutaneous infection in dogs and is the principal agent of human dirofilariosis in the Old World. In the last decades, D. repens has increased in prevalence in areas where it has already been reported and its distribution range has expanded into new areas of Europe, representing a paradigmatic example of an emergent pathogen. Despite its emergence and zoonotic impact, D. repens has received less attention by scientists compared to Dirofilaria immitis. In this review we report the recent advances of D. repens infection in dogs and humans, and transmission by vectors, and discuss possible factors that influence the spread and increase of this zoonotic parasite in Europe. There is evidence that D. repens has spread faster than D. immitis from the endemic areas of southern Europe to northern Europe. Climate change affecting mosquito vectors and the facilitation of pet travel seem to have contributed to this expansion; however, in the authors’ opinion, the major factor is likely the rate of undiagnosed dogs continuing to perpetuate the life-cycle of D. repens. Many infected dogs remain undetected due to the subclinical nature of the disease, the lack of rapid and reliable diagnostic tools and the poor knowledge and still low awareness of D. repens in non-endemic areas. Improved diagnostic tools are warranted to bring D. repens diagnosis to the state of D. immitis diagnosis, as well as improved screening of imported dogs and promotion of preventative measures among veterinarians and dog owners. For vector-borne diseases involving pets, veterinarians play a significant role in prevention and should be more aware of their responsibility in reducing the impact of the zoonotic agents. In addition, they should enhance multisectorial collaboration with medical entomologists and the public health experts, under the concept and the actions of One Health-One Medicine.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-3205-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Two Gram-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming, coccoid bacteria (strains CCM 4915 T and CCM 4916), isolated from clinical specimens of the common vole Microtus arvalis during an epizootic in the Czech Republic in 2001, were subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. On the basis of 16S rRNA (rrs) and recA gene sequence similarities, both isolates were allocated to the genus Brucella. Affiliation to Brucella was confirmed by DNA-DNA hybridization studies. Both strains reacted equally with Brucella M-monospecific antiserum and were lysed by the bacteriophages Tb, Wb, F1 and F25. Biochemical profiling revealed a high degree of enzyme activity and metabolic capabilities not observed in other Brucella species. The omp2a and omp2b genes of isolates CCM 4915 T and CCM 4916 were indistinguishable. Whereas omp2a was identical to omp2a of brucellae from certain pinniped marine mammals, omp2b clustered with omp2b of terrestrial brucellae. Analysis of the bp26 gene downstream region identified strains CCM 4915 T and CCM 4916 as Brucella of terrestrial origin. Both strains harboured five to six copies of the insertion element IS711, displaying a unique banding pattern as determined by Southern blotting. In comparative multilocus VNTR (variable-number tandem-repeat) analysis (MLVA) with 296 different genotypes, the two isolates grouped together, but formed a separate Abbreviations: MLST, multilocus sequence typing; MLVA, multilocus VNTR (variable-number tandem-repeat) analysis; RTD, routine test dilution.The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the gene sequences omp22, omp25, omp25b, omp31 and omp31b of strain CCM 4915

Protein secretion is an essential process for living organisms. In eukaryotes, this encompasses numerous steps mediated by several hundred cellular proteins. The core functions of translocation through the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, primary glycosylation, folding and quality control, and vesicle-mediated secretion are similar from yeasts to higher eukaryotes. However, recent research has revealed significant functional differences between yeasts and mammalian cells, and even among diverse yeast species. This review provides a current overview of the canonical protein secretion pathway in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, highlighting differences to mammalian cells as well as currently unresolved questions, and provides a genomic comparison of the S. cerevisiae pathway to seven other yeast species where secretion has been investigated due to their attraction as protein production platforms, or for their relevance as pathogens. The analysis of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Kluyveromyces lactis, Pichia pastoris, Hansenula polymorpha, Yarrowia lipolytica, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe reveals that many - but not all - secretion steps are more redundant in S. cerevisiae due to duplicated genes, while some processes are even absent in this model yeast. Recent research obviates that even where homologous genes are present, small differences in protein sequence and/or differences in the regulation of gene expression may lead to quite different protein secretion phenotypes.

A Gram-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming coccoid bacterium (strain BO1 T ) was isolated recently from a breast implant infection of a 71-year-old female patient with clinical signs of brucellosis. Affiliation of strain BO1T to the genus Brucella was confirmed by means of polyamine pattern, polar lipid profile, fatty acid profile, quinone system, DNA-DNA hybridization studies and by insertion sequence 711 (IS711)-specific PCR. Strain BO1 T harboured four to five copies of the Brucella-specific insertion element IS711, displaying a unique banding pattern, and exhibited a unique 16S rRNA gene sequence and also grouped separately in multilocus sequence typing analysis. Strain BO1 T reacted with Brucella M-monospecific antiserum. Incomplete lysis was detected with bacteriophages Tb (Tbilisi), F1 and F25. Biochemical profiling revealed a high degree of enzymic activity and metabolic capabilities. In multilocus VNTR (variable-number tandem-repeat) analysis, strain BO1 T showed a very distinctive profile and clustered with the other 'exotic' Brucella strains, including strains isolated from marine mammals, and Brucella microti, Brucella suis biovar 5 and Brucella neotomae. Comparative omp2a and omp2b gene sequence analysis revealed the most divergent omp2 sequences identified to date for a Brucella strain. The recA gene sequence of strain BO1 T differed in seven nucleotides from the Brucella recA consensus sequence. Using the Brucella species-specific multiplex PCR assay, strain BO1T displayed a unique banding pattern not observed in other Brucella species. From the phenotypic and molecular analysis it became evident that strain BO1 T was clearly different from all other Brucella species, and therefore represents a novel species within the genus Brucella. Because of its unexpected isolation, the name Brucella inopinata with the type strain BO1 T (5BCCN