Naturally acquired infection of humans with a marine mammal-associated Brucella sp. has only been reported once previously in a study describing infections of two patients from Peru. We report the isolation and characterization of a strain of Brucella from a New Zealand patient that appears most closely related to strains previously identified from marine mammals. The isolate was preliminarily identified as Brucella suis using conventional bacteriological tests in our laboratory. However, the results profile was not an exact match, and the isolate was forwarded to four international reference laboratories for further identification. The reference laboratories identified the isolate as either B. suis or B. melitensis by traditional bacteriological methods in three laboratories and by a molecular test in the fourth laboratory. Molecular characterization by PCR, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and DNA sequencing of the bp26 gene; IS711; the omp genes omp25, omp31, omp2a, and omp2b; IRS-PCR fragments I, III, and IV; and five housekeeping gene fragments was conducted to resolve the discrepant identification of the isolate. The isolate was identified to be closely related to a Brucella sp. originating from a United States bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and common seals (Phoca vitulina).Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease of humans, causing a variety of vague symptoms including undulant fever, fatigue, malaise, joint pain, myalgia, depression, and anorexia (22). Chronic sequelae and recrudescence decades after initial infection also occur. Brucella may be transmitted from animals to humans by direct contact with infected animals, ingestion of infected food products, and inhalation of aerosols. Four species of Brucella are the primary causes of infection in humans. Brucella melitensis is highly infectious and is transmitted from sheep and goats, B. abortus is transmitted from cattle, B. suis is transmitted from pigs and, infrequently, B. canis is transmitted from dogs. Other species of Brucella have been rarely or not reported to infect humans.There are only two reports in the literature of humans infected with marine mammal strains of Brucella. One report was of a laboratory worker who displayed symptoms consistent with brucellosis (4). The infection was confirmed by a positive serological response, isolation, and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) identification of a marine Brucella strain. Two patients originating from Peru and diagnosed with neurobrucellosis were also confirmed to be infected with marine mammal strains of Brucella by isolation, PCR, and DNA sequencing (41). The two Peruvian patients were not laboratory workers, and the infection was naturally acquired.Serological evidence and isolation of brucellae have been reported from a variety of marine mammals on numerous occasions from locations in the northern hemisphere. The serological prevalence ranges from 0 to 38% for cetaceans, pinnipeds, and mustelids (6,24,26,29,32,34,43). The largest studies of 1,855 ...

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Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) isolates from 39 CF patients and 25 non-CF patients in New Zealand were speciated and characterised using the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme for Bcc. B. multivorans predominated in CF patients (31/39, 79.5%) and in non-CF patients (7/25, 28%). Sequence types (ST) with an international distribution were identified (27/64, 42.2%) among the New Zealand Bcc isolates. MLST revealed a high level of diversity among Bcc isolates in CF patients indicating a lack of person-to-person transmission. Non-CF patients showed less diversity in MLST types, however, individuals with shared STs were geographically and chronologically separated. The use of MLST analysis allows continued surveillance of isolates with the potential to identify outbreaks. The identification of internationally distributed strains may provide an indicator of the relative transmissibility and infectivity of these strains and warrants further investigation.

Worldwide, microcredit has been recognised as a successful innovation in poverty alleviation. However, some claim that microcredit exacerbates poverty in developing countries. This study examines cases in Bangladesh where microcredit has actually worsened poverty among borrowers and investigates the underlying reasons for this adverse trend. Our results show that microcredit can exacerbate poverty in four interrelated circumstances. We argue that households living in extreme conditions of poverty who possess minimal or no surplus financial capacity to cope with contingencies are prone to adverse effects of microcredit, and suggest ways to avoid microcredit borrowers falling victims to such unintended consequences.Le microcrédit peut-il aggraver la pauvreté ? Quelques cas de pauvreté exacerbée au Bangladesh De par le monde, le microcrédit a été reconnu comme une innovation efficace en vue de réduire la pauvreté. Cependant, certains affirment que le microcrédit exacerbe la pauvreté dans les pays en développement. Cette étude traite de cas observés au Bangladesh où le microcrédit a de fait aggravé la pauvreté parmi les emprunteurs et se penche sur les raisons sous-jacentes de cette tendance négative. Nos résultats montrent que le microcrédit peut exacerber la pauvreté dans quatre situations interconnectées. Nous soutenons que les ménages qui vivent dans des conditions extrêmes de pauvreté et qui possèdent une capacité financière minime ou inexistante pour faire face aux imprévus sont sujets aux effets négatifs du microcrédit et nous suggérons des manières d'éviter que les récipiendaires de microcrédit deviennent les victimes de conséquences non voulues de ce type.O microcrédito pode agravar a pobreza? Casos de pobreza exacerbada em Bangladesh No mundo todo, o microcrédito tem sido reconhecido como uma inovação bem-sucedida na redução da pobreza. Porém, alguns afirmam que o microcrédito agrava a pobreza em países em desenvolvimento. Este estudo examina casos em Bangladesh em que o microcrédito na verdade tem agravado a pobreza entre tomadores de empréstimo e investiga as razões subjacentes para esta tendência adversa. Nossos resultados mostram que o microcrédito pode agravar a pobreza em quatro circunstâncias inter-relacionadas. Argumentamos que as famílias que vivem em condições extremas de pobreza e que possuem mínima ou nenhuma capacidade financeira excedente para lidar com contingências são suscetíveis aos efeitos adversos do microcrédito e sugerimos maneiras de se evitar que os tomadores de microcrédito tornem-se vítimas de tais consequências não pretendidas.¿Pueden los microcréditos incrementar la pobreza? Casos donde aumentó la pobreza en Bangladesh Los microcréditos han sido ampliamente reconocidos como una iniciativa eficaz para disminuir la pobreza. Sin embargo, hay quienes afirman que los microcréditos incrementan la pobreza que ya existe en los países en desarrollo. Este ensayo analiza diversos casos en Bangladesh, donde se ha comprobado que los microcréditos agudizaron la pobreza de los prestatarios, e i...

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