Since its discovery 40 years ago, rotavirus (RV) is considered to be a major cause of infant and childhood morbidity and mortality particularly in developing countries. Nearly every child in the world under 5 years of age is at the risk of RV infection. It is estimated that 90% of RV-associated mortalities occur in developing countries of Africa and Asia. Two live oral vaccines, RotaTeq (RV5, Merck) and Rotarix (RV1, GlaxoSmithKline) have been successfully deployed to scale down the disease burden in Europe and America, but they are less effective in Africa and Asia. In April 2009, the World Health Organization recommended the inclusion of RV vaccination in national immunization programs of all countries with great emphasis in developing countries. To date, 86 countries have included RV vaccines into their national immunization programs including 41 Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization eligible countries. The predominant RV genotypes circulating all over the world are G1P[8], G2P[4], G3P[8], G4P[8], and G9P[8], while G12[P6] and G12[P8] are emerging genotypes. On account of the segmented genome, RV shows an enormous genetic diversity that leads to the evolution of new genotypes that can influence the efficacy of current vaccines. The current need is for a global RV surveillance program to monitor the prevalence and antigenic variability of new genotypes to formulate future vaccine development planning. In this review, we will summarize the previous and recent insights into RV structure, classification, and epidemiology and current status of RV vaccination around the globe and will also cover the status of RV research and vaccine policy in Pakistan.

F-specific filamentous phage of Escherichia coli (Ff: f1, M13, or fd) are long thin filaments (860 nm × 6 nm). They have been a major workhorse in display technologies and bionanotechnology; however, some applications are limited by the high length-to-diameter ratio of Ff. Furthermore, use of functionalized Ff outside of laboratory containment is in part hampered by the fact that they are genetically modified viruses. We have now developed a system for production and purification of very short functionalized Ff-phage-derived nanorods, named Ff-nano, that are only 50 nm in length. In contrast to standard Ff-derived vectors that replicate in E. coli and contain antibiotic-resistance genes, Ff-nano are protein-DNA complexes that cannot replicate on their own and do not contain any coding sequences. These nanorods show an increased resistance to heating at 70∘C in 1% SDS in comparison to the full-length Ff phage of the same coat composition. We demonstrate that functionalized Ff-nano particles are suitable for application as detection particles in sensitive and quantitative “dipstick” lateral flow diagnostic assay for human plasma fibronectin.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the earliest pathogens involved in human infections, responsible for a large variety of pathologies. Methicillin was the first antibiotic used to treat infections due to S. aureus but infections due to Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) originated from hospital settings. Later, severe infections due to MRSA without any contact with the hospital environment or health care workers arose. Prevalence of MRSA has shown an alarming increase worldover including Cameroon. This Cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the occurrence of MRSA infections in five different, most frequented Hospitals in northern Cameroon. Socio demographic data was recorded through questionnaire and different clinical specimens were collected for bacterial isolation. Identification of S. aureus was confirmed via 16s rRNA amplification using S. aureus specific primers. Molecular characterisation was performed through mecA gene, Luk PV gene screening and SCCmec typing. A total of 380 S. aureus clinical isolates were obtained of which 202 (53.2%) were nonduplicate multidrug resistant isolates containing, 45.5% MRSA. Higher number of MRSA was isolated from pus (30.4%) followed by blood culture (18.5%), and urine (17.4%). Patients aged 15 to 30 years presented high prevalence of MRSA (30.4%). Majority isolates (97.8%) carried the mecA gene, PVL toxin screening indicated 53.3% isolates carried the lukPV gene. Based on PVL detection and clinical history, CA-MRSA represented 53.3% of isolates. SCCmec typing showed that the Type IV was most prevalent (29.3%), followed by type I (23.9%). Amongst MRSA isolates high resistance to penicillin (91.1%), cotrimoxazole (86.7%), tetracycline (72.2%), and ofloxacin (70.0%) was detected. Meanwhile, rifampicin, fusidic acid, lincomycin and minocycline presented high efficacy in bacterial control. This study revealed a high prevalence of MRSA among infections due to S. aureus in Northern Cameroon. All MRSA recorded were multidrug resistant and the prevalence of CA MRSA are subsequently increasing, among population.

No abstract

No abstract