fter the membrane was suspended in PBS, spores of B. anthracis were added. The suspension was plated on Bacillus cereus selective agar (BCA) plates to detect B. anthracis colonies. The suspension was also heated at 95 degrees C for 15 min and used for real-time PCR using a Light Cycler system and anthrax-specific primers. CONCLUSION: A single cell of B. anthracis was detected by real-time PCR within 1 h and was also isolated on a BCA plate within two d. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Our results provide evidence that anthrax spores from the atmosphere can be detected rapidly, suggesting that real-time PCR and a Light Cycler provides a flexible and powerful tool to prevent epidemics.
【引自Lett Appl Microbiol 2001 Sep;33(3):237-40】
8. 生物恐怖主义：对我们未作充分准备的一种恐吓
Of the weapons of mass destruction, the biological ones are the most feared and bioterrorism has become one of the most vicious threats to civilized society in recent times. Biological weapons have been sporadically used for centuries. Despite international regulations, there has been a global re-emergence of the threat of biological warfare. As many as 17 countries are suspected of either including or developing biological agents in their weapons programmes. In the past decade, a number of terrorist organizations with access to bioweapons technology have emerged. Current surveillance systems may be inadequate to detect biological attacks. The onset of illness is often delayed, thus the timing and location of such an event may be extremely difficult to identify. We are unfamiliar with most of the agents of biological warfare and are ill-equipped to handle the consequences of such an attack. In addition, there is no apparent coherent policy to handle a biological terrorist incident. Given the enormity of what is possible in the event of a biological attack, we must be prepared to detect, diagnose, epidemiologically characterize and respond appropriately to biological weapons. Of the potential biological weapons, smallpox and anthrax pose the greatest threats.
【引自Natl Med J India 2001 Jul-Aug;14(4):225-30】
9. 炭疽热
Bacillus anthracis was shown to be the etiological agent of anthrax by R. Koch and L. Pasteur at the end of the nineteenth century. The concepts on which medical microbiology are based arose from their work on this bacterium. The link between plasmids and major virulence factors of B. anthracis was not discovered until the 1980s. The three toxin components are organized in two A-B type toxins, and the bacilli are covered by an antiphagocytic polyglutamic capsule. Structure-function analysis of the toxins indicated that the common B-domain binds to a ubiquitous cell receptor and forms a heptamer after proteolytic activation. One enzyme moiety is an adenylate cyclase and the other is a Zn(2+) metalloprotease, which is able to cleave MAPKKs. The capsule covers an S-layer sequentially composed of two distinct proteins. Knowledge of the t

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