Humans coexist with millions of harmless microorganisms, but emerging diseases, resistance to antibiotics, and the threat of bioterrorism are forcing scientists to look for new ways to confront the microbes that do pose a danger. This report identifies innovative approaches to the development of antimicrobial drugs and vaccines based on a greater understanding of how the human immune system interacts with both good and bad microbes. The report concludes that the development of a single superdrug to fight all infectious agents is unrealistic.

Antibiotics represent one of the most successful forms of therapy in medicine. But the efficiency of antibiotics is compromised by the growing number of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Antibiotic resistance, which is implicated in elevated morbidity and mortality rates as well as in the increased treatment costs, is considered to be one of the major global public health threats (www.who.int/drugresistance/en/) and the magnitude of the problem recently prompted a number of international and national bodies to take actions to protect the public (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/docs/road-map-amr_en.pdf: http://www.who.int/drugresistance/amr_global_action_plan/en/; http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/carb_national_strategy.pdf). Understanding the mechanisms by which bacteria successfully defend themselves against the antibiotic assault represent the main theme of this eBook published as a Research Topic in Frontiers in Microbiology, section of Antimicrobials, Resistance, and Chemotherapy. The articles in the eBook update the reader on various aspects and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. A better understanding of these mechanisms should facilitate the development of means to potentiate the efficacy and increase the lifespan of antibiotics while minimizing the emergence of antibiotic resistance among pathogens.

Rapid Detection and Identification of Infectious Agents is a collection of papers presented at the International Symposium on Rapid Detection and Identification of Infectious Agents held on October 5-7, 1983, in Oakland, California, and organized by the Naval Biosciences Laboratory of the School of Public Health of the University of California at Berkeley. Contributors examine progress in the field of rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases, with a particular emphasis on DNA probe-based assays and monoclonal and polyclonal antibody-based immunoassays. This volume is organized into five sections encompassing 20 chapters. It begins with an overview of state-of-the-art methods for rapid detection and identification of infectious agents, including technology that is currently applied in clinical microbiology, as well as concerns regarding the political and scientific climates, which have an impact on health care and clinical microbiology. Chapters are organized to deal with a single diagnostic type of test for a given broad group of organisms. The approach is to compare the strengths and weaknesses of each of the new diagnostic procedures, using the same type of clinical material whenever possible. The book gives consideration to the fundamental design of DNA probes and probe assay systems, the clinical comparison of immunologic assays for the diagnosis of meningococcal disease, and immunodiagnostics for viral and parasitic pathogens. This book will be of value to scientists and researchers interested in immunology and infectious diseases, as well as the methods used to detect and identify them.

Comprehensive and up to date, the Second Edition of Diagnostic Pathology: Infectious Disease, by Dr. Richard Kradin, is an invaluable tool for the accurate diagnosis of any infectious disease―from the common to the most challenging. The organ-based format makes it an especially useful tool for surgical pathologists' daily diagnostic and management issues. High-quality, full-color illustrations and differential diagnosis tables accompany each lesion, clearly depicting how to recognize the morphology of organisms and the spectrum of histological responses that they may cause. - Addresses the most difficult diagnostic issues that practicing or trainee surgical pathologists face when handling infectious disease tissue specimens. - Highlights morphological characteristics and landmarks of tissue samples for easy access to information necessary for signing out a specimen. - Emphasizes the host responses critical in differential diagnosis to serve as a second opinion when non-infectious diagnoses mimic and confound the diagnosis of infection. - Completely revised with the latest diagnostic support and hot topics in the field: - A new chapter on novel techniques in microbiology - A new chapter on eye infections - New coverage of immunohistochemical staining and other molecular diagnostic techniques - New discussions of human papillomavirus, a critical tool in predictive cancer screening - New information on infections in the immunocompromised host and related special considerations - Expert Consult eBook version included with purchase. This enhanced eBook experience allows you to search all of the text, figures, images, videos (including video updates), glossary, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

For these reasons, building awareness of and capacity in microbial forensics can assist in our understanding of what may have occurred during a biothreat event, and international collaborations that engage the broader scientific and policy-making communities are likely to strengthen our microbial forensics capabilities. One goal would be to create a shared technical understanding of the possibilities--and limitations--of the scientific bases for microbial forensics analysis. Science Needs for Microbial Forensics: Developing Initial International Research Priorities, based partly on a workshop held in Zabgreb, Croatia in 2013, identifies scientific needs that must be addressed to improve the capabilities of microbial forensics to investigate infectious disease outbreaks and provide evidence of sufficient quality to support legal proceedings and the development of government policies.

Recent and forecasted advances in microbiology, molecular biology, and analytical chemistry have made it timely to reassess the current paradigm of relying predominantly or exclusively on traditional bacterial indicators for all types of waterborne pathogens. Nonetheless, indicator approaches will still be required for the foreseeable future because it is not practical or feasible to monitor for the complete spectrum of microorganisms that may occur in water, and many known pathogens are difficult to detect directly and reliably in water samples. This comprehensive report recommends the development and use of a "tool box" approach by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and others for assessing microbial water quality in which available indicator organisms (and/or pathogens in some cases) and detection method(s) are matched to the requirements of a particular application. The report further recommends the use of a phased, three-level monitoring framework to support the selection of indicators and indicator approaches.Â

The use of drugs in food animal production has resulted in benefits throughout the food industry; however, their use has also raised public health safety concerns. The Use of Drugs in Food Animals provides an overview of why and how drugs are used in the major food-producing animal industriesâ€"poultry, dairy, beef, swine, and aquaculture. The volume discusses the prevalence of human pathogens in foods of animal origin. It also addresses the transfer of resistance in animal microbes to human pathogens and the resulting risk of human disease. The committee offers analysis and insight into these areas: Monitoring of drug residues. The book provides a brief overview of how the FDA and USDA monitor drug residues in foods of animal origin and describes quality assurance programs initiated by the poultry, dairy, beef, and swine industries. Antibiotic resistance. The committee reports what is known about this controversial problem and its potential effect on human health. The volume also looks at how drug use may be minimized with new approaches in genetics, nutrition, and animal management.

Evolving Landscape of Molecular Diagnostics: Applications and Techniques presents cutting-edge reviews on current and emerging technologies in the diagnosis of microbial infections. The book discusses the fundamentals of Molecular Diagnostics for bacteria, fungi, viruses and a variety of state-of-the-art diagnostics tools and techniques for obtaining qualitative and quantitative results. It includes topics such as Next generation sequencing and application of "OMICS" for early disease diagnosis. Sections cover the entire spectrum of emerging diagnostic tools and techniques, as well as the principles, pros and cons of each method and applications for diagnosis of infectious disease in plants, humans and veterinary. This is a resource for both researchers and students working in clinical microbiology, infectious biology, applied life sciences and scientists working in the clinical diagnostic industry. - Provides a wide range of diagnostics tools and technologies in the field of infectious biology - Presents discussions on emerging technologies for early disease diagnosis and novel diagnostics techniques for detection of COVID, Urea Breath Tests for Detection of Helicobacter pylori, Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as Point-of-Care Diagnosis, Molecular imaging, Lab-on-a-chip Technologies, and several others - Analyzes literature reviews, underpinning methodologies, and opportunities and limitations - Includes case studies and examples that highlight applications using the underpinning techniques

The National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, published in 2014, sets out a plan for government work to mitigate the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria. Direction on the implementation of this strategy is provided in five-year national action plans, the first covering 2015 to 2020, and the second covering 2020 to 2025. Combating Antimicrobial Resistance and Protecting the Miracle of Modern Medicine evaluates progress made against the national strategy. This report discusses ways to improve detection of resistant infections and estimate the risk to human health from environmental sources of resistance. In addition, the report considers the effect of agricultural practices on human and animal health and animal welfare and ways these practices could be improved, and advises on key drugs and diseases for which animal-specific test breakpoints are needed.