Multidrug resistance in Yersinia pestis mediated by a transferable plasmid

Article Abstract:

The case of a 16-year-old Madagascar boy illustrates the danger of plasmids that carry genes for drug resistance. The boy was initially diagnosed with malaria until he developed the classic signs of bubonic plague. He was treated with antibiotics and eventually recovered. The bacterium Yersinia pestis, which causes bubonic plague, was isolated from his blood. It proved to be resistant to many antibiotics commonly used to treat bacterial infections. Genetic analysis revealed that the bacterium contained a plasmid that could be transferred to other bacteria. The bacterium may have picked up the plasmid from another species of bacterium.

Health aspects, Case studies, Plasmids, Plague, Yersinia pestis

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Chloramphenicol resistance in meningococci

Article Abstract:

Resistance of the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis to the antibiotic chloramphenicol may become common in developing countries. This bacterium causes meningitis as well as other infections. This type of meningitis is often treated with intramuscular shots of chloramphenicol in developing countries. A 1998 study reported resistance to chloramphenicol in 12 different strains of the bacterium. Even though the strains were different, the gene for resistance was identical. The gene was probably transmitted between different strains by a plasmid. The gene could become more common in countries that continue to use chloramphenicol.

Usage, Neisseria meningitidis, Chloramphenicol

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A molecular marker for chloroquine-resistant falciparum malaria

Article Abstract:

A mutation in the pfcrt gene of Plasmodiuim falciparum causes the organism to become resistant to chloroquine. This could be the basis of a test to determine if a patient is infected with a resistant form of the organism. Plasmodium falciparum is the organism that causes malaria.

Plasmodium falciparum

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