Brucella melitensis bv. 1 str. 16M

The genus Brucella is comprised mostly of mammalian pathogens, which due to their low infectious does, aerosol transmission and treatment difficulty are classified as potential bioterrorism agents. Brucellosis is a major infectious disease for both human and animals. Several Brucella species (B.abortus, B.melitensis and B.suis) have been isolated from many different animals. All three Brucella species cause a severe human disease characterized in its acute phase by undulant fever and in its chronic phase by damage of different organs. Brucellosis is a major problem in the Mediterranean region and parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. When the infection is localized to the brain or the heart, it can result in a fatal meningitidis or fatal endocarditis, respectively. Brucella melitensis is a facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes abortion in goats and sheep and undulant fever in humans. The disease is transmitted to human by consumption of non-pasteurized milk and milk products or by direct contact with infected animals and carcasses. Although Brucellae contain a large set of flagellar genes, they display a species-specific gene inactivation and consequently are nonmotile. Strain M28 is a virulent strain isolated from sheep in the 1950s. It is the parent of vaccine strain M5-90 (biovar1) which was isolated after M28 was serially passaged through chickens, treated with acriflavine, and passaged for 90 generations in chicken embryo fibroblasts. Comparison of the 2 sequences will give information on vaccine protection (adapted from PMID 21478357). (EBI Integr8)