Johne’s disease is a contagious, bacterial disease that is responsible for considerable financial losses in infected livestock. It isn’t just the financial costs that need to be considered,
Phenylketonuria (PKU) became a recognised clinical condition in 1934 when Norwegian physician Ivar Asbjørn Følling identified a link between mental retardation and elevated levels of phenylalanine (hyperphenylalaninemia). The
Traditional meat inspection, which is still practiced in abattoirs today, was first developed during the 1880s. It was created to detect diseases such as trichinellosis, tuberculosis and taeniasis
Virulence is the ability of a microorganism to produce disease. Virulence depends on the number of infecting bacteria, their route of entry into the body, the response of
The generic purpose of an antibiotic is to prevent the growth and/or survival of invading organisms whilst causing minimal damage and toxicity to the host. The typical mechanism
Staphylococcus is a gram positive, cocci shaped, genus of bacteria. Observed under a microscope will reveal they exist in microscopic ‘grape-like’ clusters. One species of staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus,
Point Mutations Much like humans, bacteria are subject to evolution. Evolution occurs through beneficial mutations in the DNA. Because bacteria have much shorter generation times than humans, the
Only a tiny amount of bacteria found on Earth are actually associated with disease. The number associated with human disease is as low as 0.001%. Bacteria are extremely
