Presenting the basic concepts and clinical implications of respiratory infection, with special emphasis on the role of the immune system, the field's leading researchers contribute detailed chapters on most of the major pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Their work will stimulate new research by microbiologists and immunologists, teach clinicians the interaction between microorganisms and the host, and provide health professionals with information necessary to evaluate public health procedures.

Bacterial Pathogens and their Virulence Factors contains a detailed description of 32 major bacterial pathogens that affect human health and their associated virulence determinants. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the different types and classes of general virulence factors involved in host cell adherence and invasion, dissemination within the host, host cell damage, and evasion of host defense systems, as well as mechanisms by which these virulence factors are regulated. Chapters 2 through 33 give concise descriptions of the disease states associated with the 32 bacterial genera and their major pathogenic species, along with an in-depth description of the individual virulence factors that have been found to be functionally involved in pathogenicity. A detailed bibliography derived from primary literature and review articles accompanies each of these chapters, allowing the reader to delve more deeply into individual pathogens and their virulence determinants. Chapter 34 discusses the exciting possibilities and initial successes of using detailed information on a pathogen’s virulence toolkit to design new therapeutics aimed at specific virulence traits.

Ankylosing spondylitis and Klebsiella is a comprehensive and informative text on the cause of Ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a condition which affects 20 million people worldwide and is likely caused or initiated by a bowel infection from Klebsiella bacteria. When a patient is infected by Klebsiella bacteria, his or her immune system will make antibodies against all the antigens or molecules found in the microbe. Because some of the bacterial antigens resemble self tissues, the anti-bacterial antibodies will attack not only the bacteria but also the self tissues such as the joints and the cells having the same HLA molecules, which is how the disease AS starts. This is the concept of molecular similarity or “molecular mimicry” which previously has been found to work in two other autoimmune diseases; rheumatic fever and rheumatoid arthritis. The first paper on this subject was published in 1976 and since then over 100 papers on rheumatological topics have been published, from Prof Ebringer’s group, at the Division of Life Sciences, King’s College in London, UK. The relevant information from these papers is extracted and presented in this book format making it accessible to health professionals, research institutions, pharmaceutical companies and universities and the general public.

With the launch of its first electronic edition, The Prokaryotes, the definitive reference on the biology of bacteria, enters an exciting new era of information delivery. Subscription-based access is available. The electronic version begins with an online implementation of the content found in the printed reference work, The Prokaryotes, Second Edition. The content is being fully updated over a five-year period until the work is completely revised. Thereafter, material will be continuously added to reflect developments in bacteriology. This online version features information retrieval functions and multimedia components.

Bacteria belonging to the genus Klebsiella have a dual role in human pathophysiology. Some of the strains are potent opportunistic pathogens capable of causing severe illnesses, whereas a majority of the klebsiellas belong to our normal flora, particularly in our alimentary tract. In this book, the authors present current research in the study of the epidemiology, pathogenesis and clinical outcomes of klebsiella infections. Topics discussed include interactions of klebsiella sp. with other intestinal flora; C-9154 derivatives with potent in vitro biological activity against klebsiella pneumoniae; treatment strategies for infections caused by carbapenem resistance and pandrug resistant klebsiella isolates; clinical characteristics of klebsiella pneumoniae pneumonia in alcoholic patients and virulence factors of the isolates; klebsiella pneumoniae endogenous endophthalmitis; klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess; virulence mechanisms of the klebsiella; and multi-drug resistant klebsiella pneumoniae and K. oxytoca strains in Russian hospitals.

This book explains the basic concepts of Selective Decontamination of the Digestive tract (SDD) to help those involved in treating critically ill patients to improve outcomes and the quality of care. SDD has led to major changes in our understanding, the treatment and prevention of infections in critically ill patients over the past 40 years. It is the most studied intervention in intensive care medicine and is the subject of 73 randomized controlled trials, including over 15000 patients and 15 meta-analyses. SDD reduces morbidity and mortality, is cost-effective and safe as SDD does not increase antimicrobial resistance. Correct application of the SDD strategy enables ICU teams to control infections – even in ICUs with endemic antibiotic resistant microorganisms such as methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Describing the concept and application of SDD, and presenting case studies and microbiological flow charts, this practical guide will appeal to intensivists, critical care practitioners, junior doctors, microbiologists and ICU-nurses as well as infection control specialists and pharmacists.

Antibiotic resistance has become a worldwide health issue, globally recognized as the first priority by WHO. Many forms of resistance can spread with remarkable speed and cross international boundaries. World health leaders are devoting efforts to the problem by planning strategies for monitoring the effectiveness of public health interventions and detecting new trends and threats. This volume focuses on the problem from different perspectives, taking into consideration geographical dissemination (soil and water), human medicine (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and veterinary (Enterococcus spp.) impact and molecular analysis. The purpose of this volume is to provide a useful tool for control and prevention and to discuss useful epidemiological data concerning ways of obtaining an accurate picture of resistance in different communities.