Risk Group 3 Pathogen Research
The HTRL is a platform for basic research on the molecular mechanisms of infectious diseases, and translational research applying basic findings to the development of products such as diagnostics and therapeutics.
Current research projects involving Risk Group 3 pathogens at the HTRL include:
Viruses
Researchers at HTRL investigate how viruses that cause outbreaks for example SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and H5N1 (bird flu) replicate and cause infections. Our staff conducts cutting-edge research in collaboration with laboratories and companies around the world to help identify and validate antiviral drugs that can reduce disease and contagious spread of these viruses.
Yersinia pestis
Yersinia pestis is a Gram-negative rod-shaped coccobacillus, a facultative anaerobic bacterium and the causative agent of plague. Plague is a disease of mammals that is transmitted by fleabite or aerosol droplets. High-mortality epidemics caused by Y. pestis have occurred throughout human history and include the sixth century’s Plague of Justinian, the Black Death, which accounted for the death of at least one-third of the European population between 1347 and 1353, and the 19th century’s Third Pandemic. The plague bacterium is distributed worldwide and is endemic in the western US and is a frequent pathogen of prairie dogs. A plague vaccine is not currently available and plague infections may be treated with antibiotics but only when caught timely. Research at the HTRL aim to identify the bacterial genes that promote plague disease and understand how past epidemics may have shaped the selection for human populations that may be more resistant to plague.
Bacillus anthracis
Bacillus anthracis is a Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium that can infect a wide range of mammals. The most natural route of infection is ingestion, often by grazing animals (gastrointestinal anthrax). Decomposition of animal carcasses and exposure to air trigger a differentiation process that releases spores. Although they do not replicate, spores persist in the environment presumably until ingested by the next grazing host. Infections with B. anthracis are not restricted to herbivores and encompass their predators, including humans who occasionally ingest food contaminated with hard-to-kill spores. Spore contamination of animal hides and other products can trigger skin lesions (cutaneous anthrax) characterized by a black eschar and lymphadenopathy or when inhaled, spores can precipitate fatal respiratory anthrax (woolsorters’ disease). Research at the HTRL aim to identify the bacterial genes that promote anthrax disease and evaluate drugs and therapeutics.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is the small, but mighty, bacillus bacterium that causes Tuberculosis – a chronic infectious disease that can be fatal without treatment. With the increasing number of antibiotic restistance strains, research on Mycobacterium tuberculosis is crucial. Since MTB is transmitted through the respitory tract, we use extra precautions and approach this bacteria with BSL3 biosafety measures.
Contact HTRL with research inquiries. Our researchers are eager to contribute to research on current or new Risk Group 3 pathogens.