Category Archives: Salmonella

Anonymity and Food-Borne Pathogen Investigations

Posted on December 23, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

A while ago, there was a bit of a scandal as the D.C. location of Fig & Olive, a rather expensive restaurant was briefly shutdown due to Salmonella outbreak that sickened dozens. In D.C., a Freedom of Information Act was … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Public Health, Salmonella | 3 Comments

Plasmid-Borne Colistin Resistance Has Jumped Species and Maybe Hemispheres

Posted on November 22, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Friday, I described the discovery of the gene mcr-1, which is a transmissible colistin resistance gene found on a bacterial plasmid (a plasmid is a mini-chromosome that can move from bacterium to bacterium). This is really bad news, since colistin … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, E. coli, Plasmids, Salmonella, We're Really Fucked | 3 Comments

What Really Worries Me About the Salmonella-Chicken Outbreak

Posted on October 15, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

In the midst of all of the Republican debt ceiling/government shutdown lunacy, one of the casualties has been the CDC’s inability to respond to a Salmonella outbreak that has currently sickened hundreds of people in twenty states and territories throughout … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, CDC, Food, Microbiology, Public Health, Salmonella | 3 Comments

The Colicin Plasmid Persistence Problem

Posted on January 12, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Yesterday, I described an interesting paper that provides a potential solution to the plasmid persistence problem–how do bacterial mini-chromosomes that can jump from bacterium to bacterium survive? Not only does this paper shed some light on the ‘plasmid persistence problem’, … Continue reading →

Posted in E. coli, Plasmids, Salmonella | Comments Off on The Colicin Plasmid Persistence Problem

Salmonella, E. coli, and Plasmids, Oh My! Solving the Plasmid Persistence Problem and the Virtues of Open Non-Equilibrium Models

Posted on January 11, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Ed Yong has some very good coverage of a recent PNAS paper that describes how bacterial mini-chromosomes, known as plasmids and that often carry disease-related or antibiotic resistance genes, can jump from bacterium to bacterium at really high rates when … Continue reading →

Posted in E. coli, Evolution, Plasmids, Salmonella | 3 Comments

Salmonella, Shigella, and Lactose, Oh My!

Posted on June 12, 2009 by mikethemadbiologist

It’s never made much sense to me why the pathogenic bacteria Salmonella and Shigella (which is really E. coli) have lost the ability to use lactose (milk sugar). Now it does.
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Posted in E. coli, Evolution, Genetics, Genomics, Salmonella | 8 Comments

Salmonella Poisoning Is Rampant

Posted on April 17, 2009 by mikethemadbiologist

In 2008, roughly 48,600 people had food associated Salmonella infections. And that’s an underestimate.
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Posted in Agriculture, Food, Microbiology, Salmonella | 17 Comments

Salmonella as a Commensal(?!?)

Posted on May 21, 2008 by mikethemadbiologist

Can Salmonella be a commensal in humans? And how?
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Posted in Agriculture, Microbiology, Salmonella | 9 Comments