Review Article
Brucella: Molecular Diagnostic Techniques in Response to Bioterrorism Threat
Riccardo De Santis, Andrea Ciammaruconi, Alice Pomponi, Silvia Fillo and Florigio Lista*
Histology and Molecular Biology Section, Army Medical Research Center, Via Santo Stefano Rotondo 4, 00184 Rome, Italy
- *Corresponding Author:
- Florigio Lista
Histology and Molecular Biology Section
Army Medical Research Center
Via Santo Stefano Rotondo 4, 00184 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39-06-777039160
Fax: +39-06-777039347
E-mail: romano.lista@gmail.com
Received Date: August 07, 2011; Accepted Date: November 08, 2011; Published Date: November 12, 2011
Citation: Santis RD, Ciammaruconi A, Pomponi A, Fillo S, Lista F (2011) Brucella: Molecular Diagnostic Techniques in Response to Bioterrorism Threat. J Bioterr Biodef S2:004. doi: 10.4172/2157-2526.S2-004
Copyright: © 2011 Santis RD, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Brucellosis, a worldwide zoonosis caused by members of the genus Brucella, is responsible of a considerable human morbidity and economic losses. Although the disease is associated with low mortality and has a relative limited medical impact, Brucella spp., particularly B.melitensis and B. abortus, have been also reported as possible biological weapons. A prompt detection and identification of involved biological agents and the following discrimination between natural outbreaks and/or intentional release of micro-organism, represents the crucial point for an effective response. Furthermore, being members of the genus Brucella genetically homogeneous, the development of accurate strain typing methods is essential in order to investigate the source of an epidemic event. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the current molecular diagnostic tools developed as response to bioterrorism episodes.
