Almost all studies were observational and only five had a comparison group, making the true effect of community testing on the outcome measures more difficult to measure compared with more traditional strategies [20, 34, 43, 55, 56]. Information on the stage at which people are diagnosed (CD4 cell count at diagnosis) is lacking and therefore it is not possible to assess Dorsomorphin whether patients are diagnosed earlier as a result of community testing initiatives. In evaluating

HIV testing strategies it is important that feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness are considered and, to allow meaningful comparisons of studies, there is a need for use of comparable measures [61]. This review highlights the range of outcome measures that are used to evaluate these testing strategies. For example, in the studies included in this review, serpositivity was not always reported [21, 27, 29, 50, 57] and transfer to care of newly diagnosed individuals was rarely reported [33, 34, Tofacitinib order 38]. Our review did not consider the costs associated with community HIV testing. This will be an important factor in implementing these strategies

and to date there have been few studies, none of which have compared the cost of testing in the community with that of testing in more traditional services [41, 62-64]. The cost-effectiveness of community HIV testing for MSM has been considered in a recent review, which also found limited evidence [65]. This review has shown that community HIV testing strategies provide an acceptable alternative to HIV testing

in healthcare settings and are feasible to implement. However, these strategies require careful planning to ensure that they reach the population most at need of alternative testing venues and are able to transfer any individuals newly diagnosed with HIV into appropriate treatment and care pathways. “
“We examined whether Celecoxib determinants of disease progression and causes of death differ between injecting drug users (IDUs) and non-IDUs who initiate combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). The ART Cohort Collaboration combines data from participating cohort studies on cART-naïve adults from cART initiation. We used Cox models to estimate hazard ratios for death and AIDS among IDUs and non-IDUs. The cumulative incidence of specific causes of death was calculated and compared using methods that allow for competing risks. Data on 6269 IDUs and 37 774 non-IDUs were analysed. Compared with non-IDUs, a lower proportion of IDUs initiated cART with a CD4 cell count <200 cells/μL or had a prior diagnosis of AIDS. Mortality rates were higher in IDUs than in non-IDUs (2.08 vs. 1.04 per 100 person-years, respectively; P<0.001). Lower baseline CD4 cell count, higher baseline HIV viral load, clinical AIDS at baseline, and later year of cART initiation were associated with disease progression in both groups.

, 1989) with the appropriate antibiotics. All plasmids were purified from E. coli DH5α using the Large Scale Nucleobond® check details AX plasmid isolation kit (Macherey-Nagel, Oensingen, Switzerland). The yahD gene was PCR-amplified from genomic DNA of L. lactis IL1403, using the following primers: sm10 (5′-TGAATGGAGGAGGACATATGACAGATTATGTT; NdeI-site underlined) and sm11 (5′-TGCACTGAAACTTTTTCAATAC). The PCR product was inserted into the TOPO-TA cloning vector® (Invitrogen life Technologies), resulting in pTHB. The yahD gene was excised from pTHB with NdeI and NotI and ligated into the pTYB12 expression vector (IMPACT™-CN system, New England Biolabs), cut with the

same enzymes, resulting in pSMI. Escherichia coli Rosetta (Novagen, UK) transformed with pSMI was grown to the mid-log phase at 37 °C in LB broth containing 100 μg mL−1 ampicillin, cooled to 18 °C and induced with 1 mM isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside. Following overnight growth, cells were harvested by centrifugation at 3000 g for 10 min at 4 °C. Cell pellets were resuspended in 10 mM Tris-Cl, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0, and frozen at −20 °C. To the thawed HKI-272 nmr cell suspension, a tablet of EDTA-free complete protease inhibitor cocktail (Roche, Switzerland) and 10 μg mL−1 of DNaseI (Roche) was added and cells were

disrupted by three pressure cycles in an Emulsiflex C5 homogenizer (Avestin, Germany) at 1000–1500 bar at 4 °C. Debris was removed by centrifugation at 4 °C for 10 min at 3000 g. The supernatant was centrifuged at 90 000 g for 30 min at 4 °C, filtered and YahD was absorbed to chitin beads (New

England Biolabs) in the batch mode for 1 h at 4 °C. Intein cleavage was induced with 10 mM Tris-Cl, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA and 50 mM dithiothreitol, pH 8.0, on a column. YahD-containing fractions eluted from the chitin column were concentrated on an Amicon-Ultra-10k centrifugal filter (Millipore) and further purified by size exclusion chromatography on a Superdex S-75 26/60 column (GE Healthcare, Germany) in 10 mM Tris-Cl, 150 mM NaCl and 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0. Fractions were analyzed by electrophoresis on 12% sodium dodecylsulfate Bumetanide (SDS) polyacrylamide gels and stained with Coomassie blue as described (Laemmli & Favre, 1973). Fractions containing pure YahD were pooled and concentrated as before to 10 mg mL−1. Protein concentrations were determined with the BioRad protein assay (BioRad, Richmond) using bovine serum albumin as a standard. The total masses of purified, native YahD as well as YahD incubated overnight with 0.1 mM phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight MS (MALDI-TOF-MS) using an Ultraflex-II TOF/TOF instrument (Bruker Daltonics, Bremen, Germany) equipped with a Smart beam™ laser. Sinapinic acid was used as a matrix.

Cohort studies have suggested that the majority of mothers taking the standard adult dose, even with the capsule formulation, have adequate trough concentrations and achieve an effective virological response [117]. The plasma concentrations of saquinavir achieved with the tablet formulation

when boosted by ritonavir appear to be generally therapeutic and no dose adjustment is routinely required. Interpatient PI3K inhibitor variability during pregnancy is, however, high [80],[118]. A study from Italy reported similar third-trimester and postpartum atazanavir concentrations at standard 300 mg dose with 100 mg ritonavir once daily [119]. However, recently third-trimester 24 h AUC concentrations 28% lower than postpartum concentrations were reported from North America. Third trimester concentrations of atazanavir in women taking tenofovir were lower still, being approximately 50% of the postpartum values of women on atazanavir without tenofovir, and 55% of women in the study taking Alectinib tenofovir failed to achieve the target atazanavir concentration. The study authors therefore recommended

that it may be necessary to increase the dose of atazanavir to 400 mg (when given with ritonavir 100 mg once daily) during the third trimester [120]. Data from the Europe-based PANNA study also reveals a 33% reduction in third-trimester AUC and Clast atazanavir concentrations compared with postpartum. However, all drug concentrations measured, including with coadministered tenofovir, were above the recommended minimum plasma concentration for wild-type

virus [121]. When prescribed with zidovudine/lamivudine, plasma concentrations achieved with atazanavir 300 mg plus ritonavir 100 mg once daily are only 21% less (by AUC) than historic controls while trough concentrations were reported to be comparable with these controls. Increasing the dose of atazanavir to 400 mg daily during the BCKDHB third trimester increased trough concentrations by 39% and doubled the risk of hyperbilirubinaemia [122]. A case note review of 155 women in London receiving atazanavir did not report virological failure during pregnancy despite 96% receiving standard dosing of 300 mg with ritonavir 100 mg. TDM was rarely performed and mostly if virological control was considered suboptimal [79]. For darunavir, a study from the USA reported reduced troughs and AUC24 h with once-daily dosing in pregnancy, while dosing twice a day produced levels more comparable with those in non-pregnant individuals [123]. They concluded that twice-daily dosing should be used in pregnancy and higher doses may be required. For women receiving darunavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg the mean trough level (C24 h) in the third trimester and postpartum was 1.37 (0.15–3.49) μg/mL and 2.59 (<0.09–3.96) μg/mL respectively.

Cohort studies have suggested that the majority of mothers taking the standard adult dose, even with the capsule formulation, have adequate trough concentrations and achieve an effective virological response [117]. The plasma concentrations of saquinavir achieved with the tablet formulation

when boosted by ritonavir appear to be generally therapeutic and no dose adjustment is routinely required. Interpatient Ku 0059436 variability during pregnancy is, however, high [80],[118]. A study from Italy reported similar third-trimester and postpartum atazanavir concentrations at standard 300 mg dose with 100 mg ritonavir once daily [119]. However, recently third-trimester 24 h AUC concentrations 28% lower than postpartum concentrations were reported from North America. Third trimester concentrations of atazanavir in women taking tenofovir were lower still, being approximately 50% of the postpartum values of women on atazanavir without tenofovir, and 55% of women in the study taking NU7441 nmr tenofovir failed to achieve the target atazanavir concentration. The study authors therefore recommended

that it may be necessary to increase the dose of atazanavir to 400 mg (when given with ritonavir 100 mg once daily) during the third trimester [120]. Data from the Europe-based PANNA study also reveals a 33% reduction in third-trimester AUC and Clast atazanavir concentrations compared with postpartum. However, all drug concentrations measured, including with coadministered tenofovir, were above the recommended minimum plasma concentration for wild-type

virus [121]. When prescribed with zidovudine/lamivudine, plasma concentrations achieved with atazanavir 300 mg plus ritonavir 100 mg once daily are only 21% less (by AUC) than historic controls while trough concentrations were reported to be comparable with these controls. Increasing the dose of atazanavir to 400 mg daily during the 17-DMAG (Alvespimycin) HCl third trimester increased trough concentrations by 39% and doubled the risk of hyperbilirubinaemia [122]. A case note review of 155 women in London receiving atazanavir did not report virological failure during pregnancy despite 96% receiving standard dosing of 300 mg with ritonavir 100 mg. TDM was rarely performed and mostly if virological control was considered suboptimal [79]. For darunavir, a study from the USA reported reduced troughs and AUC24 h with once-daily dosing in pregnancy, while dosing twice a day produced levels more comparable with those in non-pregnant individuals [123]. They concluded that twice-daily dosing should be used in pregnancy and higher doses may be required. For women receiving darunavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg the mean trough level (C24 h) in the third trimester and postpartum was 1.37 (0.15–3.49) μg/mL and 2.59 (<0.09–3.96) μg/mL respectively.

In 26 cases (0.7%), the sequences were taxonomically misclassified, Ibrutinib datasheet representing SSU rRNA genes from other taxonomic domains. In 28 cases (0.7%), the sequences were chimeric, some of which were sequences with serious anomalies (Fig. S1c). Eight sequences (0.2%) were of poor quality (i.e. many ambiguous base calls or long homopolymers) and two queries (0.1%) exclusively contained sequences identified as cloning vectors. The remaining 101 cases (2.6%) did not show any anomaly within the scope of this investigation

and likely represented highly divergent sequences. The following reasons accounted for at least one HMM detection in both orientations, leading to the 185 sequences being flagged as uncertain. In 61 cases (33%), the sequences were reverse complementary chimeras, check details with the reverse complement segment matching one or more HMMs. In 29 cases (16%), the sequences showed only partial, poor or no match to any entry in GenBank as assessed through blast. The remaining 95 sequences (51%) did not show any anomaly within the scope of this investigation and likely represent rare false

detection by individual HMMs. In all these 95 cases, only single HMMs were detected in the opposite orientation, while the remaining HMMs were detected in the other orientation, leaving no doubt about the true orientation of the sequence (i.e. 90 forward and five reverse complementary). In conclusion, the queries showing multiple HMM detections in both orientations were all identified as having some sort of anomaly, whereas

all other queries flagged as uncertain represented rare single false-positive detections, which did not impair determination of the true orientation of the sequence. Among the 1 167 613 sequences with unambiguous orientation assignments, 3117 sequences had unusually low HMM counts of three or fewer. After looking in more detail at all these cases, we identified the following reasons for these observations. In 1882 cases (60%), the sequences contained only partial 16S information and partial up- or downstream regions, i.e. 101 upstream and 1781 downstream cases. A total of 714 sequences (23%) showed only partial, poor or no match to any entry for in GenBank, whereas 277 sequences (9%) were of poor quality. In 110 cases (4%), the sequences had been associated with wrong taxa and represented different domains, and three cases (0.1%) were chimeric sequences that contained two concatenated identical segments. The remaining 131 cases (4%) did not show any anomaly within the scope of this investigation and are likely sequences with long hypervariable regions and/or sequences that contain divergent segments that are not detected by some individual HMMs.

The Mozambican ministry of health estimated from the ANC surveillance PD0332991 chemical structure system data that the national HIV prevalence in adults aged 15–49 years was 13% in 2001 and increased to 16.2% in 2004 [8]. Recent published results from the first population-based survey, conducted in 2009, showed that the national HIV prevalence was 11.5% (95% CI 10.3–12.6%) in individuals aged 15–49 years [4]. The country has rapidly scaled up the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and it has been estimated that approximately 170 000 people had initiated ARV therapy by the end of 2009, which

represents a coverage of 38% [9]. In order to tailor prevention programmes to distinct populations, local epidemiological data are necessary. The primary objective of this study was to determine the age- and sex-specific community HIV prevalence in adults aged 18–47 years old in an area of southern Mozambique. In addition, the results from the community-based survey were compared with HIV prevalence estimates derived from the ANC surveillance data of the local district hospital. The study was carried out in Manhiça District, a semi-rural area in Maputo Province, in southern Mozambique. Since 1996, the Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM) has been running a continuous demographic surveillance system (DSS) for vital events and migrations. In 2007, there were 160 000 inhabitants PI3 kinase pathway in the district

[10]. Currently, the DSS covers nearly 90 000 inhabitants, 36 000

of whom live within a 10-km distance of the centre of Manhiça town, which constitutes the main study area of the CISM. The trends of the demographic indices in Manhiça District have been described in detail elsewhere [11]. The majority of the population is Changana, with a small proportion of the Ronga ethnic Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II group. The main occupations are farming, petty trading and employment on the two large sugar cane estates in Maragra and Xinavane. Since 2003, the CISM has collaborated with the Mozambican HIV/AIDS control programme through the establishment and continuous support of voluntary counselling and testing centres at health facilities, the provision of ARV drugs and diagnostic tests, and contributions to the clinical management of patients, among other activities. In addition, several clinical studies have been carried out at the hospital [12, 13]. Estimates from the ANC of Manhiça District Hospital (MDH) showed an HIV prevalence of 23.6% in a study performed in 2003–2004 [14, 15]. However, basic epidemiological data on HIV/AIDS trends at the community level were lacking. The study protocol and informed consent form were reviewed and approved by the National Committee on Health Bioethics of Mozambique and the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona Ethics Committee (Spain). A cross-sectional community-based study was designed to determine the age- and sex-specific HIV prevalence in adults. The lower age limit was thus established at 18 years.

The Mozambican ministry of health estimated from the ANC surveillance selleckchem system data that the national HIV prevalence in adults aged 15–49 years was 13% in 2001 and increased to 16.2% in 2004 [8]. Recent published results from the first population-based survey, conducted in 2009, showed that the national HIV prevalence was 11.5% (95% CI 10.3–12.6%) in individuals aged 15–49 years [4]. The country has rapidly scaled up the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and it has been estimated that approximately 170 000 people had initiated ARV therapy by the end of 2009, which

represents a coverage of 38% [9]. In order to tailor prevention programmes to distinct populations, local epidemiological data are necessary. The primary objective of this study was to determine the age- and sex-specific community HIV prevalence in adults aged 18–47 years old in an area of southern Mozambique. In addition, the results from the community-based survey were compared with HIV prevalence estimates derived from the ANC surveillance data of the local district hospital. The study was carried out in Manhiça District, a semi-rural area in Maputo Province, in southern Mozambique. Since 1996, the Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM) has been running a continuous demographic surveillance system (DSS) for vital events and migrations. In 2007, there were 160 000 inhabitants LEE011 mw in the district

[10]. Currently, the DSS covers nearly 90 000 inhabitants, 36 000

of whom live within a 10-km distance of the centre of Manhiça town, which constitutes the main study area of the CISM. The trends of the demographic indices in Manhiça District have been described in detail elsewhere [11]. The majority of the population is Changana, with a small proportion of the Ronga ethnic Coproporphyrinogen III oxidase group. The main occupations are farming, petty trading and employment on the two large sugar cane estates in Maragra and Xinavane. Since 2003, the CISM has collaborated with the Mozambican HIV/AIDS control programme through the establishment and continuous support of voluntary counselling and testing centres at health facilities, the provision of ARV drugs and diagnostic tests, and contributions to the clinical management of patients, among other activities. In addition, several clinical studies have been carried out at the hospital [12, 13]. Estimates from the ANC of Manhiça District Hospital (MDH) showed an HIV prevalence of 23.6% in a study performed in 2003–2004 [14, 15]. However, basic epidemiological data on HIV/AIDS trends at the community level were lacking. The study protocol and informed consent form were reviewed and approved by the National Committee on Health Bioethics of Mozambique and the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona Ethics Committee (Spain). A cross-sectional community-based study was designed to determine the age- and sex-specific HIV prevalence in adults. The lower age limit was thus established at 18 years.

Other potentially

helpful effects of acetazolamide for acclimatization are that it decreases cerebrospinal fluid production in addition to inhibiting antidiuretic hormone secretion helping to counteract fluid retention at high altitude. Other drugs including ginko biloba[8, 9] spironolactone,[17] dexamethaosone,[1] sumaptriptan[18] and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs[19] have been tested in the prevention of AMS; and some of these have been shown to be efficacious.[18, 19] But acetazolamide continues APO866 to be the superior drug for AMS prevention due to its proven efficacy over the years in a large number of trials with an acceptable side-effect profile. Another important use of acetazolamide in the mountains is in the prevention of periodic breathing at high altitude which is a very common problem sometimes triggering anxiety attacks. Acetazolamide decreases the hypoxemic spells during sleep and successfully treats this problem in most instances.[20]

In conclusion, sojourners ascending high altitude need to be encouraged to go up gradually without the use of drugs, including acetazolamide to enhance acclimatization. However, in certain instances, acetazolamide may indeed be required. By publishing these two articles, the journal has given due importance to this commonly used drug for AMS. The author states he has no conflicts of interest to declare. “
“The aim of the study was to assess the impact of electronic checklists in enhancing sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening in routine HIV care. This was a retrospective cohort find more study. In two HIV clinics, new STIs were recorded for three consecutive 12-month periods between 2009 and 2012 in a cohort of 882 HIV-infected patients. These three years coincided with the introduction of enhanced STI screening based on prompts within the electronic patient record (EPR) system. The number of diagnoses and the incidence

of STIs more than doubled between 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 in both men who have sex with men (MSM) [from 18 of 115 (15%) to 42 of 132 (32%), a rise in STI incidence from 15.6 to 31.8/100 person-years; P < 0.001] and heterosexual patients [from six of 716 (0.8%) to 19 of 749 (2.5%), a rise in STI incidence from 0.8 to 2.5/100 person-years; P < 0.005]. Branched chain aminotransferase The rise was significant in MSM for infections with chlamydia [from seven of 115 (6%) to 14 of 132 (11%), a rise in incidence from 6.0 to 10.6/100 person-years; P < 0.05], gonorrhoea [from five of 115 (4%) to 12 of 132 (9%), a rise in STI incidence from 4.3 to 9.1/100 person-years; P < 0.05] and early syphilis [from four of 115 (3%) to 13 of 132 (10%), a rise in incidence from 3.5 to 9.8/100 person-years; P < 0.001], but not for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) infections. The rise was significant in heterosexual patients for infection with chlamydia [from four of 716 (0.6%) to 13 of 749 (1.7%), a rise in incidence from 0.6 to 1.7/100 person-years; P < 0.

Other potentially

helpful effects of acetazolamide for acclimatization are that it decreases cerebrospinal fluid production in addition to inhibiting antidiuretic hormone secretion helping to counteract fluid retention at high altitude. Other drugs including ginko biloba[8, 9] spironolactone,[17] dexamethaosone,[1] sumaptriptan[18] and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs[19] have been tested in the prevention of AMS; and some of these have been shown to be efficacious.[18, 19] But acetazolamide continues Buparlisib datasheet to be the superior drug for AMS prevention due to its proven efficacy over the years in a large number of trials with an acceptable side-effect profile. Another important use of acetazolamide in the mountains is in the prevention of periodic breathing at high altitude which is a very common problem sometimes triggering anxiety attacks. Acetazolamide decreases the hypoxemic spells during sleep and successfully treats this problem in most instances.[20]

In conclusion, sojourners ascending high altitude need to be encouraged to go up gradually without the use of drugs, including acetazolamide to enhance acclimatization. However, in certain instances, acetazolamide may indeed be required. By publishing these two articles, the journal has given due importance to this commonly used drug for AMS. The author states he has no conflicts of interest to declare. “
“The aim of the study was to assess the impact of electronic checklists in enhancing sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening in routine HIV care. This was a retrospective cohort RG7204 mw study. In two HIV clinics, new STIs were recorded for three consecutive 12-month periods between 2009 and 2012 in a cohort of 882 HIV-infected patients. These three years coincided with the introduction of enhanced STI screening based on prompts within the electronic patient record (EPR) system. The number of diagnoses and the incidence

of STIs more than doubled between 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 in both men who have sex with men (MSM) [from 18 of 115 (15%) to 42 of 132 (32%), a rise in STI incidence from 15.6 to 31.8/100 person-years; P < 0.001] and heterosexual patients [from six of 716 (0.8%) to 19 of 749 (2.5%), a rise in STI incidence from 0.8 to 2.5/100 person-years; P < 0.005]. TCL The rise was significant in MSM for infections with chlamydia [from seven of 115 (6%) to 14 of 132 (11%), a rise in incidence from 6.0 to 10.6/100 person-years; P < 0.05], gonorrhoea [from five of 115 (4%) to 12 of 132 (9%), a rise in STI incidence from 4.3 to 9.1/100 person-years; P < 0.05] and early syphilis [from four of 115 (3%) to 13 of 132 (10%), a rise in incidence from 3.5 to 9.8/100 person-years; P < 0.001], but not for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) infections. The rise was significant in heterosexual patients for infection with chlamydia [from four of 716 (0.6%) to 13 of 749 (1.7%), a rise in incidence from 0.6 to 1.7/100 person-years; P < 0.

To monitor growth, 200 μL of culture was sampled in triplicate and 10-fold serial dilutions were made in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and 50 μL of the dilutions were spread on TSA plates to determine the CFUs after incubation for 2–3 days at 37 °C under 5% CO2. The J774A.1 murine macrophage-like cells were grown in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum in a humidified 5% CO2 atmosphere at 37 °C. About 1 × 106 Selumetinib mw cells were seeded

per well in a 24-well plate (Corning Incorporated). After 18 h of the incubation, the cells were infected with a multiplicity of infection of 100 : 1 (100 Brucella per macrophage). After 1 h of incubation (which was considered as the 0-h time point for all the experiments), the cells were washed three times with DMEM media containing 50 μg mL−1 gentamicin to wash off all the extracellular bacteria. Fresh DMEM containing 50 μg mL−1 gentamicin and 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) was added for further incubation. As needed, 30 μM deferoxamine mesylate (DFA) was added to the culture media 48 h before infecting the J774A.1 cells to allow the chemical binding between DFA and iron. At 0, 24 and 48 h postinfection, macrophages were lysed using 1 mL of 0.1% TritonX-100, and lysates were collected and serial dilutions prepared in PBS and spread

on TSA plates to determine the CFUs of Brucella. All statistical analyses were performed using the Student two-tailed t-test using Microsoft excel. P-values ≤0.005 were considered significant (*). Deletion of 497 base pairs from the entF gene (BAN1 strain) and complementation this website by pNSGro∷entF plasmid (BAN2 strain) were confirmed by PCR using the entF forward and reverse primers (data not shown).

Further, to confirm the expression of entF gene in the complemented strain, RT-PCR (Fig. 2) revealed that the entF gene was expressed in the BAN2 strain, but not in the ΔentF mutant 17-DMAG (Alvespimycin) HCl (BAN1). Intergenic expression of entB-A or dhbB-A, shown (Bellaire et al., 2003b) to occur under iron-limiting conditions by B. abortus 2308, was used as the positive control. Under iron limitation, the wild-type strain did not reach the same cell density and had a slower growth rate compared with growth in IMM supplemented with iron (Fig. 3). This confirms the importance of iron for the growth of B. abortus 2308 as shown by others (Evenson & Gerhardt, 1955; Parent et al., 2002; Wandersman & Delepelaire, 2004). The ΔentF strain (BAN1) grew even more slowly compared with the wild-type strain in IMM, suggesting the importance of entF gene with respect to growth. The addition of 50 μM FeCl3 restored the growth of both wild-type and mutant strains, suggesting that iron was the only limiting factor in the medium. If a particular mutated gene affects the growth of a bacterium under iron-limiting conditions, the mutated gene might be involved in acquisition, transport or metabolism within the iron pathway.