<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

New strategies in the development of anthrax vaccines and therapeutics have been presented. Recently, considerable progress has been made in the finding of new drugs and suitable therapy for anthrax. Very promising research considers the use of antimicrobials against selected bacteria species, including antibiotic-resistant strains. However, alternative therapeutic options should also be considered, among them vaccines. <italic>Bacillus anthracis</italic> spores are still the most dangerous weapon amongst pathogens which can be used in a bioterror attack. In this case, research for new anti-anthrax preparations is of primary importance for the protection of humans and animals. The overview of the most recent data shows the many new and promising possibilities for effective strategies in the development of vaccines and anti-anthrax preparations. The most effective of them should be available in the National Stockpile in the event of a biological crisis.
</abstract>

Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Coagulology and Microbiology

Department of Didactics and Medical Simulation

Vaccines Against Anthrax – Selected Research

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Anaerobic bacteraemia is not frequent (1.2–13.7%), but is associated with a high mortality rate of 16–27%. Anaerobic infections including bacteraemia nearly always arise from contamination by endogenous bacteria into contiguous or other sites like gastrointestinal tracts, genito-urinary tracts, abscesses etc. Factors leading to anaerobic bacteraemia are mainly surgical procedures, crush injuries, the presence of foreign bodies, tissue necrosis, tumours, diabetes. The most common infectious anaerobic agents are Gram-negative bacilli belonging to the <italic>Bacteroides</italic>/<italic>Parabacteroides</italic>, which under normal conditions constitute the natural human microflora. An important factor in the virulency of <italic>B. fragilis</italic> is the ability to form abscesses; a limited infection may progress to bacteraemia and then systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis. Anaerobic bacteraemia mainly affects adults, with elderly patients over 65 years with underlying diseases. The importance of anaerobic bacteria in neonatal bacteraemia and sepsis is a relatively new phenomenon. In contrast the prevalence of anaerobes in bloodstream infections in children is extremely rare with children between 2 and 6 years of age having the least risk ranging 0–0.5% overall. The incidence of recovery of anaerobes in neonatal bacteraemia varies between 1.8% and 12.5%. The majority of cases reported in the literature were due to <italic>Bacteroides</italic> spp. (41%) other cultured anaerobes belonged to <italic>Clostridium</italic> spp. (32%), <italic>Peptostreptococcus</italic> spp. (20%).
Blood cultures remain the gold standard for detection of the etiologic both anaerobes and aerobes agent of bloodstream infection. In recent years significant progress has been made in the methods used in the diagnosis of anaerobes, which significantly reduced the time and cost of the examination. Currently, the mass spectometry MALDI-TOF MS and 16S rRNA sequencing are increasingly used for anaerobic bacteria identification. In 2022, EUCAST published standardized disk diffusion method for the drug susceptibility testing of <italic>Bacteroides</italic> spp. and other 4 clinically significant anaerobes. Determining the sensitivity of anaerobes to antibiotics is important due to the increasing drug resistance in this group. Number of <italic>B. fragilis</italic> strains resistant to clindamycin and moxifloxacin is increasing. According to the published studies sensitivity to clindamycin and moxifloxacin is significantly rare and occurs in 64% and 68% of isolates and in 50.8% and 58.2% respectively. Carbapenems and metronidazole continue to be the most effective active antibiotics to be used in the empirical therapy of anaerobic bacteraemia. There are case reports of infections caused by multidrug-resistant strains of <italic>Bacteroides</italic> spp, meaning resistant to at least three antibiotics from different groups. Rapid microbial diagnosis, targeted therapy and surgical treatment of a possible source of infection are crucial in treatment of sepsis caused by anaerobic bacteria.
</abstract>

Department of Laboratory Diagnostics and Clinical Immunology of Developmental Age

Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Centre for Preclinical Research, Faculty of Pharmacy

The Role of the <italic>Bacteroides</italic> spp. in Bacteraemia

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The microbiota plays an important role in human health. Disturbance in microbiota composition can be compensated by administration of probiotic microorganisms. However, their application is associated with some constraints. Probiotics are commonly used in disease prevention, whereas they play only a supportive role in disease therapy. Moreover, probiotics during technological processes and gastrointestinal tract passage may lose their beneficial properties. These constraints can be overcome by genetic modification of bacteria. The current research shows that genetically modified bacteria can have new biological properties and can be used in diagnostics and therapy.
</trans-abstract>

Uniwersytet Jagielloński Collegium Medicum

Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Instytut Pielęgniarstwa i Położnictwa, Zakład Biologii Rozwoju Człowieka

Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Instytut Pielęgniarstwa i Położnictwa, Katedra Biologii Medycznej

Genetically Modified Bacteria – The Perspective of Application in Prevention, Diagnostics and Therapy

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Liquid biopsy involves testing extracellular DNA (cfDNA – circulating, cell-free DNA) circulating in the blood and deriving from normal or cancer cells. Analysis of a small amount of blood can be a rich source of information about the health status of cancer patient. Liquid biopsy may be an alternative to tumor biopsy, but it presents particular value in cases of inaccessibility of tissue samples and the possibility of repeating it many times. The tumor-derived cfDNA fraction is called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in oncology. An example of ctDNA may be the genome sequences of the <italic>Human Papillomavirus</italic> (HPV), which is the etiological factor of some head and neck cancers (HNC), in particular of the oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). HPV16 is the most common genotype found in OPC. Noninvasive and frequent determination of HPV16 DNA (ctHPV16) in the blood gives the opportunity to monitor the course of the disease during and after treatment. Very good tools for HPV DNA detection are techniques based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) like quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR). The use of these techniques for virus DNA detection in the blood gives high specificity and sensitivity of the analysis. Determination of ctHPV16 after treatment may be helpful in diagnosis of residual disease, which is difficult to assess in radiological imaging. The ctHPV16 biomarker can be successfully used to diagnose the effects of treatment of patients with OPC, which in the future may be helpful in making therapeutic decisions.
</trans-abstract>

Centrum Badań Translacyjnych i Biologii Molekularnej Nowotworów

Zakład Radioterapii, Narodowy Instytut Onkologii im. M. Skłodowskiej-Curie

Potential Possibilities of HPV DNA Detection in Liquid Biopsy for Diagnosis of Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Coliphages are bacterial viruses that have been tested for many years to dermine their usefulness as indicators of faecal contamination and presence of human viral pathogens in water. Retrospective analyzes of water-borne outbreaks have shown that <italic>E. coli</italic> tests are not enough to assure the safety of water intended for human consumption. Coliphages are more resistant to disinfection in comparison with bacterial indicators and are able to survive at considerable distance from source of contamination. Using of coliphages as indicators, to ensure better control and safety of drinking water had been recommended by WHO experts and introduced in Directive (EU) 2020/2184. Somatic coliphages are new indicators of water microbiological quality assessment, including indication of intestinal viruses. They can be used to verify processes of water treatment and to assess efficiency of removing intestinal viruses.
</trans-abstract>

Somatic Coliphages as an Indicator in Drinking Water Quality Assessment

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 63 (2024): Issue 1 (March 2024)

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Volume 62 (2023): Issue 2 (June 2023)

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Advancements of Microbiology

 The Advancements of Microbiology (formerly Postępy Mikrobiologii) is a quarterly of the Polish Society of Microbiologists. The journal was founded in 1961, initially under the patronage of the Microbiology Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and in 1989 it became the organ of the PSM. The following professors have served as Editors-in-Chief of Postępy Mikrobiologii during the period: Prof. Edmund Mikulaszek 1962 – 1972, Prof. Władysław Tomasz Dobrzański 1972 – 1982, Prof. Zdzislaw Ilczuk 1983 – 1991, Prof. Jerzy Hrebenda 1991 – 2009, Prof. Jacek Bielecki 2009 – 2022. Journal implements the Society’s main goals, like promoting the development of microbiological sciences, popularizing the achievements of microbiology among members of the Society and broad circles of readers.   Advancements of Microbiology is topical journal for scientists in several microbiological fields and often the place where the first works of young researchers are published. Advancements of Microbiology include review articles from all areas of microbiology that are not printed in other journals. Please send manuscripts with attachments to the editor's e-mail address: editorial.office@am-online.org   Due to the great thematic diversity of the articles sent to the editorial office, it is not possible to print monographic volumes. Most of the papers currently published in Advancements of Microbiology are review articles in the field of bacterial physiology, microbial genetics, environmental microbiology, applied microbiology and virology; the work in the field of epidemiology, classification and identification of bacteria and applications of molecular biology techniques in microbiological research are particularly extensive.   The editors of Advancements of Microbiology strive to print works – ordered by eminent scientists – regarding currently fashionable problems of modern science. We especially encourage Authors to write articles in the field of their expertise, which guarantees the highest scientific level. The high scientific level of the journal was reflected in the progress of the JCR citation index and the presence of our journal on the Philadelphia list. It is especially important for young Authors, for whom Advancements of Microbiology often open the way to a scientific career. The current activity of Advancements of Microbiology is based mainly on publishing reviews related to the latest scientific achievements in the field of microbiology, which, at present is characterized by unusual dynamics of development and comprehensive application possibilities. The selection of current and relevant research topics and their presentation at a high scientific level in our journal is the basis for the existence of the quarterly, Advancements of Microbiology.   Open Access Policy   This journal provides immediate open access to its content under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license　on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license users are free to share the work (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format), if the contribution is properly attributed and used for non-commercial purposes. The material published in the journal may not be altered or built upon.   ABOUT SOCIETY   The origin of microbiology in Poland goes back to the XIX century. Professor Odo Feliks Kazimierz Bujwid (1857 – 1942) – was the first Polish bacteriologist, who graduated from the University of Warsaw and gained experience in Berlin working with Robert Koch, and in Paris at the Ludwik Pasteur Institute.   The Polish Society of Microbiologists (PSM), formerly the Polish Society of Microbiologists and Epidemiologists, was established in Warsaw on October 31, 1927 at the first Congress of Polish microbiologists. Professor Zygmunt Szymanowski was elected the first President of PSM. The same year, PSM also became cofounder of Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) and since 2005 PSM is a member of European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).   Within over 95 years of activity, 29 Congresses of PSM were organized and 16 professors were elected as Presidents of PSM. About 900 ordinary members and 19 honorary members, associated in 14 PSM branches all over Poland, belong to the Society.   The aims of PSM have been the same since its very beginnings: to promote the development of microbiological sciences and to popularize the achievements of microbiology among the Society’s members and the broad public. PSM organizes congresses, scientific meetings, courses and lectures and competitions of scientific papers. Two quarterly journals, the Polish Journal of Microbiology and the Advancements in Microbiology are issued by PSM. The Society formulates opinions on the conditions and needs of Polish microbiology and applies in these cases to the state authorities; cooperates with related associations in the country and abroad.   Archiving   Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico – a digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.   Plagiarism Policy   The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System’s users to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 

Advancements of Microbiology

Volume 61 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

Vaccines Against Anthrax – Selected Research

The Role of the Bacteroides spp. in Bacteraemia

Genetically Modified Bacteria – The Perspective of Application in Prevention, Diagnostics and Therapy

Potential Possibilities of HPV DNA Detection in Liquid Biopsy for Diagnosis of Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

Somatic Coliphages as an Indicator in Drinking Water Quality Assessment

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