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Article: Protozoa: an animal-research first: protozoa bolsters bacterial virulence inside animals.
- Article from:
- Agricultural Research
- Article date:
- February 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ARS scientists have found that an antibiotic-resistant strain of Salmonella becomes especially virulent when tucked inside protozoa in the rumen, or first stomach, of cattle. Protozoa are one-celled predatory organisms that engulf and destroy most bacteria.
This breakthrough finding at ARS's National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, Iowa, represents the first time that disease-causing bacteria have been found to gain strength from interaction with protozoa inside animals. It suggests that naturally occurring digestive tract protozoa may be a place where dangerous bacteria can also lurk and develop.
The Ames scientists also found a way to combat this ...