title: Glanders: off to the races with Burkholderia mallei.
abstract: Burkholderia mallei, the etiologic agent of the disease known as glanders, is primarily a disease affecting horses and is transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected animals. The use of B. mallei as a biological weapon has been reported and currently, there is no vaccine available for either humans or animals. Despite the history and highly infective nature of B. mallei, as well as its potential use as a bio-weapon, B. mallei research to understand the pathogenesis and the host responses to infection remains limited. Therefore, this minireview will focus on current efforts to elucidate B. mallei virulence, the associated host immune responses elicited during infection and discuss the feasibility of vaccine development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-1070, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Whitlock
authors.forename: D Mark
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Estes
authors.forename: Alfredo G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D054045:Biological Warfare Agents; D042726:Burkholderia mallei / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology*; D005896:Glanders / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D054045:Biological Warfare Agents