This invention comprises monoclonal antibodies, proteins, and related nucleic acid coding sequences that identify all or part of the antigenic anthrose oligosaccharide of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax toxicity in humans. It is imperative to identify virulent B. anthracis with speed and specificity, however there presently is substantial difficulty in early-stage recognition and diagnosis of anthrax inhalation.

CDC researchers have improved upon a prior, HHS patented mass spectrometry-based Endopep-MS assay that is able to rapidly detect and differentiate all seven botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) types A to G. This current improvement comprises the addition of two optimized substrate peptides that increases the assay's sensitivity,relative to prior substrates, for botulinum neurotoxin type-E (BoNT/E) by greater than 100 fold.

Micro-Screen is a CDC developed software program designed to capture images and archive and display a compiled image(s) from a portion of a microscope slide in real time. This program allows for the re-creation of larger images that are constructed from individual microscopic fields captured in up to five focal planes and two magnifications. This program may be especially useful for the creation of data archives for diagnostic and teaching purposes and for tracking histological changes during disease progression.

This CDC developed dust detector tube is designed to provide inexpensive, short-term, time weighted average dust exposure data feedback directly to device users. This invention operates upon a conventional gas detector tube platform and can be used with any low volume pump that can electronically measure pump back pressure. The device consists of three sections: the first defines the size of the dust and removes moisture, the second uses a filter whose pressure differential corresponds with cumulative dust loading, and a final section employs a pressure transducer.

CDC researchers have developed a novel method that generates globally amplified DNA copies retaining parental methylation information; making accurate DNA-archiving for methylation studies much more feasible and cost-effective than undertaking such an endeavor with alternate technologies. This unique approach eliminates a significant bottleneck in the collection of methylation information in the genome(s) of an individual organism, hosts and pathogens.

CDC researchers have developed a method of simultaneously detecting and distinguishing multiple antigens within a biological sample. Epidemiological and vaccine studies require species serotype identification. Current methods of serotyping are labor intensive and can easily give subjective, errant results. This technology utilizes serotype specific antibodies bound to fluorescent beads, allowing for simultaneous single tube capture and detection of multiple antigens in one rapid, high-throughput flow cytometry assay.

CDC researchers have developed an in vitro model system designed to simulate early-stage Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and induced granuloma formation. This modeling platform can be used for studying tuberculosis pathogenicity, identifying phenotypically-interesting clinical isolates, studying early-stage host cytokine/chemokine responses, and in vitro candidate-drug screening.

The transmission of malaria begins with injection of sporozoites into a human from the bite of a female anopheles mosquito, which initiates the malarial life cycle in humans. When a mosquito bites an infected human, the ingested male and female malaria gametocytes fuse to form a zygote that eventually becomes an oocyst. Each oocyst produces thousands of sporozoites which migrate to the mosquito salivary glands, ready to infect a new human host.

Sjögren’s is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by dry mouth and eyes, fatigue, and musculoskeletal pain resulting from the attack of the moisture-producing glands by the body’s own white blood cells. The subject invention is based on the discovery of an association between infection by a novel clade 1 variant of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) and primary Sjögren’s syndrome.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is mosquito-borne alphavirus endemic in Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. In 2013 CHIKV infection has also emerged in the Caribbean and a pandemic of CHIKV has re-emerged in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. Currently, there is no vaccine available for the prevention of CHIKV infection and no specific therapy exists to treat the illness.