Microbiology and Immunology

WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY Vozrozhdeniye island

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relatively rare except for individuals who have the inherited

disorder sickle cell anemia. Canine and feline parvovirus

infections are fatal, but a vaccine against parvovirus is avail-

able for dogs and cats.

Orthomyxoviruses cause influenza (“flu”). This highly

contagious viral infection can quickly assume epidemic pro-

portions, given the right environmental conditions. An

influenza outbreak is considered an epidemic when more than

10% of the population is infected. Antibodies that are made

against one type of rhinovirus are often ineffective against

other types of viruses. For this reason, most people are sus-

ceptible to colds from season to season.

These helical, enveloped, single-stranded RNA viruses

cause pneumonia, croup, measles, and mumps in children. A

vaccine against measles and mumps has greatly reduced the

incidence of these diseases in the United States. In addition, a

paramyxovirus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

causes bronchiolitis (an infection of the bronchioles) and

pneumonia.

Flaviviruses (from the Latin word meaning “yellow”)

cause insect-carried diseases including yellow fever, an often-

fatal disease characterized by high fever and internal bleeding.

Flaviviruses are single-stranded RNA viruses.

The two filoviruses, Ebola virusand Marburg virus, are

among the most lethal of all human viruses. Both cause severe

fevers accompanied by internal bleeding, which eventually

kills the victim. The fatality rate of Marburg is about 60%,

while the fatality rate of Ebola virus approaches 90%. Both are

transmitted through contact with body fluids. Marburg and

Ebola also infect primates.

Rhabdoviruses are bullet-shaped, single-stranded RNA

viruses. They are responsible for rabies, a fatal disease that

affects dogs, rodents, and humans.

Retroviruses are unique viruses. They are double-

stranded RNA viruses that contain an enzyme called reverse

transcriptase. Within the host cell, the virus uses reverse tran-

scriptase to make a DNA copy from its RNA genome. In all

other organisms, RNA is synthesized from DNA. Cells

infected with retroviruses are the only living things that

reverse this process.

The first retroviruses discovered were viruses that

infect chickens. The Rous sarcoma virus, discovered in the

1950s by Peyton Rous(1879–1970), was also the first virus

that was linked to cancer. However, it was not until 1980 that

the first human retrovirus was discovered. Called Human T-

cell Leukemia Virus (HTLV), this virus causes a form of

leukemia called adult T-cell leukemia. In 1983, another

human retrovirus, Human ImmunodeficiencyVirus, the virus

responsible for AIDS, was discovered independently by

two researchers. Both HIV and HTLV are transmitted in

body fluids.

See alsoBacteria and bacterial infection; Epidemics, viral;

Immune stimulation, as a vaccine; Immunity, active, passive,

and delayed; Immunology; Virology; Virus replication

VITAL STAINS•seeLABORATORY TECHNIQUES IN

MICROBIOLOGY

VVozrozhdeniye islandOZROZHDENIYE ISLAND

Vozrozhdeniye island is located in the Aral Sea approximately

1,300 miles (2,092 km) to the east of Moscow. The island was

used as biological weapons test site for the former Soviet

Union. Now decommissioned, the island has served for

decades as the repository of a large quantity of spores of

Bacillus anthracis, the bacterial agent of anthrax, and other

disease-causing bacteriaand viruses.

Vozrozhdeniye island translates as Renaissance island.

The island was used for open-air testing of bioweapons. The

sparse vegetation on the island, remote location, and summer

temperatures that reach 140°F (60°C) reduced the chances that

escaping bioweapons would survive. Besides the testing of

anthrax bioweapons, Soviet archives indicate that the micro-

bial agents of tularemia, plague, typhoid, and possibly small-

poxwere used for experimentation.

The biological warfareagents buried on the island were

supposed to have been destroyed following the signing of a

treaty with the Soviet Union banning the manufacture and use

of such weapons. Similar weapons manufactured for the same

reason by the United States were reportedly destroyed in 1972.

The bioweapons were manufactured by Soviet Union as part

of their Cold War–inspired biological warfare program. They

were buried on the island in 1988. The island has been aban-

doned since 1991 by the Russian government.

Vozrozhdeniye island has remained unguarded since

that time. The main reason has been the isolated location of the

facility in the middle of the Aral Sea. Over the past two

decades, irrigation demands for water have depleted the fresh-

water sea to such an extent that the sea is becoming smaller.

Many scientists now fear that Vozrozhdeniye Island might

soon be directly connected to the mainland, making the stock-

piled weapons more vulnerable to bioterrorist theft.

Additionally, indications are that some of the buried

bioweapons are migrating towards the surface. Once exposed,

some of the materials could be aerosolized and spread by the

wind, or transported by birds.

The anthrax buried on the island was designed espe-

cially for the lethal use on humans in the time of war. The

powder is a freeze-dried form of the bacteria called a spore.

The spore is a dormant form of the bacterium that allows the

persistence of the genetic material for very long periods of

time. Resuscitation of the spore requires only suspension in

growth media having the appropriate nutrients and incubation

of the suspension at a temperature that is hospitable for the

bacterial growth. Direct inhalation of the spores produces a

lethal form of anthrax.

See alsoBioterrorism, protective measures; Containment and

release prevention protocol

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