Priobe:   a specific, biological initiating or priming agent,

implicated as the sufficient and necessary antecedent cause of an infection

Specific priobes (click on 'Priobe' on menu to right of screen), including: 

• Burkholderia pseudomallei (Melioidosis)
• Plasmodium species (Malaria)
• Arboviruses (dengue, yellow fever etc)
  
• Neglected bacterial diseases (Leptospirosis, Scrub Typhus, Melioidosis) 
• Rabiesvirus & other Lyssaviruses (Rabies)
• Schistosoma (schistosomiasis)
• Leishmania species (leishmaniasis)

2010  After all the commemorative hoopla of 2009, 2010 is shaping up to be a bit of an anticlimax.

The economic stress of last year was bound to work its endarkening* influence on biomedical science. And so, as the school year got off to a start, we were faced with the sombre new reality of life according to Homo economicus; he of the double-knotted purse strings. Green shoots of recovery aside, we heard no strains of an orchestra tuning up forThe Rites of Spring. The mood was captured by the title chosen for the 2010 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland: "Rethink. Redesign. Rebuild." You could be forgiven for adding; 'stark, minimalist and imperative.'

The tone set, we embarked on a similar path, learning from the hard lessons of necessity last year. This site has been rethought and, to an extent, redesigned. It is being rebuilt to provide better educational support. We have already made a start on: 

1. µGnome: regular updates by the MicroGnome (http://micrognome.priobe.net), a site supported by the LifeInTheFastLane medical educators at the UTEM with Fascinellas and Crazy Bug Hunters
2. Lectures on line: open source teaching media (publications)
3. Self-directed learning: self-assessment questions and clinical case outlines
4. Language of Infection: an off-the-wall introduction to medical microbiology

Don't expect us to limit our horizons to theory. We like to get our hands (and boots) dirty enough to need washing. We are into translational research and particularly problem-driven field research. In 2009 we had a big taste of priobes in action, particularly during the H1N1/09 epidemic, and continued to add to our experience of field work. Having continued to develop standard field investigation procedures and shape our field laboratory repertoire around the sharp end of H1N1 influenza, it will be interesting to see where 2010 takes us. For expedition reports, see the Expeditions section of the MicroGnome site.

  * endarkening: a process diametrically opposed to enlightening