PLoS Pathog 2012,8(11):e1003015.PubMedCrossRef 71. Lienenklaus S, Cornitescu M, Zietara N, Lyszkiewicz M, Gekara N, Jablonska J, Edenhofer F, Rajewsky K, Bruder D, Hafner M: Novel reporter mouse reveals constitutive and inflammatory expression of IFN-beta in vivo . J Immunol 2009,183(5):3229–3236.PubMedCrossRef Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ contributions SB conducted all infection challenge

experiments with help from BP. PMB performed the histopathological analysis. SB and SL conducted the BLI interferon-β reporter imaging and analysed the data. SW and CGMG contributed with mouse and L. monocytogenes BGB324 manufacturer strains and the reviewing of the manuscript. KS contributed to the study design, coordination of experiments and analysis of data. AL designed buy CHIR98014 experiments, analysed

data and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background The environmental or nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a group of human and animal pathogens that have significant impacts on the morbidity and mortality of humans and important economic impacts on agriculture [1]. They are normal inhabitants of a variety of environmental reservoirs including natural and municipal water, soil, aerosols, and protozoans. The incidence of pulmonary disease due to environmental oxyclozanide mycobacteria is increasing in many parts of the world including Queensland [2]. Clinically significant cases represent approximately one-third of all NTM pulmonary patient-isolates processed by laboratories in the state. Postulated reasons for this increase

include increased awareness of mycobacteria as pulmonary pathogens, improvements in methods of detection and culture, and an ageing population (as this is often a disease of the elderly). It has been shown that mycobacteria are resident in drinking water distribution systems [3–8]. They have also been found in hospital water distribution systems [9–11] and domestic tap water [12–16]. In 2007, Brisbane Water managed the supply of potable water to the population of Brisbane. Details of the system supplying water to approximately 1 million residents are tabled in Additional file 1: Table S1. Water is treated by chloramination at the treatment plants and by point chlorination at points of entry into the system. There are 45 Reservoirs within the network. There have been no published studies examining the presence of mycobacteria in water distribution systems in Australia, and routine sampling/monitoring is not mandated as part of public health practice.