DNA identification of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis in human saliva from a patient with American cutaneous leishmaniasis

This study aims to report the amplification of the DNA of Leishmania (V.) braziliensis, using polymerase chain reaction, obtained from the saliva of a patient with American cutaneous leishmaniasis who did not present any lesion in the oral mucosa. Amplification produced fragments of 103 bp, an estimated size employing Leishmania (V.) braziliensis primers (b1 e b2). The present results revealed, for the first time, that the in vitro amplification of Leishmania DNA using samples from the salivary fluid of a patient with American cutaneous leishmaniasis is possible. However, more studies are required with a larger number of participants to evaluate the usefulness of saliva as a non-invasive sample for PCR. The development of such non-invasive technique is necessary for the diagnosis of many diseases in the future, especially infectious and parasitic ones.

Tuberculin skin testing in HIV-infected patients in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil

A cross-sectional study on HIV/AIDS was carried out in 108 outpatients from the university hospital of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil, from July to December 2008, to investigate latent tuberculosis infection using the tuberculin skin test (TST). The prevalence of positive results was 13.9 percent. The CD4+ T cell count (p = 0.091) and the diagnosis time (p = 0.010) were statistically significant when compared with TST positivity. In the cohort of HIV/AIDS patients who had latent tuberculosis infection, the median diagnosis time was eight years. Undetectable viral load presented significant association (p = 0.046) with tuberculosis infection. The fact that numerous individuals with HIV/AIDS infection presented a negative reaction to the tuberculin skin test is probably related to alterations in the cellular immune response induced by HIV infection. The tuberculin test is a useful tool for the detection of latent tuberculosis infection and should be performed in all HIV/AIDS individuals at the time of the diagnosis and on a yearly basis, if negative. Both the early identification of the tuberculosis infection by the tuberculin skin test at the moment of immunological restoration and chemoprophylaxis in infected individuals are mechanisms to control HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis coinfection.