ABSTRACT
Invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis is associated with high mortality and high disability rates and mainly affects children under one year of age. Vaccination is the best way to prevent meningococcal disease, especially in infants and toddlers. The introduction of massive meningococcal serogroup C vaccination has drastically reduced the incidence of disease caused by this serogroup, and serogroup B has now become the main causative agent in several industrialized countries. The first serogroup B vaccines, which were used for more than two decades, were based on outer membrane vesicles and proved to be protective only against specific epidemic strains in Cuba, Norway, Brazil and New Zealand. Moreover, these often elicited a scant immune response in young children. Innovative genomics-based reverse vaccinology subsequently enabled researchers to identify genes encoding for surface proteins that are able to elicit a strong immune response against several B strains. This important discovery led to the development and recent approval in Europe of the four-component meningococcal serogroup B (4CMenB) vaccine. Large clinical trials have shown high immunogenicity and tolerability and acceptable safety levels of 4CMenB in infants and toddlers. This vaccine is expected to cover a large number of circulating invasive strains and may also be efficacious against other serogroups. Young children are particularly vulnerable to the devastating consequences of meningococcal disease. Given the high performance of 4CMenB and its non-interference with routine vaccinations, this age-group will be the first to benefit from the introduction of this vaccine.
ABSTRACT
Os autores relatam caso de tuberculose cutânea disseminada com escrofuloderma associado à tuberculose de arco costal. Paciente de 46 anos, do sexo feminino, há um ano com nódulos de um a 6cm em região cervical, dorso, axilas e regiões glúteas, que culminavam com fistulização e eliminação de secreção purulenta, associados a febre vespertina diária, sudorese noturna e emagrecimento de 10kg nos últimos três meses. A radiografia de tórax mostrou lesão lítica na terceira costela esquerda. A cultura de secreção do nódulo foi positiva para Mycobacterium tuberculosis. O tratamento para tuberculose resultou em melhora clínica e resolução das lesões cutâneas da paciente.
The authors describe a case of disseminated cutaneous tuberculosis with scrofuloderma associated to tuberculosis in the costal arch. A 46-year-old, woman, was hospitalized with nodules measuring 1 to 6 cm in the cervical region, back, armpit and buttocks, which developed purulent discharge with elimination of caseous secretion, associated to episodes of daily evening fever, night sweats and weight loss of 10Kg over the previous three months. Thorax radiography showed an osteolytic lesion in the third left rib. Culture of the nodule secretion was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Treatment for tuberculosis resulted in pronounced clinical improvement and resolution of the patient's cutaneous lesions.
ABSTRACT
Some reproductive parameters of adult stages of Amblyomma cajennense ticks were studied. The capacity of virgin females to reproduce by parthenogenesis was evaluated, during an experimental infestation, in absence of males, on a horse (Equus cabalus). Ticks were spread either completely free or in limited sites on the body of the animal. The engorged virgin females showed longer feeding periods and lighter body weights than those that had been fertilized. Some of these unmated females produced smaller egg masses, which had no embryonary development. On the other hand, females that had been inseminated produced larger egg masses, with normal embryonary development that led to viable larvae. Under the studied conditions, A. cajennense females did not reproduce by parthenogenesis