ABSTRACT
Bartonella henselae is associated with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, including cat scratch disease, endocarditis and meningoencephalitis, in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. We report the first molecularly confirmed case of B. henselae infection in an AIDS patient in state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although DNA sequence of B. henselae has been detected by polymerase chain reaction in a lymph node biopsy, acute and convalescent sera were nonreactive.
Bartonella henselae está associada a um amplo espectro de manifestações clínicas, incluindo a doença da arranhadura de gato, endocardite, e meningoencefalite, em pacientes imunocompetentes e imunocomprometidos. Relatamos o primeiro caso confirmado por método molecular de B. henselae em um paciente com SIDA no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Apesar da sequência de DNA de B. henselae ser detectada pela reação em cadeia da polimerase em uma biópsia do linfonodo, soros das fases aguda e convalescente foram não reativos.
Subject(s)
Adult , Animals , Cats , Humans , Male , AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/diagnosis , Bartonella henselae/isolation & purification , Cat-Scratch Disease/diagnosis , Bartonella henselae/genetics , DNA, Bacterial/analysis , Polymerase Chain ReactionABSTRACT
The Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) is a zoonotic disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii and transmitted by ticks of the genus Amblyomma, more frequently, Amblyomma cajennense. The aim of this paper was to report the first molecular detection of R. rickettsii on R. sanguineus naturally infected in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ticks were collected from dogs in a rural region of Resende municipality, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil (22º30'9.46"S, 44º42'44.29"WO), where occurred five human cases of BSF in 2006. The ticks were identified under a stereoscopic microscope and separated in pools by stages, species and sex. DNA extraction was carried out using QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN®). The DNA was submitted to PCR amplification using 04 set of primers: Rr190.70p/Rr190.602n (OmpA, 532bp), BG1-21/BG2-20 (OmpB, 650bp), Tz15/Tz16 (17 kDa protein-encoding gene, 246bp) and RpCS.877p/RpCS.1258n (gltA, 381bp). PCR products were separated by electrophoresis on 1 percent agarose gels and visualized under ultraviolet light with ethidium bromide. PCR products of the expected sizes were purified by QIAquick® and sequenced by ABI PRISM®. The generated nucleotide sequences were edited with using Bioedit® software and compared with the corresponding homologous sequences available through GenBank, using Discontiguous Mega Blast (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). It was confirmed R. rickettsii by sequencing of the material (GenBank FJ356230). The molecular characterization of R. rickettsii in the tick R. sanguineus emphasizes the role of dogs as carriers of ticks from the environment to home. Moreover, this result suggests that there is a considerable chance for active participation of R. sanguineus as one of tick species in the transmission of R. ricketsii to human being in the Brazilian territory.
A Febre Maculosa Brasileira (FMB) é uma zoonose causada por Rickettsia rickettsii e transmitida por carrapatos do gênero Amblyomma, mais freqüentemente pela espécie Amblyomma cajennense. Este trabalho tem como objetivo relatar a primeira detecção molecular de R. rickettsii em Rhipicephalus sanguineus naturalmente infectado no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Carrapatos foram coletados de cães, procedentes de uma região rural do município de Resende, estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (22º30'9.46"S, 44º42'44.29"WO), onde ocorreram cinco casos humanos de FMB em 2006. Todos os carrapatos foram identificados segundo chave dicotômica, utilizando-se lupa estereoscópica e separados de acordo com estágio, espécie e sexo. Para a extração de DNA utilizou-se o kit comercial QIAamp DNA (QIAGEN ®). O DNA foi submetido à técnica de PCR utilizando 04 conjuntos de iniciadores para a amplificação dos genes: Rr190.70p/Rr190.602n (OmpA, 532bp), BG1-21/BG2-20 (OmpB, 650bp), Tz15/Tz16 (17 kDa gene que codifica a proteína, 246bp) e RPCs .877p/RpCS.1258n (gltA, 381bp). Os produtos da PCR foram separados por eletroforese em gel agarose 1 por cento corados com brometo de etídio e visualizados sob luz ultravioleta e, aqueles que apresentaram bandas amplificadas foram purificados utilizando-se o kit comercial QIAquick ® e seqüenciados pelo ABI PRISM®. As seqüências nucleotídicas foram geradas usando Bioedit®, editado em software e comparados os correspondentes homólogos com as sequências disponíveis através GenBank, utilizando Discontiguous Mega Blast (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Confirmou-se R. rickettsii (GenBank FJ356230) no seqüenciamento de apenas um espécime, adulto de carrapato R. sanguineus. A caracterização molecular de R. rickettsii em exemplar de carrapato R. sanguineus confirma que esta espécie pode ter importante papel na transmissão de R. rickettsii para humanos no território brasileiro.
Subject(s)
Animals , Dogs , Rhipicephalus sanguineus , Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever , Rickettsia rickettsii/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
Furnas dos Dionísios is an Afro-Brazilian black community whose descendants were mainly fugitive slaves that established themselves in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. The population is comprised mainly of low socioeconomic individuals who are engaged in agricultural activities. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B (HB) and its correlation with epidemiological data obtained from the community. The studied population totaled 260 individuals with ages varying from 1 to 79 years (median 20). One hundred thirty-three (51.2 percent) were females and 127 (48.8 percent) were males. A high prevalence for anti-HBc was observed (42.7 percent), with present infection detected in 9.2 percent of the subjects who were also HB surface antigens (HBs Ag) positive; 27.3 percent were anti-HBc and anti-HBs reactive, and 6.2 percent had anti-HBc as only marker. The prevalence for anti-HBc was proportional to age, reaching its highest peak in age categories greater than 50. No serological marker was detected in children under the age of 2 years, however anti-HBc was present in 12 subjects with ages between 2 and 14 years, of these 8 (7.4 percent) were HBsAg positive. Among individuals over the age of 15 years, 99 were anti-HBc reactive, of these 16 (10.5 percent) were also HBsAg positive, thus suggesting an increased prevalence of HBV carriers among children and adolescents. The risk factors observed in this community that were significantly associated with anti-HBc positivity were age (over 20 years) and having an anti-HBc positive mother. Both HBeAg and anti-HBe were detected in 44.4 percent of the samples tested. HBsAg subtypes found in the studied population were adw2 (77.7 percent) and ayw2 (23.3 percent). While intrafamilial transmission was most likely responsible for HBV infection among children, other routes such as sexual contact might be considered for individuals with ages over 15 years
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Hepatitis B , Africa , Brazil , Epidemiologic Methods , Hepatitis B , Hepatitis B Antibodies , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens , Hepatitis B virusSubject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Infant, Newborn , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Biomarkers , Hepatitis B , Hepatitis C , Brazil , Hepatitis B Core Antigens , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens , Hepatitis C Antibodies , Indians, South American , Prevalence , Seroepidemiologic StudiesABSTRACT
The age-specific prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) was determined in two different population groups with low socio-economic status from Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, whose serum were collected 17 years apart (Population 1, 1978; Population 2, 1995). In Population 2, analysis of the anti-HAV prevalence was also carried out with respect to environmental factors. Population 1 was composed of 520 stored sera collected from the umbilical cord of term neonates and children aged 1 month to 6 years. In population 2, 720 serum samples were collected from children and adolescents with ages ranging from 1 to 23 years. The overall prevalence rate of anti-HAV in Population 1 and 2 was 65.6 per cent and 32.1 per cent, respectively. In Population 1, the anti-HAV prevalence reached 88 per cent at the age of 3, while in Population 2, it increased from 4.5 per cent in children under the age of 3 to 66 per cent in the group of adolescents over the age of 14. The low exposure to HAV infection in younger children from Population 2 could be a result of improved environmental hygiene and sanitation, as demonstrated by the presence of piped water, waste and sewage disposal systems in most houses from this population group. These findings indicate a possible change in the prevalence of hepatitis A in Rio de Janeiro.
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Adolescent , Infant, Newborn , Age Distribution , Hepatitis Antibodies , Hepatitis A/immunology , Brazil , Cross-Sectional Studies , Hepatitis A Virus, Human/immunologyABSTRACT
Com o objetivo de obter informacoes sobre a febre maculosa brasileira, um estudo em animais domesticos foi conduzido no municipio de Pedreira, Sao Paulo, Brasil, onde 17 casos humanos foram notificados. Amostras de soro obtidas de animais foram testadas pelo teste de imunofluorescencia indireta para deteccao de anticorpos para rickettsia do grupo da febre maculosa. Soro reatividade foi observada em 12 (36,4 por cento) dos 33 caes e sete (77,8 por cento) dos nove equinos procedentes da area endemica. Para comparacao, amostras de sangue de caes e de equinos procedentes de area nao endemica foram testadas e quatro (12,9 por cento) dos 31 caes e tres dos 10 equinos foram positivos...