Pessoas em situação de rua e seus cães: uma relação que pode abrir as portas para a reinserção social / Homeless people and their dogs: a relationship that can open the doors forsocial reintegration

O Brasil convive com grande número de pessoas em situação de rua, e esses indivíduos têm, na prática, direitos básicos limitados, a despeito da existência da Política Nacional para População em Situação de Rua desde 2014. A condição de vulnerabilidade em que vivem aumenta os riscos sanitários a que estão expostos. Muitas vezes, esses indivíduos, acompanhando uma tendência da sociedade contemporânea, têm em sua companhia animais domésticos, como os cães. Desse modo, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi buscar entender essa relação entre os indivíduos em situação de rua e seus cães. Trata-se de um trabalho desenvolvido com metodologia qualitativa, exploratória e descritiva, em que foram utilizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados encontrados denotam a importância que os cães têm para os indivíduos em situação de rua, que envolve a melhoria da segurança, da autoestima, da estabilidade emocional e da responsabilização, além da afetividade. Desse modo, pode-se concluir que essa relação pode ser o primeiro passo para a reinserção desses indivíduos na sociedade, que até então não os vê, ou os vê de maneira estigmatizada e pejorativa.

Brazil coexists with a great number of homeless people and these individuals have, effectively, limitedbasic rights, despite de existence of the National Policy for the Homeless People since 2014.Thevulnerable condition they live in increases the sanitary risks to which they are exposed. Many times theseindividuals have in their company domestic pets like dogs. In this way, the objective of this project was toestablish an understanding of the relationship between these individuals and their dogs. This project wasdeveloped with a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive methodology in which were used semi-structured interviews. The results found indicate the importance the dogs have for these individuals, whichinvolves improvement in security, self-esteem, emotional stability, as well as affection. Therefore, it canbe concluded thatthis relationship can be the first step to the reinsertion of these individuals in society,that until now does not see them, or sees them in a stigmatized and pejorative manner.

Perfil clínico e laboratorial de cadelas sororeativas para erliquiose tratadas em um Hospital Veterinário Universitário em Niterói, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil / Clinical and laboratory profile of dogs seroreactive to ehrlichiosis treated at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in Niterói, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne disease highly prevalent in Brazil, and is relevant in canine clinical practice due to its high morbidity and mortality. Its clinical signs are nonspecific and its phases are acute, lasting 2 to 4 weeks; subclinical, i.e., asymptomatic; and chronic, resembling an autoimmune disease. The purpose of this study was to identify the occurrence of reactivity to Ehrlichia canis of bitches treated at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) - Niterói, RJ, Brazil, based on serological examination by iELISA, and to compare the hematological, biochemical, urinary protein-creatinine and urinary density profiles of reactive and non-reactive animals. This study involved solely bitches, regardless of breed, starting at 1 year of age. One hundred and thirty bitches, 1 to 16 year-old (mean age 7.02 ± 4.00), weighing 1.5 to 50 kg (mean weight 12.12 ± 10.65) were subjected to clinical examination and abdominal ultrasound. Complete blood count, biochemical measurements, urinalysis and serology for E. canis were also performed. The serum was used in the iELISA to identify immunoglobulin G (IgG), using a canine Ehrlichia Imunotest® diagnostic kit (Imunodot®, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Sixty animals (46.20%) were reactive to E. canis. According to their owners, only 5 (8.3%) of the 60 seroreactive animals had a history of tick-borne disease. The most common profile was that of mixed breed animals living with their owners, older than 7 years, who had not been treated preventatively with specific drugs against ectoparasites. Laboratory tests showed significant differences between groups in terms of total protein (TP), and calcium and urinary protein-creatinine ratio (UPC). TP and UPC were elevated in the non-reactive group, while the only significant change in the reactive group was mild hypocalcemia. In this study, 30% (18/60) of the bitches were seroreactive to E. canis and had hypocalcemia. Of these, 50% (9/18) had a UPC above 0.5. Furthermore, 66.7% (12/18) of this group with hypocalcemia also showed urine density (UD) of less than 1024. Among these 18 bitches, 5 had both alterations, i.e., UPC > 0.5 and UD < 1024. In this study, a high prevalence of bitches seroreactive to Ehrlichia canis was observed, despite the absence of clinical and/or laboratory signs indicative of the disease. In the investigation of IgG class antibodies, it is not possible to determine the exact time of infection, and titers may remain high for a period of more than 11 months, even after treatment and elimination of the bacterium. The fact that most seroreactive bitches showed no symptoms compatible with the disease either before or during the study suggests that they were in the subclinical phase of ehrlichiosis. The main reason for calcium metabolism disorders is a phosphorus imbalance, a condition that occurs in kidney diseases. Isosthenuria reflects the kidney's inability to concentrate urine. This finding may be one of the first clinical manifestations of chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially in dogs. On the other hand, the UPC ratio may increase with the progression of CKD. The presence of hypocalcemia, isosthenuria and increased UPC associated with seroreactivity suggests that infection by E. canis may be associated with the onset of CKD. Veterinarians should keep in mind the complexity of the pathophysiology of ehrlichiosis to ensure the disease is not underdiagnosed in any of its phases, thereby ensuring the correct treatment is provided. Such awareness is expected to reduce the chronicity of the disease and underlying sequelae among dogs.(AU)

Frequência de hemoglobinopatia S em amostras de pacientes atendidos no Hospital Universitário Antônio Pedro / Frequency of haemoglobinopathies S in samples from patients treated at University Hospital

Neste trabalho foi investigada a presença de hemoglobina S (HbS) em 908 amostras de sangue total, selecionadas aleatoreamente no Laboratório de Exames Hematológicos do Hospital Universitário Antonio Pedro (HUAP), no período de 27/04 a 15/06/98...