ABSTRACT
Ants are found worldwide playing an important environmental role. Some species are considered as agricultural pests and potential risk to human life and public health acting as pathogens carriers. Ants as Paratrechina longicornis and Camponotus spp. have been found inside hospitals. The aim of this study was the research of mycobacteria in 138 samples of ants (137 Paratrechina longicornis and only one Camponotus spp.) which got into the laboratories of tuberculosis diagnosis. These ants were suspended in sterile saline solution and inoculated into Petragnani and Stonebrink media, incubated at 37° C until 90 days and the isolates were identified as environmental mycobacteria (1 Mycobacterium fortuitum peregrinum, 1 Mycobacterium smegmatis) and 1 Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. These results showed that ants should also act as mechanical vectors of mycobacteria dissemination in risk environments, reinforcing their significance in public health.
As formigas têm uma distribuição mundial e representam importante papel no ecossistema. Algumas espécies são consideradas pragas para a agricultura e um risco potencial à vida humana e à saúde pública veiculando mecanicamente agentes patogênicos. Formigas como Paratrechina longicornis e Camponotus spp. têm sido encontradas em ambientes hospitalares. O foco do presente estudo foi a identificação de micobactérias em 138 amostras de formigas (137 Paratrechina longicornis e apenas uma Camponotus sp.), que tiveram acesso a áreas de laboratórios de diagnóstico de tuberculose. Essas formigas foram suspensas em solução salina estéril que foi semeada em meios de Petragnani e Stonebrink, incubadas a 37º C por até 90 dias e as estirpes de micobactérias isoladas foram identificadas pelas técnicas clássicas como micobactérias ambientais (sendo 1 Mycobacterium smegmatis, 2 Mycobacterium fortuitum peregrinum e 1 Mycobacterium tuberculosis). Esses resultados mostram que as formigas podem também se constituir vetores de dispersão de micobactérias em ambientes de risco, reforçando sua importância em saúde pública.
Subject(s)
Ants/microbiology , Tuberculosis/prevention & control , Vector Borne Diseases/prevention & control , Mycobacterium/isolation & purification , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/isolation & purification , Public Health SurveillanceABSTRACT
A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to detect Clostridium perfringens alpha toxin gene (cpa) was used to identify eighty-nine C.perfringens strains obtained from bovine clinical material. The strains were biochemically characterized a C. perfringens. The isolated strains were cultured on plates containing brain heart infusion agar with 5 per cent sheep blood under anaerobic conditions. DNA extraction was performed by boiling. The 324 bp amplification product of cpa was observed in all isolates. C.sordellii, C.botulinum, C.novyi, and C.septicum were also tested but did not produce any alpha toxin gene amplification. These findings suggest that PCR is a useful assay in identifying C. perfringens toxin types.