ABSTRACT
Abstract Forensic microbiology is a scientific area that has emerged with the need to investigate biocrimes, as in the case of intentional transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The present exploratory work aimed to demonstrate how biomedical technology, such as phylogenetics and quantification of viral load and CD4+ T lymphocytes, can be used to produce technical evidence that brings more certainty in determining the authorship and materiality of these criminal behaviors.
Resumen La microbiología forense es un área científica que ha surgido con la necesidad de investigar los delitos biológicos, como en el caso de la transmisión intencional del virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH). Este trabajo exploratorio tuvo como objetivo demostrar cómo la tecnología biomédica, como la filogenética y la cuantificación de la carga viral y los linfocitos T CD4+, puede usarse para producir evidencia técnica que brinde más certeza para determinar la autoría y la materialidad de estas conductas criminales.
Subject(s)
Sex Offenses , HIV , Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active/methods , Microbiology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/etiology , Coroners and Medical Examiners , DNA Transformation Competence , Forensic MedicineABSTRACT
The capsular switching process indicates the action of specific capsular antibodies on the meningococcal strains adaptation. Different antibodies were employed for assessing the effect of opsonization on the transformation of Neisseria meningitidis serogroups C and W135. These analyses showed the blocking action of the specific capsular antibodies on the meningococcal transformation capacity. Thus, the blocking effect of these antibodies on N. meningitidis transformation process was demonstrated. This effect could be involved in the capsular switching process and the found data might open new subjects for scientific exploratio.