Frequency of viral etiology in symptomatic adult upper respiratory tract infections

Aims: To determine the frequency of viral pathogens causing upper respiratory tract infections in non-hospitalized, symptomatic adults in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Methods: Respiratory samples (nasal/throat swabs) were collected between August 2010 and November 2012 and real time PCR was used to detect different viral pathogens. Results: Viruses were detected in 32.1% (43/134) of samples from 101 patients. Specifically, 9% (12/134) were positive for HBoV, 8.2% (11/134) were positive for HAdV, 5.2% (7/134) were positive for HRV, and 1.5% (2/134) were positive for FLUBV or HMPV, as single infections. HRSV-A, HPIV-3, and HCoV-HKU1 were detected in one (0.75%) sample each. Co-infections were detected in 4.8% (6/134) of the samples. Peaks of viral infections were observed in March, April, May, August, and October. However, positive samples were detected all year round. Only 23.3% (10/43) of the positive samples were collected from patients with febrile illness. Conclusion: Results presented in this report suggest that respiratory viral infections are largely under diagnosed in immunocompetent adults. Although the majority of young adult infections are not life-threatening they may impose a significant burden, especially in developing countries since these individuals represent a large fraction of the working force. .

Influenza A virus infection of healthy piglets in an abattoir in Brazil: animal-human interface and risk for interspecies transmission

Asymptomatic influenza virus infections in pigs are frequent and the lack of measures for controlling viral spread facilitates the circulation of different virus strains between pigs. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the circulation of influenza A virus strains among asymptomatic piglets in an abattoir in Brazil and discuss the potential public health impacts. Tracheal samples (n = 330) were collected from asymptomatic animals by a veterinarian that also performed visual lung tissue examinations. No slaughtered animals presented with any noticeable macroscopic signs of influenza infection following examination of lung tissues. Samples were then analysed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction that resulted in the identification of 30 (9%) influenza A positive samples. The presence of asymptomatic pig infections suggested that these animals could facilitate virus dissemination and act as a source of infection for the herd, thereby enabling the emergence of influenza outbreaks associated with significant economic losses. Furthermore, the continuous exposure of the farm and abattoir workers to the virus increases the risk for interspecies transmission. Monitoring measures of swine influenza virus infections and vaccination and monitoring of employees for influenza infection should also be considered. In addition regulatory agencies should consider the public health ramifications regarding the potential zoonotic viral transmission between humans and pigs.

Histopatologia de lesões tumoriformes presentes na cavidade nasal de eqüídeos do Brasil / Histopathology of tumor-like masses present in the nasal cavity of equids from Brazil

Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de analisar os aspectos microscópicos e enfatizar a importância do exame histopatológico na determinação do diagnóstico de lesões tumoriformes na cavidade nasal de eqüídeos. Para tanto, foram estudados microscopicamente cortes de tecido de 11 eqüídeos com lesões tumoriformes na cavidade nasal. Essas amostras foram enviadas ao Serviço de Anatomia Patológica da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária da Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, no período de 2000 a 2004. Foram diagnosticados três casos de rinosporidiose, um de amiloidose, seis de pólipos nasais e um de hematoma etmoidal progressivo.

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the microscopic aspects of tumor-like masses present in the nasal cavity of equids and also to emphasize the importance of histopathological examination for determining the diagnosis. Tissue sections of tumor-like masses from the nasal cavity of 11 equids were microscopically examined. These samples were sent to the Anatomic Pathology Service of the Veterinary Medicine College from the Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, from 2000 to 2004. Three cases of rhinosporidiosis, one of amyloidosis, six of nasal polyps and one of progressive ethmoid hematoma were diagnosed.