New Approaches; New activities and New Outcomes in International Conferences on HIV/AIDS in Africa: Report of the 3rd African Conference on the Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS; Dakar; 10-14 October 2005

Africa's HIV/AIDS situation remains cause for concern. The impact of HIV is considerable and threatens the survival and development of African societies. Although much has been attempted; the results still leave much to be desired. AIDS is an epidemic that needs to be addressed with much creativity and spirit of initiative. It is against this background that the 3rd African conference on the social aspects of HIV/AIDS brought innovations in the way international conferences are designed; activities implemented and results obtained. The innovations concerned the approach to international conferences and take into account reconceptualising HIV/AIDS so as to encourage holistic approaches and better visibility of vulnerable groups.The activities of the conference were organised in such a way as to get people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA); grassroots communities and marginalised groups to play a focal role.The conference offered an opportunity for developing cultural activities that would translate the African cultural concepts that had been identified as important in the HIV situation and response analysis. Interaction at the conference created an opportunity to analyse the various dimensions of the political; cultural and economic determinants. The conference offered food for thought around response construction while singling out the themes of urgency and acceleration of response; synergy construction; and coordination and conception of political responses

Género helicobacter: una entidad taxonómica en expansión, de características zoonóticas / Genus helicobacter: a toxonomic entity in expansion, with zoonotic characteristics

El genero Helicobacter es un taxón que ha experimentado una notable expansión, tanto desde el punto de vista de las especies que lo componen hasta ahora (19), como de los animales reservorios donde han sido encontradas. Algunas de estas especies pueden colonizar la mucosa gástrica y otras la mucosa intestinal. Muchas de ellas han sido consideradas como agentes zoonóticos y es posible que, en el futuro, nuevas especies sean agregadas a este género y muchas de aquellas encontradas exclusivamente en animales pueden ser aisladas del hombre y de otros huéspedes

Intervención del flagelo de campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni en la adherencia a cultivos celulares: evidencias bacteriológicas e inmunológicas / Intervention of campylobacter campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni flagella in the adhesion to cellular cultures: bacteriological and immunological evidences

The participation of the flagella of a virulent strain (O52) of campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni in the adhesion to HEp-2 cells and their inhibition by means of homologous polyclonal antibodies, moniclonal antiflagella antibodies and colostral natural antibodies (IgA) was studied. An aflagellated strain (T1) was used as negative control. Adhesion was observed in higher rates with O52 strain (72 percent) than with T1 strain (27,5 percent). Polyclonal, monoclonal and colostral antibodies inhibited O52 strain adhesion in more than 70 percent (p<0,001). T1 strain adhesion was inhibited only by polyclonal and colostral natural antibodies. Our results suggest that the flagella of C. jejuni subsp. jejuni could participate effectively in the adhesion process. However, the inhibition of T1 strain by polyclonal and colostral antibodies suggest the existence of other kinds of adhesins in the bacterial surface