Isolation of dengue 2 virus from a patient with central nervous system involvement (transverse myelitis)

A dengue fever case is described in a 58-year-old male patient with febrile illness and thrombocytopenia complicated by neurological involvement characterized by transverse myelitis followed by weakness of both legs and flaccid paralysis. Muscle strength was much diminished and bilateral areflexia was observed. Dengue 2 (DEN-2) virus was isolated and the patient sero-converted by hemagglutination-inhibition and IgM-ELISA tests. The RT-PCR test was positive to DEN-2 in acute phase serum and culture supernatant, but negative in the cerebrospinal fluid. After three weeks of hospitalization the patient was discharged. No other infectious agent was detected in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples. The patient had full recovery from paralysis six months after the onset of DEN-2 infection.

Contribuiçäo ao estudo da lagoquilascaríase humana / Contribution to the study of human lagochilascariasis

Objetivo: realiza análise bibliográfica comentada sobre lagoquilascaríase humana, relativa ao período de 1909 a 2001. Introduçäo: Trata-se de zoonose causada por Lagochilascaris, com 109 casos humanos registrados exclusivamente na América Tropical, destacando-se o Estado do Pará com 49,5 por cento da casuística mundial. Forma de estudo: prospectivo. Material e método: Utiliza como metodologia consulta a um guia de referência e a discos de 14 bases de dados; pesquisa direta a 8 bibliotecas; nos acervos bibliográficos de Fraiha e Leäo, e na bibliografia dos trabalhos obtidos através destas fontes. Conclusäo: Justifica o presente estudo pela dispersäo e escassez de informaçöes sobre o tema, muitas vezes inexistentes nos bancos de dados; e pelo aumento da casuística humana registrada nas últimas décadas, predominantemente na Amazônia