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BACKGROUND Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonosis that affects humans and animals. Immunochromatography rapid test is widely used for early diagnosis of leptospirosis, but with low sensitivity and specificity. OBJECTIVES To evaluate Leptospira interrogans insoluble fraction as a potential antigen source for lateral flow immunochromatography. METHODS Insoluble fraction derived from the crude bacterial extract was obtained by serial centrifugation. The polypeptide profile was determined using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Immune reactivity of this fraction was assessed by Western Blotting and lateral flow immunochromatography (LFI). It was tested 160 microagglutination test (MAT)-positive sera from patients in the acute phase, 100 MAT-negative sera from patients with acute febrile illness, and 45 patients with other infectious diseases. FINDINGS There was a predominance of low molecular mass-polypeptide bands, ranging from 2 to 37 kDa. The antibody reactivity of theses polypeptides was found to range from 13-50%, especially between 10 and 38 kDa. Among MAT-positive sera of patients with leptospirosis in the acute phase, 97% were also positive in LFI, indicating high sensitivity. Among MAT-negative sera, all were negative in LFI, indicating high specificity. Only 2% of cross-reactivity was detected. CONCLUSION The insoluble fraction can be a valuable antigen source for development of point-of-care diagnosis test for leptospirosis.
RESUMEN
From December 1999 to December 2001, many cases of hepatitis A were notified in the county of Belford Roxo involving individuals aged 0 to 79 years. Serum samples were collected to evaluate the prevalence of anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibodies, to detect HAV-RNA and to correlate with possible risk factors of HAV infection. Serum samples were screened by commercial IgM and total anti-HAV antibody ELISA and HAV-RNA was isolated and subsequently amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at VP1/2A region, sequenced and analyzed. Total anti-HAV prevalence was 87.9 percent (203/231) and IgM anti-HAV prevalence was 38.7 percent (89/231). Multivariate analysis showed that individuals under 20 years old are risks groups to acquire the infection suggesting that hygienic habits of young subjects are the principal factor of transmission and so they could be the target for vaccine programs. HAV-RNA was amplified from 29 (32.5 percent) IgM anti-HAV positive patients and 26 samples were sequenced and classified into subgenotypes IB (8 isolates) and IA (18 isolates). Isolates classified into subgenotype IB were identical representing one distinct strain. We could observe both subgenotypes circulating during the study which suggests different sources of infection. Prophylactic measures as vaccination strategies added to improvements in hygienic and sanitary conditions would be highly effective to reduction of infection.