Learning from combination HIV prevention programmes to face COVID-19 emerging pandemic / Aprender de los programas combinados de prevención del VIH para enfrentar la pandemia emergente COVID-19

Abstract Before a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 became available, several measures to control COVID-19 pandemic are necessary. Analogously, in the absence of an available vaccine, Combination HIV Prevention Programmes have consolidated a large experience of biomedical, behavioral and structural interventions suitable for several epidemiological settings. Adaptation of such experiences can organize mid-term and long-term responses to face COVID-19.

Resumen Antes de que se disponga de una vacuna contra el SARS-CoV-2, son necesarias varias medidas para controlar la pandemia de COVID-19. En forma análoga, en ausencia de una vacuna disponible, los Programas de Prevención del VIH combinados han consolidado una gran experiencia de intervenciones biomédicas, conductuales y estructurales adecuadas para varios entornos epidemiológicos. La adaptación de estas experiencias puede organizar respuestas a mediano y largo plazo para hacer frente a la epidemia de COVID-19.

Perfil das enteroparasitoses diagnosticadas em pacientes con infecção pelo vírus HIV na era da terapia antiretroviral potente em um centro de referência em São Paulo: Brasil / Profile of intestinal parasites diagnosed in HIV infected patients in the HAART era at a reference center in São Paulo: Brazil

Intestinal parasites in HIV infected patients are a compelling issue in epidemiological settings with high prevalence of these parasites. The present study reviewed frequencies of diagnosis for common intestinal parasites in HIV infected patients in association with sex, age, HIV risk behavior and CD4 lymphocyte count. Patients with confirmed HIV diagnosis and positive routine stool examination between January and December 2000 were selected. Diagnostic methods for Cyclospora cayetanensis and microsporidia were not included in the routine stool examination. A total of 146 patients had one or more positive samples (median 1.5) with age ranging between 2-75 years (mean: 34). Most of them were male (70.5 percent) and 53.6 percent had a CD4 count > 200 cells/mm3 (median: 158.5 cells/mm3). Endolimax nana (27.4 percent), Entamoeba coli (22.6 percent), Strongyloides stercoralis (21.9 percent), Giardia lamblia (13.0 percent), Isospora belli (12.3 percent), Ascaris lumbricoides (8.2 percent), Cryptosporidium parvum (6.8 percent) were the most frequent parasites diagnosed in this group. G. lamblia was more common in children with vertically transmitted HIV and men who have sex with men. No significant associations were found in relation to sex and age. Patients with CD4 count < 200 cells/mm3 presented lower prevalence of non-pathogenic parasites (e.g. E. nana OR 0.46 and E. coli OR 0.33) but had more pathogenic parasites diagnosed such as S. stercoralis (OR 3,9) and I. belli (OR 3,5) in relation to those HIV-infected individuals with CD4 count eò200 cells/mm3. These results underscore the importance of S. stercoralis in AIDS patients; the decrease in C. parvum prevalence in relation to previous reports from our institution before the routine use of HAART; local differences in parasite profiles in comparison to other epidemiological settings as well as changes in the proportion of diagnosis for pathogenic and non-pathogenic parasites according to the immune compromise due to HIV infection

Positive IgG Western Blot for Borrelia burgdorferi in Colombia

In order to evaluate the presence of specific IgG antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in patients with clinical manifestations associated with Lyme borreliosis in Cali, Colombia, 20 serum samples from patients with dermatologic signs, one cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample from a patient with chronic neurologic and arthritic manifestations, and twelve serum samples from individuals without clinical signs associated with Lyme borreliosis were analyzed by IgG Western blot. The results were interpreted following the recommendations of the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) for IgG Western blots. Four samples fulfilled the CDC criteria: two serum specimens from patients with morphea (localized scleroderma), the CSF from the patient with neurologic and arthritic manifestations, and one of the controls. Interpretation of positive serology for Lyme disease in non-endemic countries must be cautious. However these results suggest that the putative "Lyme-like" disease may correlate with positivity on Western blots, thus raising the possibility that a spirochete genospecies distinct from B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, or a Borrelia species other than B. burgdorferi sensu lato is the causative agent. Future work will focus on a survey of the local tick and rodent population for evidence of spirochete species that could be incriminated as the etiologic agent