Hipersensibilidade a fungos em crianças asmáticas de uma comunidade do Recife, Pernambuco / Hypersensitivity to molds in asthmatic children from a community of Recife, Pernambuco

OBJETIVOS: identificar a sensibilização a testes cutâneos de hipersensibilidade imediata para fungos em crianças asmáticas, residentes em comunidade urbana de baixa renda. MÉTODOS: no período de março de 1997 a junho de 1998 foram avaliadas 13 crianças com mais de três episódios de dispnéia nos últimos 12 meses, selecionadas a partir de um estudo transversal, em que todos os 123 escolares de 6 a 10 anos residentes na comunidade responderam ao questionário International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Nas 13 crianças com asma em atividade, foram aplicados testes cutâneos de hipersensibilidade imediata para avaliar resposta a seis extratos fúngicos padronizados: Aspergillus mix, Penicillium mix, Hormodendrum cladosporidiodes, Alternaria tenius, Helminthosporium interseninatum e Mold mix. RESULTADOS: dentre as 13 crianças analisadas, 12 apresentaram sensibilididade a pelo menos um dos fungos testados (12/13), cujos extratos com maior frequência de positividade foram: Aspergillus mix (7/13), Penicillium mix (6/13) e Hormodendrum cladosporidiodes (5/13). CONCLUSÕES: a freqüência elevada de hipersensibilidade aos extratos de fungos nas crianças avaliadas sugere a necessidade de estudos analíticos observacionais para esclarecer uma possível associação causal entre fungos e asma.

OBJECTIVES: to identify prick test hypersensitivity to molds in asthmatic school children in a low-income urban community. METHODS: thirteen children who had more than three asthma attacks in the last 12 months from March'1997 to June'1998 were evaluated. These children were selected from a previous cross-sectional survey studying 123 children from 6 to 10 years old residing at the low-income urban community of Campo do Banco-Várzea, Recife, Pernambuco. The 123 children were tested by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood survey to determine asthma. The 13 asthmatic children selected were evaluated with the prick test for immediate hypersensitivity to six standard mold extracts: aspergillus mix, penicillium mix, hormodendrum cladosporidiodes, alternaria tenius, helminthosporium interseminatum and mold mix. RESULTS: there were 12 mold-sensitive children from the group of 13 children, showing a positive result to at least one of the mold extracts used (12/13). Mold extracts of higher positive incidence were: Aspergillus mix (7/13), Penicillium mix (6/13) and Hormodendrum Cladosporidiodes (5/13). CONCLUSIONS: the evaluated children had high prick test reactivity to mold extracts. The findings indicate the need for additional studies to analyze a possible association between fungal exposure and asthma.

Assessment of indoor air fungi in Western-Anatolia, Turkey.

This study was conducted to determine fungal spores in the indoor air of the houses in the city of Afyon, Western-Anatolia, Turkey. We investigated the seasonal properties of mould spores in 10 houses of Afyon over a period of one year. Viable moulds were recovered from all 10 houses. Twenty seven different moulds were isolated and identified from the indoor air of the houses. The most common genus was Cladosporium spp. (31.9%), followed by Aspergillus spp. (18.6%), Penicillium spp. (15.5%), Altemaria spp. (13.0%) and other species (21.0%). The mould concentration was higher in the kitchens than in other parts of the houses such as the living rooms and bedrooms (p < 0.05). The fungal flora of the air in the Afyon city region has a seasonal variation. All fungal species had their highest prevalence in summer and their lowest in winter, but only Aspergillus spp. had a significant seasonal variation (p = 0.012). Viable moulds are common in the houses of Afyon. Reducing these indoor fungi is necessary to improve the health of individuals with fungal-induced diseases like asthma.

Detection of fungi spectrum in industrial and home bakeries and determinated fungal allergy with skin prick test.

Airborne fungal pathogens such as Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Trichophyton, and Alternaria may cause health problems. In this research, the fungal flora at different bakeries and their potential allergenic effects on the workers were investigated. We investigated 148 workers at 17 industrial type bakeries and 62 workers at 17 home type bakeries in Afyon. Our study was performed in two different seasons and climates, between January 2004 and June 2004. Fungal flora was detected by using Petri-dish method. In the winter, Penicillium was the dominant genus, while Cladosporium was the dominant genus during the summer, in both types of bakeries. The allergenic properties of dominant culturable fungi on workers involved in the bakeries were determined with the skin-prick test. It was found that with workers in the industrial type bakeries, the most common skin test positivity was caused by Penicillium. In the other hand, the skin test positivity, performed on workers in the home type bakeries, was equally caused by Penicillium, Trichophyton and Aspergillus.

Inquérito soroepidemiológico para infecções por fungos causadores de micoses sistêmicas na Reserva Indígena Xacriabá, Estado de Minas Gerais / Seroepidemiological survey for infections by fungi causing systemic mycoses in the Xacriabá Indian Reserve, Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Xacriabá Indian Reserve is situated in the north of Minas Gerais State, Brazil, near the municipality of Manga and São Francisco River. The Indian population is miscegenated with caucasian and negroid people and have farming activities. Blood samples were collected from 180 inhabitants of the reserve (85 men and 95 women), 15 to 84 years old. Serum antibodies against antigens of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicans were tested for by counterimmunoelectrophoresis method. Seropositivity was verified in 5, 3.9, 4.2, and 6.7, respectively of the 180 samples. Those seropositive for antigens of P. brasiliensis and H. capsulatum were predominantly women and had lower age and more elevated mean titers of antibodies than individuals whose sera reacted with antigens of C. neoformans and C. albicans. The results suggest the occurrence of paracoccidioidomycosis-infection and histoplasmosis-infection in the Xacriabá Indian Reserve, particularly in the first decades of life of the inhabitants.

Partial chemical characterization of antigenic preparations of chromoblastomycosis agents

Antigenic preparations (saline, methylic, metabolic and exoantigens) of four agents of chromoblastomycosis, Fonsecaea pedrosoi, Phialophora verrucosa, Cladophialophora (Cladosporium) carrionii and Rhinocladiella aquaspersa were obtained. Partial chemical characterization of these antigenic preparations was obtained by determination of the levels of total lipids, protein, and carbohydrates, and identification of the main sterols and carbohydrates. Methylic antigens presented the highest lipid contents, whereas metabolic antigens showed the highest carbohydrate content. Total lipid, protein, and carbohydrate levels were in the range of 2.33 to 2.00 mg/ml, 0.04 to 0.02 mg/ml and 0.10 to 0.02 mg/ml, respectively, in the methylic antigens and in the range of 0. 53 to 0.18 mg/ml, 0.44 to 0.26 mg/ml, and 1.82 to 1.02 mg/ml, respectively, in saline antigens. Total lipid, protein, and carbohydrate contents were in the range of 0.55 to 0.20 mg/ml, 0.69 to 0.57 mg/ml and 10.73 to 5.93 mg/ml, respectively, in the metabolic antigens, and in the range of 0.55 to 0.15 mg/ml, 0.62 to 0.20 mg/ml and 3.55 to 0.42 mg/ml, respectively, in the exoantigens. Phospholipids were not detected in the preparations. Saline and metabolic antigens and exoantigens presented hexose and the methylic antigen revealed additional pentose units in their composition. The UV light absorption spectra of the sterols revealed squalene and an ergosterol fraction in the antigens. The characterization of these antigenic preparations may be useful for serological evaluation of patients of chromoblastomycosis.

Immunoglobulin profile in mycetoma.

Serum samples obtained from 25 patients of mycetoma caused by Madurella mycetomi in 18, Streptomyces somaliensis in 5, Streptomyces madurae and streptomyces palletierii from 1 each and also from 25 healthy controls were evaluated for immunoglobulins IgG, IgM and IgA by radial immunodiffusion method using tripartigen plates. All the three classes of immunoglobulins showed increased concentration in cases of mycetoma by M. mycetomi and S. pelletierii. The raised levels of IgG and IgM in cases of mycetoma caused by S. madurae and S. somaliensis where bones were involved, were not statistically significant. IgA was consistently high in all cases of mycetoma irrespective of causative agent and tissue involved. These alterations may possibly reflect relatively poor IgG and IgM response in individuals with extension of mycetoma lesion to bones.

Estudio epidemiológico de un área endémica a la cromomicosis en el estado Miranda / Epidemiological study of chromomycosis of an endemic area of the Estado Miranda

Para estudiar la sensibilidad y especificidad de los antígenos de Fonsecaea pedrosoi y Cladosporium carrionii se hace la segunda encuesta epidemiológica con estos antígenos; en esta oportunidad se escogió un área endémica a F. pedrosoi (Los Chaguaramos, estado Miranda); al mismo tiempo se prueban en 10 pacientes de cromomicosis. En el censo epidemiológico se obtiene una positividad de un 10% a F. pedrosoi y 2,5% al C. carrionii. Esto parece demostrar que el primer antígeno es más específico, pero menos sensible que el C. carrionii, al comparar estos resultados con los obtenidos en el estudio anterior