The diversity of ursodeoxycholic acid precursors from bile waste of commercially available fishes, poultry and livestock in Indonesia

Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a secondary bile acid (BA), has been used as a drug to treat various liver diseases. UDCA is synthesised from cholic or chenodeoxycholic acid (CA/CDCA), two primary BAs frequently used as the starting materials. Nowadays, swine, cattle, and poultry bile are the main sources of those BAs. However, other commercial animals could be promising sources as well. We identified two livestock, two poultries, and eight fishes that are commercially cultivated in Indonesia. Four free BAs including CA, CDCA, deoxycholic acid (DCA), and lithocholic acid (LA) were identified for their occurrences using thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. CA was detected in cow, duck, red tilapia, gourami, the common carp, and grouper, whereas CDCA was only detected in two poultries and the common carp. The occurrence of DCA was common and abundant in most tested animals. In contrast, the presence of LA was found to be very low in all samples. The biliary bile of tilapia has been found to contain a high abundance of free CA (43% of the total bile). A simple extraction was able to purify CA from biliary bile of tilapia. This is a new promising and competitive source of CA.

Outbreak investigation in cargo ship in times of COVID-19 crisis, Port of Santos, Brazil / Investigação de surto em navio de carga em tempo de COVID-19, Porto de Santos, Brasil

ABSTRACT In February 2020, a Chinese cargo ship docked at the Port of Santos with reports of crew members with a feverish and respiratory condition. A team was gathered to verify the existence of suspected cases of COVID-19 inside the vessel and define its clearance. All 25 crew members were interviewed, and no suspected cases were found. The vessel was then cleared for port activities. The investigation resulted from the implementation of the contingency plan to face a public health emergency of international importance and several surveillance entities cooperated.

RESUMO Em fevereiro de 2020, um navio de carga vindo da China atracou no Porto de Santos com relato de tripulantes com quadro febril e respiratório. Uma equipe foi mobilizada para verificar a existência de casos suspeitos de COVID-19 dentro da embarcação e definir a liberação da embarcação no porto. Todos os 25 tripulantes foram entrevistados e não foram encontrados casos suspeitos. Então a embarcação foi liberada para atividades no porto. A investigação resultou da aplicação do plano de contingência diante de uma emergência de saúde pública de importância internacional e houve a colaboração de diversas entidades de vigilância.