Main etiological agents of childhood acute diarrheal diseases in Chimborazo, Ecuador / Principales agentes etiológicos de las enfermedades diarreicas agudas infantiles en Chimborazo, Ecuador

Las enfermedades diarreicas constituyen la principal causa de morbimortalidad en niños menores de cinco años, con alrededor de 1.700 millones de casos y 1,5 millones de muertes por año a nivel mundial. Para el año 2010, en la Sierra de Ecuador se registró un alto porcentaje de infantes fallecidos a causa de enfermedades diarreicas agudas (EDA), incluyendo la provincia de Chimborazo; mientras que, para el año 2016, se registraron en Ecuador 590.523 casos de EDA, siendo más afectados los niños de sectores de mayor pobreza. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo en pacientes pediátricos con episodios diarreicos que acudieron a centros de salud de los cantones rurales de la provincia Chimborazo. Se realizó análisis coprológico y coproparasitológico en 258 muestras; se identificaron bacterias enteropatógenas mediante pruebas bioquímicas y de susceptibilidad antimicrobiana, se realizó diagnóstico parasitológico mediante análisis macroscópico y microscópico y para detección de virus se emplearon pruebas inmunológicas. Se observó un mayor número de casos de EDA en los cantones Alausí (50%) y Chunchi (19%). De los pacientes con EDA, los rotavirus son el principal agente etiológico aislado (24,8%), seguido por Shigella (17,8%); mientras que Giardia intestinalis (8,5%) y Salmonella (10,1%) son los microorganismos que se aislaron con menor frecuencia en las muestras. Los resultados del presente estudio, permiten tener un panorama etiológico de las EDA en la provincia de Chimborazo y contribuir en la vigilancia epidemiológica, ejecución de programas sanitarios y de vacunación, para disminuir la vulnerabilidad de la población infantil ante dichas infecciones(AU)

Diarrheal diseases are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age, with around 1.7 billion cases and 1.5 million deaths per year worldwide. For the year 2010, in the Sierra de Ecuador a high percentage of infants died due to acute diarrheal diseases (ADD), including the province of Chimborazo; while, for the year 2016, 590,523 cases of ADD were registered in Ecuador, with children from the poorest sectors being more affected. A descriptive study was carried out in pediatric patients with diarrheal episodes who attended health centers in the rural cantons of Chimborazo province. Coprological and coproparasitological analysis was performed on 258 samples; Enteropathogenic bacteria were identified by biochemical and antimicrobial susceptibility tests, a parasitological diagnosis was made by macroscopic and microscopic analysis, and immunological tests were used to detect viruses. A greater number of ADD cases was observed in the Alausí (50%) and Chunchi (19%) cantons. Of patients with ADD, rotaviruses are the main etiological agent isolated (24.8%), followed by Shigella (17.8%); while Giardia intestinalis (8.5%) and Salmonella (10.1%) are the microorganisms that were isolated less frequently in the samples. The results of this study allow us to have an etiological panorama of EDA in the province of Chimborazo and contribute to epidemiological surveillance, execution of health and vaccination programs, to reduce the vulnerability of the child population to these infections(AU)

A Thermostable Oral SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Induces Mucosal and Protective Immunity.

An ideal protective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 should not only be effective in preventing disease, but also in preventing virus transmission. It should also be well accepted by the population and have a simple logistic chain. To fulfill these criteria, we developed a thermostable, orally administered vaccine that can induce a robust mucosal neutralizing immune response. We used our platform based on retrovirus-derived enveloped virus-like particles (eVLPs) harnessed with variable surface proteins (VSPs) from the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia, affording them resistance to degradation and the triggering of robust mucosal cellular and antibody immune responses after oral administration. We made eVLPs expressing various forms of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein (S), with or without membrane protein (M) expression. We found that prime-boost administration of VSP-decorated eVLPs expressing a pre-fusion stabilized form of S and M triggers robust mucosal responses against SARS-CoV-2 in mice and hamsters, which translate into complete protection from a viral challenge. Moreover, they dramatically boosted the IgA mucosal response of intramuscularly injected vaccines. We conclude that our thermostable orally administered eVLP vaccine could be a valuable addition to the current arsenal against SARS-CoV-2, in a stand-alone prime-boost vaccination strategy or as a boost for existing vaccines.