ABSTRACT
A cluster of cases of post-augmentation mammaplasty surgical site infections occurred between 2002 and 2004 in Campinas, in the southern region of Brazil. Rapidly growing mycobacteria were isolated from samples from 12 patients. Eleven isolates were identified as Mycobacterium fortuitum and one as Mycobacterium porcinum by PCR-restriction digestion of the hsp65 gene. These 12 isolates, plus six additional M. fortuitum isolates from non-related patients, were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and three PCR-based techniques: 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genotyping; randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) PCR; and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) PCR. Four novel M. fortuitum allelic variants were identified by restriction analysis of the ITS fragment. One major cluster, comprising six M. fortuitum isolates, and a second cluster of two isolates, were identified by the four methods. RAPD-PCR and ITS genotyping were less discriminative than ERIC-PCR. ERIC-PCR was comparable to PFGE as a valuable complementary tool for investigation of this type of outbreak.
Subject(s)
Bacterial Typing Techniques , Mammaplasty , Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/microbiology , Mycobacterium fortuitum/classification , Mycobacterium fortuitum/isolation & purification , Surgical Wound Infection/microbiology , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , Brazil , Chaperonin 60 , Chaperonins/genetics , Cluster Analysis , DNA Fingerprinting , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/genetics , Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field , Female , Genotype , Humans , Mycobacterium fortuitum/genetics , Polymorphism, Genetic , Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length , Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique , Surgical Wound Infection/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The detection of IgM antibodies for Schistosoma mansoni using gut-associated antigens (IgM-IFT) was compared to the parasitological Kato-Katz method for study of the transmission of schistosomiasis in an urban area in Campinas. About 400 schoolchildren whose ages ranged from 6 to 18 years, were observed for a period of two years. Blood samples on filter paper and fecal samples were collected, at intervals of six months. Serological (IgM-IFT) prevalence rates of 1.2%, 4.3%, 3.6%, 2.9% and 3.4% were obtained in five surveys carried out. S. mansoni eggs were detected in only one child out of the 225 children (0.4%) who were submitted to the Kato-Katz method (three slides for each fecal sample) in the 1st survey. Sixty eight children who submitted five blood samples, one for each survey, were found IFT negative throughout the study. No child was found to be IFT positive in all five surveys, and only four children showed IFT positive results in at least four surveys. Seroconversion from IFT negative to positive was observed from the 1st to the 2nd survey in six children, from the 2nd to the 3rd survey in three children, from the 3rd to the 4th survey in four children, and from the 4th to the 5th survey in two cases. However, confirmation of S. mansoni infection using the fecal examination was not possible in any of the cases. Also, in most of them the IFT result oscillated from negative to positive and vice versa. Our data implied that recent transmission of schistosomiasis in the study area was not possible.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Helminth/blood , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Immunoglobulin M/blood , Schistosoma mansoni/immunology , Schistosomiasis mansoni/transmission , Adolescent , Animals , Brazil/epidemiology , Child , Feces/parasitology , Humans , Prevalence , Schistosomiasis mansoni/epidemiology , Schistosomiasis mansoni/parasitology , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
Cases of Brasilian spotted fever (BSF) have been occurred since 1985, in the rural area of Pedreira town, situated 160 km away from the city of São Paulo (longitude 46 degrees 54'07", latitude 22 degrees 44'21"). Aiming at evaluating the prevalence of Brasilian spotted fever in this endemic area, single-serum samples were collected from 473 healthy persons, amongst city-dwellers and the local china industry workers. The obtained samples were tested by indirect immunofluorescence (IFA), in order to determine the antibodies titer for the group of Brasilian spotted fever. Twenty-five (5.3%) were considered positive (titer 3 1:64) and thirty-one (6.5%) were taken as "borderline" (titer 1:32). The results show a serologically positivity rate similar to other areas, known as endemic ones within the country.
