LARVICIDE ACTIVITY OF LACTOBACILLUS SPP. AND SACCHAROMYCES BOULARDII SUPERNATANTS ON TOXOCARA CANIS.

Experimental studies have demonstrated the potential of probiotics to control visceral toxocariasis, which is a tissue parasitosis that is difficult to treat. This study evaluated the in vitro activity of probiotics and their supernatants on Toxocara canis larvae. The probiotics Lactobacillus rhamnosus (ATCC 7469), Lactobacillus paracasei (ATCC 335), Saccharomyces boulardii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Bacillus cereus var. toyoi were tested in the following preparations: probiotic (P) 1 × 102 to 1 × 109 colony-forming units (CFUs), inactivated probiotic (IP) 1 × 102 to 1 × 109 CFUs, supernatant probiotic (SUpP), and inactivated probiotic supernatant (SupIP). The probiotics and their respective supernatants were separately incubated with 100 T. canis larvae per well using microculture plates with RPMI-1640 medium for 48 hr at 37 C and 5% CO2. The evaluation of the in vitro tests was based on the viability of T. canis larvae, through morphologic integrity, positive motility, and the absence of trypan blue stain. Only culture supernatants (SUpP and SUpIP) of Lactobacillus spp. resulted in 100% dead larvae, whereas S. boulardii showed larvicidal activity in T. canis >70%. The rest of the tests did not show larvicide activity. Therefore, it is important to investigate the supernatant effects of Lactobacillus spp. and S. boulardii in vivo on T. canis visceral infections, their mechanisms of action, and major metabolites involved.

Risk and other factors associated with toxoplasmosis and toxocariasis in pregnant women from southern Brazil.

Toxoplasmosis causes complications during pregnancy that have serious effects on fetal development. Thus far, toxocariasis has been reported to spread only via vertical transmission. Nonetheless, the population of pregnant women is also exposed to this infection. Co-infection with both Toxoplasma gondii and Toxocara spp. has been reported in children, but there are no reports of co-infection in the population of pregnant women. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of co-infection with T. gondii and Toxocara spp. in pregnant women at a university hospital in southern Brazil, and to identify the risk factors associated with infection by both parasites. Two hundred pregnant women were tested for the presence of anti-T. gondii and anti-Toxocara spp. antibodies and were asked to complete an epidemiological questionnaire. In this study, the co-infection rate observed in the total population of pregnant women was 8%. In addition, women with a positive result for a serology test for Toxocara spp. were at increased risk of infection by T. gondii (P = 0.019). Co-infection with both parasites in pregnant women was associated with low birth weights in neonates. The similar modes of transmission of both parasites could explain the co-infection. Only a few previous studies have investigated this phenomenon. The findings of the present study emphasize the importance of serological diagnosis during prenatal care and further research in this area to identify risk factors associated with this co-infection, and the possible implications of this co-infection during pregnancy and on the health of newborns.