ABSTRACT
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), employing antigens from Toxocara canis larvae and the absortion of suspected sera with Ascaris lumbricoides extracts was used in a seroepidemiological study performed in five municipalities of São Paulo State, Brazil (São Paulo, Campinas, Santos, Marília and Presidente Prudente) in order to determine the frequency of antibodies to Toxocara. In 2,025 blood samples collected, 806 proceeded from male subjects and 1,219 from females; 483 samples were collected from subjects under 15 years of age and the remaining 1,542 from subjects aged 15 years or over. Among the 2,025 sera investigated, 3.60% had antibodies to Toxocara at significant levels. A moderate predominance of infection with Toxocara among male subjects (3.72%) was observed, although the difference was not statistically significant when this rate was compared with that for female (3.28%). Related to age, a higher frequency of positive results was detected among subjects under 15 years (6.41%) against the older group (2.53%). A trend of more elevated rates of infection was observed in municipalities with high demographic densities (São Paulo, Campinas and Santos). Nevertheless, such findings only appeared to be statistically significant in subjects younger than 15 years.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Helminth/analysis , Larva Migrans, Visceral/epidemiology , Toxocara/immunology , Animals , Brazil/epidemiology , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Humans , Larva Migrans, Visceral/transmission , Male , Prevalence , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Blood coagulation studies carried out on 78 patients up to 30 h after they were bitten by Bothrops jararaca snakes demonstrated clotting defects in 37 patients which included afibrinogenemia, reduced levels of prothrombin, of factors V and VIII, thrombocytopenia and activation of the fibrinolytic system. Factor IX and X levels were within normal range for all patients. These in vitro data suggest that the disseminated intravascular clotting observed in vivo following envenomation may be triggered by the intravascular release of patient thrombin by snake venom enzymes.
