Leishmaniose Visceral Americana: (Relatorio dos trabalhos realisados pela commissão encarregada do estudo da Leishmaniose Visceral Americana em 1937)

A Leishmania chagasi localisa-se principalmente nas cellulas reticulo-endotheliaaes dos tecidos. No sangue peripherico, o protozoario é visto com maior facilidade nos periodos iniciaes da infecção, quando pode ser observado livre, mais frequentemente no plasma de polynucleares e raramente no interior de macrophagos. Nas phases ulteriores, o parasito é raro no sangue peripherico e, quando encontrado, acha-se localisado no plasma de cellulas mononucleares. No interior dos leucocytos polynucleares apresentam as leishmanias signaes evidentes de degeneração, emquanto que nos macrophagos manteem o aspecto morphologico normal e as formas de multiplicação ocorrem com frequencia. Nos periodos agudos predominam os aspectos histo-pathologicos que traduzem intensa actividade do systema reticulo-endothelial e, nos periodos chronicos, a proliferação do tecido intesticial. O quadro hematologico é o de uma anemia sem signaes periphericos de regeneração. Os orgãos hematopoieticos demonstram signaes de perturbação funccional traduzida pelo exaggero da actividade que, entretanto, não leva á elaboração completa de globulos vermelhos, e á formação de granulocytos em número sufficiente. O quadro evolutivo da doença é o de uma anemia progressiva accompanhada de cachexia.

Toxoplasmose humana: meningoencefalomielite toxoplasmica: ocorrência em adulto e recemnascido

Desde 1914, com o trabalho inicial de Castellani, pesquisadores de diversos países teem assinado o encontro de toxoplasmose humana, o que foi até recentemente objeto de controvérsias. Como resultado dos trabalhos de Torres, Levaditi & coL, Wolf, Cowen & Paige, Pinkerton & Henderson e Sabin, a questão do parasitismo do homem por Toxoplasma, deve ser encarada considerando-se que teem sido descritos casos duvidosos e casos não duvidosos: a) Duvidosos, são os casos referidos por Castellani (Ceilão, 1914); Fedorovitch (Mar Negro, 1916); Chalmers & Kamar (Sudão, 1920); e Bland (Londres, 1930-31). b) Não duvidosos são os relatados por Janku (Praga, 1923); Torres, (Rio de Janeiro, 1927); Wolf & Cowen (New-York, 1937); Richter (Chicago, 1936: diagnósticado por Wolf & Cowen em 1938); Wolf, Cowen & Paige (New-York, 1939); Hertig (Massachusetts, 1935: diagnósticado por Pinkerton & Weinman em 1940); Pinkerton & Weinman (Lima-Peru, 1940); Sabin (dois casos, Cincinnati, 1941); Pinkerton & Henderson (dois casos, St. Louis, 1941); Paige, Cowen & Wolf (três casos, New-York, 1942); e De Lange (Amsterdam, 1929: diagnósticado por Paige, Cowen & Wolf em 1942). Destes relatos considerados como casos não duvidosos de toxoplasmose humana, 10 representam uma doença congênita (Torres e Paige, Wolf & Cowen) ocorrendo em crianças recemnascidas ou de poucos meses de vida. Como nas vezes em que foi possivel examinar as mães dessas crianças tratava-se de mulheres com aspecto sadio, concluiu-se que a moléstia, embora sumamente grave e mortal, pode apresentar uma forma inaparente. Em dois casos, provas de soro proteção demonstraram essa infecção materna inaparente, pelo encontro de anticorpos neutralizantes para Toxoplasma (Paige, Cowen & Wolf). Nada obstante não ter sido feito um estudo microscópico detalhado em todos os casos, a doença caracteriza-se por uma meningoence falomielite granulomatosa (Wolf & Cowen), associada frequentemente à miocardite e corioretinite. Os sintomas apresentados pelos pacientes, foram: febre, convulsões, distúrbios respiratórios, hidrocefalia, cianose, vômitos, labidade de temperatura, etc., sendo sinal diagnóstico de máxima importância, o encontro de focos de calcificação cerebral profunda e corioretinite em recem nascido (Dyke, Wolf, Cowen, Paige & Caffey) . Em dois casos de toxoplasmose verificados em pacientes de seis e oito anos respectivamente, foi encontrada uma encefalite clinicamente atípica, sendo que um deles sarou (Sabin). Os três casos restantes foram descritos em adultos; num deles as lesões não eram típicas (havia concomitância de infecção por Bartonella bacilliformis) e nos outros dois, a doença assumiu uma "forma exantemática", simulando as febres maculosas (Pinkerton & Henderson), sendo o achado mais importante microscopicamente, uma pneumonia intersticial. Alem da semelhança clínica, tambem os focos de encefalite encontrados nessa "forma exantemática" da toxoplasmose, são semelhantes aos descritos nas...

Dados estatísticos de viscerotomia sobre doenças e condições mórbidas do homem no Brasil: I. Schistosomose Mansônica no período de 1937-1946

Examination of 267.107 liver specimens obtained in Brazil by viscerotomy during from 1937 to 1946 inclusive revealed 5,953 Schistosoma mansoni infe¬ctions. This represents 2.23% ± 0.019 of the total number of livers studied. Data on the incidence of the disease is tabulated by states and municipios. Infected livers were found in all of the states and territories except the Territory of Amapá. Schistosomiasis is widespread in Brazil with highest incidence in the states of the Northeast. The disease is quite common in Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais as well. A study of the age distribution of cases of intestinal schistosomiasis observed among liver specimens obtained in the year 1938 showed a low inci¬dence on young children with a peak of prevalence in the 10 to 19 year age group. The purpose of this contribution is to call attention of the health autho¬rities to the extent and gravity of the problem of intestinal schistosomiasis in Brazil.

Notas de ixodologia: VII - Otocentor nitens Neuman, 1897) versus Anocentor columbianus Schulze, 1937 e comentários sôbre a rápida disseminação desse ixodideo no Brasil (Acari: Ixodidae)

Anocentor columbianus Schulze, 1937 is a synonym of Otocentor nitens (Neumann, 1897). Otocentor Cooley, 1938 becomes a synonym of Anocentor Schulze 1937. The correct name of the species is now Anocentor nitens (Neumann, 1897). In Brazil this species was first recorderd by ARAGÃO (in FLOCH and ABONNENC, 1945) in Belém do Pará and by FONSECA (1948) in Goyaz. New records from Minas Gerais and Matto Grosso are presented and a new host, the jaguar, Panthera onca, is added.

Philander opossum (Marsupialia), a new host record for Sparganum of Lueheella Baer, 1924 (= Spirometra Mueller, 1937)

Two samples of Sparganum, the larval form of Lueheella Baer, 1924 (= Spirometra Mueller, 1937) were recovered from Philander opossum (L. 1758) captured in Salobra, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, by Dr. Lauro Travassos in may, 1942. This is the first report of the presence of this larval form in P. opossum. Dealing with helminths recovered from Brazilian Marsupialia, deposited in Oswaldo Cruz Institute Helminthological Collection, we examined in two samples of the preserved material collected in Salobra. Mato Grosso State, nine larval forms (Sparganum) of Lueheella sp. One of the samples, with six specimens, tissue. It is the first report of philander opossum harbouring this larval stage. The studied preserved wet material was stained and whole mounts were deposited in the Oswaldo Cruz institute Helminthological collection ns. 31.470 and 31.471. Measurements are in mm.

Genetic characterization of St. Louis encephalitis virus isolated from human in São Paulo, Brazil

The molecular characterization of SPH253157, a new strain of St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), isolated in 2004 from the first case of human infection recognized in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, is reported. The patient, presenting a febrile illness without neurological involvement, was hospitalized as a probable case of dengue fever. Genomic RNA was isolated from the supernatant of C6/36 cells infected with acute phase-serum specimen of the patient and the envelope gene was amplified by reverse-transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The complete nucleotide sequence of the envelope gene of this isolate was directly sequenced from the amplified products and compared with other Brazilian and American SLEV strains. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out under maximum likelihood criterion with outgroups both included and excluded. Outgroups comprised four flavivirus of the Japanese encephalitis group. Phylogeny also included Bayesian analysis. The results indicated that the new SLEV isolate belongs to lineage III, being closely related to an Argentinean strain recovered from Culex sp. in 1979. It is concluded that there are at least 3 lineages of SLEV in Brazil.

Serologic evidence of the recent circulation of Saint Louis encephalitis virus and high prevalence of equine encephalitis viruses in horses in the Nhecolândia sub-region in South Pantanal, Central-West Brazil

As in humans, sub-clinical infection by arboviruses in domestic animals is common; however, its detection only occurs during epizootics and the silent circulation of some arboviruses may remain undetected. The objective of the present paper was to assess the current circulation of arboviruses in the Nhecolândia sub-region of South Pantanal, Brazil. Sera from a total of 135 horses, of which 75 were immunized with bivalent vaccine composed of inactive Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and Western equine encephalitis virus(WEEV) and 60 were unvaccinated, were submitted to thorough viral isolation, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and neutralization tests for Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), EEEV, WEEV and Mayaro virus (MAYV). No virus was isolated and viral nucleic-acid detection by RT-PCR was also negative. Nevertheless, the prevalence of neutralizing antibodies in horses older than seven months was 43.7% for SLEV in equines regardless of vaccine status, and 36.4% for WEEV and 47.7% for EEEV in unvaccinated horses. There was no evidence of MAYV infections. The serologic evidence of circulation of arboviruses responsible for equine and human encephalitis, without recent official reports of clinical infections in the area, suggests that the Nhecolândia sub-region in South Pantanal is an important area for detection of silent activity of arboviruses in Brazil.