Distribution and habitat preferences of the genus Biomphalaria (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) in Cuba

A study was carried out to determine the distribution and habitat preferences of several species of the genus Biomphalaria. Samples were taken at 350 freshwater locations in Cuba. Three species of Biomphalaria (Biomphalaria havanensis, Biomphalaria helophila and Biomphalaria pallida) were recorded based on their distribution. Of the three species, B. havanensis has the weakest distribution because it was identified in only one locality. The other species, B. helophila and B. pallida, are abundant in rivers and dams and have large populations in Cuba. However, the only species that appears to occur in ecosystems shared with thiarids is B. pallida, possibly due to recent introduction of thiarids, but always in fewer numbers. Here we discuss the possibility of these species to act as intermediary hosts of Schistosoma mansoni in Cuba over the basis of occurrence in natural and anthropic habitats.

The Estrada Real project and endemic diseases: the case of schistosomiasis, geoprocessing and tourism

Geographical Information System (GIS) is a tool that has recently been applied to better understand spatial disease distributions. Using meteorological, social, sanitation, mollusc distribution data and remote sensing variables, this study aimed to further develop the GIS technology by creating a model for the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis and to apply this model to an area with rural tourism in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (MG). The Estrada Real, covering about 1,400 km, is the largest and most important Brazilian tourism project, involving 163 cities in MG with different schistosomiasis prevalence rates. The model with three variables showed a R² = 0.34, with a standard deviation of risk estimated adequate for public health needs. The main variables selected for modelling were summer vegetation, summer minimal temperature and winter minimal temperature. The results confirmed the importance of Remote Sensing data and the valuable contribution of GIS in identifying priority areas for intervention in tourism regions which are endemic to schistosomiasis.

Rural tourism: a risk factor for schistosomiasis transmission in Brazil

This paper reports an outbreak of acute schistosomiasis among 38 tourists who rented a country house in the district of Igarapé, the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, during a holiday period in 2006. A total number of 32 individuals were positive for Schistosoma mansoni. Results of stool examinations revealed individual S. mansoni egg counts per gram of faeces (epg) ranging from 4-768 epg with a geometric mean egg count of 45. The most frequent clinical symptoms were abdominal pain (78.1%), headache (75%), fever (65.6%), dry cough (65.2%) and both diarrhoea and asthenia (59.4%). A malacological survey of the area, where 22 specimens of Biomphalaria glabrata were collected, revealed three (13.6%) specimens eliminating Schistosoma cercariae. This investigation re-confirms a recently described pattern of schistosomiasis infection, resulting in the acute form of the disease and connected to rural tourism, which contributes to the spread of the disease among the middle-class and into non-endemic areas. The lack of specific knowledge about acute schistosomiasis among health services causes an increased number of unnecessary diagnostic procedures and delays in accurate diagnosis and treatment, resulting in considerable discomfort for the patients.

A escola como microuniversidade na educação secundária em Cuba

O artigo analisa o processo de transformação desencadeado nas escolas secundárias básicas em Cuba, que atendem alunos das 7ª, 8ªe 9ªséries. Na busca de soluções para os problemas que afetavam essas escolas, em 2001, um coletivo de professores dos Institutos Superiores Pedagógicos das diferentes províncias do país implementou a formação de professores generalistas integrais de modo a torná-los capazes de ministrar todas as disciplinas, exceto Inglês e Educação Física, a grupos de 15 alunos. O recorte do estudo prioriza a formação do professor generalista integral, considerando o contexto do movimento de universalização do ensino superior em curso, o qual reestrutura, em todo o país, os Institutos Superiores Pedagógicos e as escolas básicas, estas tratadas como microuniversidades. O percurso metodológico fundamenta-se em abordagem qualitativa do tipo etnográfico, com base em referências fornecidas por Marli André. Destacamse as pesquisas de Carlos Rojas Arce e de Lisardo García Ramis no embasamento teórico da investigação.

Educación sexual: estudio comparativo entre escuelas en Brasil y en Cuba

Este artículo aborda una caracterización de las prácticas de educación sexual en instituciones educativas de Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, y de Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. En el estudio realizado rescatamos aportaciones para la comprensión de la educación sexual, específicamente a partir de presupuestos teóricos provenientes de estudios culturales, así como de estudios actuales que abordan el tema. También se presentan resultados cualitativos obtenidos a través de entrevistas realizadas a directivos/as y docentes de las escuelas estudiadas.

Que "boa família"?: assistência e solidariedade familiar em Cuba

O reforço da assistência e da intervenção sociais em Cuba responde mais aos efeitos sociais da crise econômica e das transformações estruturais que a acompanham do que ao crescimento da pobreza. Este artigo examina as práticas de intervenção social à luz das normas familiares subjacentes: que "boa família" elas prometem? De que modo a assistência e a intervenção sociais abordam estruturas familiares fragilizadas quando se exacerba a contradição entre individualização e igualdade, de um lado, e necessidade de família e de solidariedade, de outro? A assistência em Cuba não está mais no tempo dos princípios, mas em um momento pragmático de contenção dos problemas sociais que precisa muito da família.

Corrosion of steel reinforced concrete in the tropical coastal atmosphere of Havana City, Cuba

The influence of chloride deposition rate on concrete using an atmospheric corrosion approach is rarely studied in the literature. Seven exposure sites were selected in Havana City, Cuba, for exposure of reinforced concrete samples. Two significantly different atmospheric corrosivity levels with respect to corrosion of steel reinforced concrete were observed after two years of exposure depending on atmospheric chloride deposition and w/c ratio of the concrete. Changes in corrosion current are related to changes in chloride penetration and chloride atmospheric deposition. The influence of sulphur compound deposition could also be a parameter to consider in atmospheric corrosion of steel reinforced concrete.