Estudo das condições de saúde das crianças do Município de São Paulo, SP (Brasil), 1984-1985: IV - Doença diarréica

Como parte de amplo estudo epidemiológico sobre condições de saúde na infância, avaliou-se a magnitude e a distribuição da doença diarréica no Município de São Paulo, SP, Brasil. Os resultados foram obtidos a partir de exame clínico e inquérito recordatório de uma amostra probabilística de 1.016 crianças menores de cinco anos. Para o conjunto da amostra, apurou-se incidência de 7,6 episódios de diarréia por 100 crianças-mês e 2,0 internações por 100 crianças-ano. A freqüência máxima de episódios situou-se entre dois e três anos de idade e a freqüência máxima de internações nos 2 primeiros anos de vida. Ambos, episódios e internações, foram mais freqüentes nos estratos de menor nível sócio-econômico. Com relação a estudo realizado no Município há cerca de dez anos, pôde-se registrar redução de aproximadamente 60% na freqüência da diarréia e deslocamento do pico de incidência máxima para idades maiores. Estes dois fenômenos coincidem com expressivo aumento da cobertura do abastecimento de água no município. Aparentemente como resultado da diminuição na freqüência da diarréia, detectaram-se sensíveis reduções tanto nas internações hospitalares quanto na mortalidade por aquela doença. A freqüência ainda alta de diarréia no Município, sobretudo a elevada incidência de internações hospitalares nos primeiros meses de vida, assinala a necessidade de melhorias adicionais no saneamento ambiental e de esforços em outros setores como o da promoção do aleitamento materno.

Estudos epidemiológicos entre grupos indígenas de Rondônia: IV. Inquérito sorológico para rotavírus entre os Suruí e Karitiána

São apresentados os dados de um inquérito soro epidemiológico para anticorpos anti-rotavírus conduzido entre os Suruí e Karitiána, dois grupos indígenas de Rondônia, Brasil. Os resultados indicam que as porcentagens de soropositividade são elevadas (67,8% para os Suruí e 77,4% para os Karitiána, através da técnica ELISA, e 45,5% para os Suruí e 56,7% para os Karitiána, através de imunofluorescência indireta). Testes de qui-quadrado indicam não haver associação estatisticamente significante entre grupo e positividade sorológica. São discutidos os resultados à luz de outros estudos conduzidos com grupos indígenas brasileiros.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carrying SCCmec type IV in southern Brazil

INTRODUCTION: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important pathogen commonly associated with nosocomial infections. However, it has also been associated with community-acquired skin and soft tissue infections (CA-MRSA). There are few data on the identification and prevalence of CA-MRSA infections in Brazil. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 104 patients with community-acquired skin infections attending two health care centers in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. MRSA isolates were characterized by molecular methods, including detection of the mecA gene by PCR, gene SCCmec typing, Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) detection, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). RESULTS: From the 104 samples, 58 Staphylococcus aureus isolates were obtained, of which five (8.6%) had a CA-MRSA-resistant profile. All five isolates had the mecA gene and amplified to SCCmec type IV. Analysis of chromosomal DNA by PFGE revealed the presence of two clusters related to international clones (OSPC and USA 300), with a Dice similarity coefficient >80%. The study was complemented by MLST, which detected three different strains: ST30, ST8, and ST45, the latter not presenting any relation with the clones compared in PFGE. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of CA-MRSA reveals an important change in the epidemiology of this pathogen and adds new elements to the knowledge of the molecular biology of infections by MRSA with SCCmec type IV in southern Brazil.

Aspectos da ecologia dos flebótomos do Parque Nacional da Serra dos Orgãos, Rio de Janeiro: IV. Frequência mensal em armadilhas luminosas (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae)

Durante dois anos completos - outubro de 1981 a setembro de 1983 - capturamos flebótomos em armadilhas luminosas no Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos. As armadilhas eram colocadas, semanalmente, em pontos estratégicos na floresta, sempre no mesmo local e hora, ficando expostas por 12 horas. Foram gastas 732 horas e obtidos 2.730 flebótomos pertencentes a 17 espécies, quatro do gênero Brumptomyia França & Parrot, 1921 e 13 do gênero Lutzomyia França, 1924. a proporção de machos em relação ao número total foi de 76,3%. As espécies L. barrettoi, L. ayrozai e L. hirsuta corresponderam a 95% do total, sendo que a primeria somou quase o dobro de exemplares das outras duas juntas. L. ayrozai foi a mais numerosa na época quente e úmida e L. hirsuta na masi fria e seca, do mesmo modo que L. barrettoi, sendo que esta só ocorreu nesta época do ano. O número de espécies e espécimens foi bem maior na área B, onde as armadilhas foram colocadas perto do solo, próximas a tocas de animais silvestres, do que na área A, onde foram instaladas afastadas do solo, em local de vegetação mais fechada e perto de árvores com raízes tabulares. Após o repouso pós-alimentar, na procura de locais adequados para a postura, acreditamos que as fêmeas tenham maior atração pela fonte luminosa, pois verificamos um número considerável de fêmeas grávidas. Também em armadilhas luminosas constatamos que a lua nova foi mais favorável à coleta de flebótomos e a lua cheia a de menor rendimento.

The effect of different proportions of males and females over the Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann 1819) (Diptera, Calliphoridae) biotic potential and longevity under laboratory conditions

Chrysomya albiceps specimens were derived from colonies kept under laboratory conditions. The oviposition period, total number of eggs-mass and the weight of the eggs-mass (average/female) presented significant differences between colonies regarding the sexual ratio of 1male/1female (situation I), when compared to the other ratios (1male/3female, situation II), (1male/5female, situation III), (3male/1female, situation IV) and (5 male/1female, situation V). It was ascertained that the increase in the proportion of females, resulted in higher weight and greater number of ovipositions and lenghtening of the period of oviposition, leads to a decrease in their lifespan.

Triatoma rubrovaria (Blanchard, 1843) (Hemiptera - Reduviidae - Triatominae) IV: bionomic aspects on the vector capacity of nymphs

Triatoma rubrovaria has become the most frequently captured triatomine species since the control of T. infestans in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. The aim of this study was to evaluate aspects of the vectorial competence of T. rubrovaria using nymphs raised in laboratory under environmental conditions of temperature and humidity and fed on mice. The average developmental period of T. rubrovaria was 180.1 days. The percentage of defecation shortly after feeding was still higher than previous studies in which samples of T. rubrovaria subjected to a slight starvation period before the blood meal were used. The obtained results support former indication that T. rubrovaria presents bionomic characteristics propitious to be a good vector of Trypanosoma cruzi to man. Therefore its domiciliary invasion process must be continuously monitored.

Serum hyaluronan and collagen IV as non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis in patients from an endemic area for schistosomiasis mansoni: a field-based study in Brazil

Non-invasive markers of fibrosis have been used to diagnose liver fibrosis in a variety of diseases. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagen IV (C-IV) levels were measured in the sera of patients from an endemic area for schistosomiasis in Brazil to diagnose and to rank the intensity of liver fibrosis. Seventy-nine adult patients with schistosomiasis, in the age range of 21-82 years (49 ± 13.4) were submitted to clinical and ultrasonographic examinations. Ultrasound was employed to diagnose and categorise liver fibrosis according to World Health Organization patterns. Serum HA and C-IV levels were measured using commercial ELISA kits. Ultrasound revealed six patients with intense liver fibrosis, 21 with moderate, 23 with light and 29 without. Serum HA was able to separate individuals with fibrosis from those without (p < 0.001) and light from intense fibrosis (p = 0.029), but C-IV was not (p = 0.692). The HA diagnostic accuracy for fibrosis was 0.89. The 115.4 ng/mL cut-off level diagnosed patients with fibrosis (sensitivity 0.98, specificity 0.64). HA correlated positively with portal hypertension. Periportal fibrosis (subjective evaluation), age and collateral circulation predicted HA increase. In conclusion, we propose that serum HA can be used to identify patients with liver fibrosis in an endemic area for schistosomiasis mansoni in Brazil.

Molecular identification of Saint Louis encephalitis virus genotype IV in Colombia

Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a member of the Japanese-encephalitis virus serocomplex of the genus Flavivirus. SLEV is broadly distributed in the Americas and the Caribbean Islands, where it is usually transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Culex and primarily to birds and mammalian-hosts. Humans are occasionally infected by the virus and are dead-end hosts. SLEV causes encephalitis in temperate regions, while in tropical regions of the Americas, several human cases and a wide biological diversity of SLEV-strains have been reported. The phylogenetic analysis of the envelope (E) protein genes indicated eight-genotypes of SLEV with geographic overlap. The present paper describes the genotyping of two SLEV viruses detected in mosquito-pools collected in northern Colombia (department of Cordoba). We used reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to amplify a fragment of theE-gene to confirm the virus identity and completeE-gene sequencing for phylogenetic analysis and genotyping of the two-SLEV viruses found circulating in Córdoba. This is the first report of SLEV genotype IV in Colombia (Córdoba) in mosquitoes from a region of human inhabitation, implicating the risk of human disease due to SLEV infection. Physicians should consider SLEV as a possible aetiology for undiagnosed febrile and neurologic syndromes among their patients who report exposure to mosquito-bites.

Breeding sites of Neotropical Drosophilidae (Diptera): IV. living and fallen flowers of Sessea brasiliensis and Cestrum spp. (Solanaceae)

The flowering phenologies of Sessea brasiliensis and three species of Cestrum (C. amictum, C. schlechtendalii and C. sendtnerianum), all belonging to the Solanaceae, were monitored in a fragment of the montane Atlantic rain forest within São Paulo city from July 1993 through June 1995. A total of 11,021 flies belonging to five species of the flavopilosa group of Drosophila (D. cestri, D. cordeiroi, D. hollisae, D. incompta and D. mariaehelenae), plus 1,244 flies belonging to four species of Zygothrica (Z. dispar, Z. vittimaculosa, Z. vittinubila and Z. aff. vittipunctata) emerged from 33,955 sampled flowers. Cestrum amictum, C. sendtnerianum and Sessea brasiliensis are recorded for the first time as host plants for the species of the Neotropical flavopilosa group ofDrosophila. Additionally, at least ten less abundant taxa belonging also to the Drosophilidae, plus 1,073 microhymenopteran parasitoids (Braconidae, Eucoilidae, and Pteromalidae), emerged from the sampled flowers of S. brasiliensis e Cestrum spp. The present study raised from nine to eleven the number of species of Cestrum previously recorded as breeding sites for these flies. A comprehensive list of species of Solanaceae known to host six species of Drosophila and four species of Zygothrica in southeastern and southern Brazil is included.

La educación secundaria en la España democrática: antecedentes, problemas y perspectivas

A la hora de examinar los problemas de la educación secundaria en España resulta preciso analizar el contexto histórico en que se produjeron, las grandes reformas de los últimos cuarenta años, los aciertos y los errores habidos, la situación actual y las perspectivas de futuro. Sólo entonces se estará en condiciones de sentar las políticas del futuro.