Evidências epidemiológicas da ocorrência de escabiose, em humanos, causada pelo Sarcoptes scabiei (DeGeer, 1778) var. canis (Bourguignon, 1853)

A partir de 27 cães com sarna sarcóptica, envolvendo 143 pessoas expostas à infestação, observaram-se 58 (40,56%) com lesões cutâneas sugestivas de escabiose. Tais lesões mostraram-se mais incidentes nas mulheres do que nos homens e indivíduos de todas as faixas etárias foram acometidos, indistintamente. Foi demonstrada a presença do agente em 3 dos 12 casos humanos observados que mantiveram contato com animais escabiosos.

Accident caused by Centruroides testaceus (DeGeer, 1778) (Scorpiones, Buthidae), native to the Caribbean, in Brazilian airport

Describes the case of a 6-year-old girl who was stung by a Centruroides testaceus, a scorpion native to the Lesser Antilles, in the Guarulhos International Airport, São Paulo, Brazil, as she disembarked from a flight coming from the Caribbean. The patient presented only local symptoms (a small area of erythema and pain at the sting site), which were resolved after a few hours with analgesics, without the need for antivenom. Physicians who treat patients stung by scorpions should be alert to the possibility of such accidents being caused by non native species, especially those cases that occur near airports or ports.

Estudo comparativo da freqüência da morte súbita inesperada por doença de Chagas, em Uberaba, nos anos de 1980 e 1990

Realizou-se estudo comparativo da freqüência e etiologia das mortes súbitas ocorridas no Município de Uberaba, Minas Gerais, em maiores de 15 anos de idade, nos anos de 1980 e de 1990, com o objetivo fundamental de analisar a freqüência atual do óbito súbito em nossa região e o eventual papel de medidas profiláticas e terapêuticas na morte súbita por doença de Chagas. Dos 1226 óbitos de 1980, 54 (4,4%) foram súbitos e destes, 13 (24,1%) etiologia atribuída à doença de Chagas. Em 1990foram pesquisados 1740 óbitos, dos quais 44 (2,5%) foram súbitos; destes, somente 3 (6,8%) devidos â tripanosomose cruzi. Os resultados indicam redução significativa na freqüência tanto da morte súbita em geral, como daquela devida à doença de Chagas, no ano de 1990, em relação ao de 1980, discutindo-se suas prováveis razões.

Euglossine Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of Buriticupu, Amazonia of Maranhão, Brazil1

Male euglossine bees attracted to cineole, vanillin, methyl salicylate, eugenol and benzyl benzoate, were collected from October 1995 to September 1996, twice a month, between 06.00 and 12.00 hours, at the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce Forest Reserve, Buriticupu-MA. It were sampled 1740 individuals, 37 species and 4 genera. Euglossa was the most abundant genus (23 species), followed by Eufriesea (8), Eulaema (4) and Exaerete (2). The most frequent species were Euglossa pleosticta (33% of the collected individuals), Euglossa truncata (12,7%), Euglossa avicula (6,3%), Eufriesea superba (5,2%), Euglossa fimbriata (4,8%) Euglossa violaceifrons (4,4%), Eulaema nigrita (4,1%), Euglossa cordata (4,0%), Eulaema meriana (3,4%). Cineole attracted 66% of males and 70% of species, vanillin (20%; 59%), methyl salicylate (7,4%; 54%), eugenol (5,6%; 44%) and benzyl benzoate (0,7%; 10,8%). The highest abundance of individuals (78,3%) and species (34) occurred in the rainy season (January-June). The species of the genus Eufriesea occurred only in this period. Regarding the hourly activity, the euglossine bees were more frequently found between 10.00 and 11.00 hours, accounting for 33,5% of the individuals and 86,4% of the species.

Ectoparasitos de cães e gatos da cidade de Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil

São apresentados resultados da coleta de ectoparasitos em cães e gatos entre agosto de 2001 e maio de 2002 em diferentes bairros da cidade Manaus. No cão foram encontrados: Ctenocephalides f. felis (Bouché, 1835) (Siphonaptera, Pulicidae), Heterodoxus spiniger (Enderlein, 1909)(Phthiraptera, Boopidae), Trichodectes canis (De Geer, 1778) (Phthiraptera, Trichodectidae) e Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille,1806) (Acari, Ixodidae). No gato foi coletado C. f. felis. A prevalência de ectoparasitos foi de 80,8% para cães e 72,7% para gatos. Para a pulga C. f. felis foi de 28,7% para cães e 72,7% para gatos. Para o piolho H. spiniger foi de 12,3% para cães. Para o piolho T. canis foi de 0,1% para cães e para o carrapato R. sanguineus foi de 63% para cães. A média de infestaçãode pulga foi de 1,26 para cães e 1,27 para gatos. A proporção sexual fêmea/macho foi de 1,96:1 no cão e de 3,66:1 no gato. A pulga C. canis (Curtis, 1826), registrada em 1922, não foi coletada.

Influência do sexo na evolução imediata e a médio prazo após a intervenção coronariana percutânea primária e análise dos fatores independentes de risco para óbito ou eventos

OBJETIVO: Determinar os fatores de risco para óbito e eventos e a influência do sexo na evolução intra-hospitalar e aos seis meses, de pacientes internados nas 12 horas iniciais do infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM) com supradesnivelamento de ST, tratados com intervenção coronariana percutânea primária. MÉTODOS: Foram considerados 199 pacientes consecutivos, entre 07/1998 e 12/2000, com IAM e sem choque cardiogênico, sendo avaliada a evolução intra-hospitalar e em seis meses. RESULTADOS: As características clínicas eram semelhantes entre os grupos, exceto que as mulheres, que eram mais idosas que os homens (67,04 ± 11,53 x 59,70 ± 10,88, p < 0,0001). A mortalidade intra-hospitalar foi maior no sexo feminino (9,1% x 1,5%, p = 0,0171), assim como a incidência de eventos maiores (12,1% x 3,0%, p = 0,0026). A diferença de mortalidade persistia em seis meses (12,1% x 1,5%, p = 0,0026). Na análise multivariada predisseram óbito: sexo feminino e octogenários e eventos e/ou angina estável: doença multiarterial e disfunção ventricular grave. CONCLUSÃO: Sexo feminino e octogenários foram fatores independentes relacionados à mortalidade seis meses após a intervenção coronariana percutânea primária.

The influence of shell species and size on the shell selection pattern of Paguristes tortugae (Decapoda, Diogenidae) from Anchieta Island (Ubatuba, Brazil)

Shell selection by the hermit crab Paguristes tortugae Schmitt, 1933 from Anchieta Island (Brazil) was analyzed using the six most frequently occupied shell species in the field and taking into account the sexual condition of the individuals, the shell size and the shell species. The experiments were conducted under laboratory conditions and the shell species preference was estimated on the basis of the frequency that each species was chosen by the individuals. The preferred shell species and size were determined by regression analysis. The highest correlation coefficients were obtained for the relations between the hermit dimensions and shell dry weight. The ovigerous females preferred shells with larger internal volume: Leucozonia nassa (Gmelin, 1791) and Cerithium atratum (Born, 1778). In the experiment of shell size, males preferred heavier shells whereas females selected the shape characteristics of the shell, such as the aperture and the internal volume, which are probably related to the growth and offspring guarantee, respectively. In general, and independent of sex condition, P. tortugae showed significant selection among all shells utilized. The results suggest that shell selection by P. tortugae involves sexual and reproductive condition preferences.

Population and reproductive features of the western Atlantic hermit crab Pagurus criniticornis (Anomura, Paguridae) from Anchieta Island, southeastern Brazil

The population of the hermit crab Pagurus criniticornis (Dana, 1852) was studied based on seasonal abundance, size frequency distribution, sex ratio, reproductive period, fecundity and shell relationship. Specimens were collected monthly by SCUBA diving in the infralittoral area of Anchieta Island, Ubatuba. A total of 1,017 individuals was analyzed. Animal size (minimum and maximum shield length, respectively) was 0.7 and 2.9 mm for males, 0.6 and 2.8 mm for non-ovigerous females, and 1.0 and 2.5 mm for ovigerous females. The sex ratio was 1:1.29. Sexual dimorphism was recorded by the presence of males in the largest size classes. Ovigerous females were captured during all months along the year, with percentages varying from 8% (July) to 84.3% (February) in relation to the total females collected. Mean ± SD fecundity was 168 ± 125 eggs and tended to increase with increasing hermit size. Shells of four gastropod species [Cerithium atratum (Born, 1778), Morula nodulosa (Adams, 1845), Anachis lyrata (Sowerby, 1832) and Modulus modulus (Linnaeus, 1758)] were occupied by ovigerous females of P. criniticornis but fecundity was not significantly different in relation to the different shell types. The profile showed continuous and intense reproduction of P. criniticornis probably related to strategies developed to compensate for interspecific competition in the studied insular area.

Abundance of Conepatus chinga (Carnivora, Mephitidae) and other medium-sized mammals in grasslands of southern Brazil

Between January 2007 and December 2010, the abundance of medium-sized mammals was studied, with special focus on the Molina's hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Molina, 1782), at four locations in southern Brazil. In this study, transect line methodology was used to obtain data for Distance Analyses. Transects were traveled by car at night, searching with spotlights along the edges of secondary roads in agricultural landscapes. Along 1,811 km, we obtained 620 observations of 20 mammal species. The most common species was the exotic European hare, Lepus europaeus (Pallas, 1778); the highest abundance estimated for South America was observed in one of the study areas, where its density was estimated as 32 individuals/km². Carnivores were the most commonly recorded mammals, represented by 10 species and comprising 51% of all observations. Molina's hog-nosed skunk occurred in all study areas, but occurred in sufficient numbers to obtain density estimates in only two of the areas. We estimated 1.4 to 3.8 individuals/km², in the first density estimate made by the transect method for a member of Conepatus in the Neotropics. These values are similar to those estimated for North American species of Mephitidae. In Brazil, C. chinga is apparently more abundant in the Pampa biome than in the grasslands of the Atlantic Forest. For two other carnivores, Lycalopex gymnocercus (Fisher, 1814) and Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766), we estimated preliminary densities that were similar to those previously cited for different regions.

Multiplex-PCR serotyping of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from human clinical specimens

The genus Listeria is composed of six species of which Listeria monocytogenes is considered the single pathogenic species that causes listeriosis in humans. Of the 13 serovars of L. monocytogenes, 1/2a, 1/2b and 4b are responsible for the majority of clinical cases. The aim of this work was to detect L. monocytogenes in the cerebrospinal fluid sample of premature newborns and to characterize this sample using biotyping, serotyping and molecular typing. The results indicated the presence of L. monocytogenesin the clinical sample studied. Moreover, the isolate was identified as the 4b serovar that was characterized by the presence of a unique 691 bp band after analysis using the Multiplex-PCR technique. The results of repeated Multiplex-PCR and sequencing have indicated that the L. monocytogenes isolate was an atypical 4b serovar, which is the first time this finding has been reported.