Anti-phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) determination using blood collection on filter paper in leprosy patients

The authors studied 70 leprosy patients and 20 normal individuals, comparing the traditional sera collection method and the finger prick blood with the conservation on filter paper for specific antibodies against the native phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) from Mycobacterium leprae. The finger prick blood dried on filter paper was eluated in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) containing 0.5% gelatin. The classical method for native PGL-I was performed for these eluates, and compared with the antibody determination for sera. It was observed that there is a straight correlation comparing these two methods; although the titles found for the eluates were lower than those obtained for serology. This blood collection method could be useful for investigation of new leprosy cases in field, specially in contacts individuals.

Viability and molecular authentication of Coccidioides spp. isolates from the Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo culture collection, Brazil

Coccidioidomycosis is an emerging fungal disease in Brazil; adequate maintenance and authentication of Coccidioides isolates are essential for research into genetic diversity of the environmental organisms, as well as for understanding the human disease. Seventeen Coccidioides isolates maintained under mineral oil since 1975 in the Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo (IMTSP) culture collection, Brazil, were evaluated with respect to their viability, morphological characteristics and genetic features in order to authenticate these fungal cultures. Only five isolates were viable after almost 30 years, showing typical morphological characteristics, and sequencing analysis using Coi-F and Coi-R primers revealed 99% identity with Coccidioides genera. These five isolates were then preserved in liquid nitrogen and sterile water, and remained viable after two years of storage under these conditions, maintaining the same features.

Health problems awareness during travel among faculty members of a large university in Latin America: preliminary report

Health safety during trips is based on previous counseling, vaccination and prevention of infections, previous diseases or specific problems related to the destination. Our aim was to assess two aspects, incidence of health problems related to travel and the traveler's awareness of health safety. To this end we phone-interviewed faculty members of a large public University, randomly selected from humanities, engineering and health schools. Out of 520 attempts, we were able to contact 67 (12.9%) and 46 (68.6%) agreed to participate in the study. There was a large male proportion (37/44, 84.1%), mature adults mostly in their forties and fifties (32/44, 72.7%), all of them with higher education, as you would expect of faculty members. Most described themselves as being sedentary or as taking occasional exercise, with only 15.9% (7/44) taking regular exercise. Preexisting diseases were reported by 15 travelers. Most trips lasted usually one week or less. Duration of the travel was related to the destination, with (12h) or longer trips being taken by 68.2% (30/44) of travelers, and the others taking shorter (3h) domestic trips. Most travelling was made by air (41/44) and only 31.8% (14/44) of the trips were motivated by leisure. Field research trips were not reported. Specific health counseling previous to travel was reported only by two (4.5%). Twenty seven of them (61.4%) reported updated immunization, but 11/30 reported unchecked immunizations. 30% (9/30) reported travel without any health insurance coverage. As a whole group, 6 (13.6%) travelers reported at least one health problem attributed to the trip. All of them were males travelling abroad. Five presented respiratory infections, such as influenza and common cold, one neurological, one orthopedic, one social and one hypertension. There were no gender differences regarding age groups, destination, type of transport, previous health counseling, leisure travel motivation or pre-existing diseases. Interestingly, the two cases of previous health counseling were made by domestic travelers. Our data clearly shows that despite a significant number of travel related health problems, these highly educated faculty members, had a low awareness of those risks, and a significant number of travels are made without prior counseling or health insurance. A counseling program conducted by a tourism and health professional must be implemented for faculty members in order to increase the awareness of travel related health problems.

Studies on a small collection of planorbid snails from southern south America

Snails belonging to Biomphalaria genus were collected from some regions of Southern South America as follows: Resistencia, province of Chaco, Argentina; Assumpcion, Paraguay; Department of Maldonado of Caneloni, Uruguay; and Pôrto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The material was classified as Biomphalaria peregrina (Orbigny) twice from Uruguay and once in Brazil; B. tenagophila (Orbigny), from Argentina and Brazil; and B. straminea (Dunker) in Paraguay. Negative results were obtained from the exposition of the abone refered snail specimens to miracidia of S. mansoni from Pernambuco, Brazil.

Viability and molecular authentication of Coccidioides immitis strains from culture collection of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Twenty Coccidioides immitis strains were evaluated. Only 5 of the 20 strains kept under mineral oil maintained their viability while all 5 subcultures preserved in water remained viable and none of the 13 subcultures kept in soil were viable. A 519 bp PCR product from the csa gene confirmed the identity of the strains.

Pre-travel health advice for human immunodeficiency virus-infected travelers, from Rio de Janeiro

Counseling for human immunodeficiency virus infected travelers is becoming increasingly specialized. Previous studies have reported the experience of HIV-infected travelers from temperate-climate countries but little is known about HIV-infected travelers from tropical countries. A retrospective study was conducted on HIV-infected travelers presenting at a travel health clinic in Rio de Janeiro. Eleven journeys by ten people were recorded. Brazil (Amazon region and Northeast) was the destination for six journeys. Other destinations were Peru, Angola, Europe and Asia. Nine attendees were undergoing antiretroviral therapy. Few HIV-infected people from Rio de Janeiro consulted a travel medicine specialist before traveling. Since they travel to destinations in Brazil and abroad where there are endemic diseases not encountered in Rio de Janeiro, careful pre-travel planning needs to be undertaken. Strategies for increasing the frequency of pre-travel consultations need to be developed, such as closer collaboration between HIV clinics and travel health clinics.

Species of the subfamily Triatominae Jeannel, 1919 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) present in the Collection of Chagas Disease Vectors (FIOCRUZ-COLVEC), State of Minas Gerais

Introduction Biological collections are depositories of information on different species and contribute to the knowledge, protection, conservation and maintenance of biodiversity. Methods A list of triatomine species currently included in the Collection of Chagas Disease Vectors (FIOCRUZ-COLVEC) was prepared from the database made available by the Reference Center on Environmental Information. Results COLVEC curatorship houses 4,778 specimens of triatomines, of which 811 come from other American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the United States of America, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) and 3,967 are autochthonous from Brazil. Altogether, 56 species of Chagas disease vectors are represented in the COLVEC: two species of the Tribe Cavernicolini Usinger, 1944; fifteen species of the tribe Rhodniini Pinto, 1926, of which 12 are of the genus Rhodnius and 3 are of the genus Psamolestes; and 39 species of the tribe Triatomini Jeannel, 1919, represented by the genus Dipetalogaster, two species of the genus Eratyrus, two of the genus Meccus, seven of the genus Panstrongylus and 27 of the genus Triatoma. Conclusions This list provides important data on the diversity of triatomines currently included in COLVEC, including the expanded area of Panstrongylus lutzi occurrence in the municipalities Pirapora and Januária, State of Minas Gerais. The maintenance and expansion of the collection ensures the preservation of biodiversity and further studies.

Molecular identification and antifungal susceptibility profiles of Candida parapsilosis complex species isolated from culture collection of clinical samples

AbstractINTRODUCTION:Candida parapsilosis is a common yeast species found in cases of onychomycosis and candidemia associated with infected intravascular devices. In this study, we differentiated Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto, Candida orthopsilosis , and Candida metapsilosis from a culture collection containing blood and subungual scraping samples. Furthermore, we assessed the in vitro antifungal susceptibility of these species to fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, amphotericin B, and caspofungin.METHODS:Differentiation of C. parapsilosis complex species was performed by amplification of the secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (SADH) gene and digestion by the restriction enzyme Ban I. All isolates were evaluated for the determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations using Etest, a method for antifungal susceptibility testing.RESULTS:Among the 87 isolates, 78 (89.7%) were identified as C. parapsilosis sensu stricto , five (5.7%) were identified as C. orthopsilosis , and four (4.6%) were identified as C. metapsilosis . Analysis of antifungal susceptibility showed that C. parapsilosis sensu strictoisolates were less susceptible to amphotericin B and itraconazole. One C. parapsilosis sensu stricto isolate was resistant to amphotericin B and itraconazole. Moreover, 10.2% of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto isolates were resistant to caspofungin. Two C. parapsilosis sensu strictoisolates and one C. metapsilosis isolate were susceptible to fluconazole in a dose-dependent manner.CONCLUSIONS:We reported the first molecular identification of C. parapsilosiscomplex species in State of Goiás, Brazil. Additionally, we showed that although the three species exhibited differences in antifungal susceptibility profiles, the primary susceptibility of this species was to caspofungin.

Urinary tract infection in full-term newborn infants: value of urine culture by bag specimen collection

OBJETIVE: to evaluate the efficacy of urine culture by bag specimen for the detection of neonatal urinary tract infection in full-term newborn infants. Retrospective study (1997) including full-term newborn infants having a positive urine culture (>100,000 CFU/ml) by bag specimen collection. The urinary tract infection diagnosis was confirmed by positive urine culture (suprapubic bladder aspiration method). The select cases were divided into three groups, according to newborn infant age at the bag specimen collection: GI (< 48 h, n = 17), GII (48 h to 7 d, n = 35) and GIII (> 7 d, n = 9). Sixty one full-term newborn infants were studied (5.1 % of total infants). The diagnosis was confirmed on 19/61 (31.1 %) of full-term infants born alive. Distribution among the groups was: GI = 2/17 (11.8 %), GII = 10//35 (28.6 %), and GIII = 7/9 (77.7 %). The most relevant clinical symptoms were: fever (GI - 100 %, GII - 91.4 %) and weight loss (GI - 35.3 %, GII - 45.7 %). Urine culture results for specimens collected by suprapubic aspiration were: E. coli GI (100 %), GII (40 %) and GIII (28.6 %), E. faecalis GI (30%), Staphylococcus coagulase-negative GII (20 %) and GIII (42.8 %), and Staphylococcus aureus GII (10 %). Correlation between positive urine culture collection (bag specimen method) and urinary tract infection diagnosis, using relative risk analysis, produced the following results: GI=0.30 (CI95% 0.08-1.15), GII=0.51 (CI 95% 0.25-1.06) and GIII=3.31 (CI95% 1.8-6.06) The most frequent urinary tract infection clinical signs in the first week were fever and weight loss, while non-specific symptomatology occurred later. E. coli was most frequent infectious agent, although from the 7th day of life, staphylococcus was noted. The urine culture (bag specimen method) was effective in detecting urinary tract infection only after the 7th day of life.

List of type-specimens of Isoptera (Insecta) in the collection of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, State of Pará, Brazil

The collection of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG), in the city of Belém, State of Pará, Brazil, has 65 samples of type-specimens of Isoptera, representing 26 species (21 holotypes and 5 paratypes) of 18 genera. This paper lists the number of specimens of each caste in each type series, type localities with geographical coordinates, collectors, and dates of collection.

Cholini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Molytinae) housed in the Invertebrate Collection of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil

In Brazilian Amazonia, Cholini (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Molytinae) is represented by 53 species distributed in seven genera: Ameris Dejean, 1821; Cholus Germar, 1824; Homalinotus Sahlberg, 1823; Lobaspis Chevrolat, 1881; Odontoderes Sahlberg, 1823; Ozopherus Pascoe, 1872 and Rhinastus Schoenherr, 1825. This work documents the species of Cholini housed in the Invertebrate Collection of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil and gives the geographical and biological data associated with them. A total of 186 Cholini specimens were identified as belonging to 14 species (13 from Brazilian Amazonia) and five genera (Cholus, Homalinotus, Odontoderes, Ozopherus and Rhinastus). Only 24% of the Cholini species reported from Brazilian Amazonia are actually represented in the INPA collection, underscoring the need for a more systematical collecting based on available biological information. The known geographical distribution was expanded for the following species: Cholus granifer (Chevrolat, 1881) for Brazil; C. pantherinus (Olivier, 1790) for Manaus (Amazonas); Cholus parallelogrammus (Germar, 1824) for Piraquara (Paraná); Homalinotus depressus (Linnaeus, 1758) for lago Janauacá (Amazonas) and rio Tocantins (Pará); H. humeralis (Gyllenhal, 1836) for Novo Airão, Coari (Amazonas) and Porto Velho (Rondônia); H. nodipennis (Chevrolat, 1878) for Carauari, Lábrea (Amazonas) and Ariquemes (Rondônia); H. validus (Olivier, 1790) for rio Araguaia (Brasil), Manaus (Amazonas), rio Tocantins (Pará), Porto Velho and BR 364, Km 130 (Rondônia); Odontoderes carinatus (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) for Manaus (Amazonas); O. spinicollis (Boheman, 1836) for rio Uraricoera (Roraima); and Ozopherus muricatus Pascoe, 1872 for lago Janauacá (Amazonas). Homalinotus humeralis is reported for the first time from "urucuri" palm, Attalea phalerata Mart. ex Spreng.

Myxomycetes collection preserved in the herbarium of the Federal University of Roraima (Brazil)

First records of myxomycetes in the North region of Brazil go back to the 19th century. Nevertheless, the myxobiota of this region is still largely unexplored, with only 42 species recorded, distributed in 20 genera and seven families. The objectives of this paper were to characterize the Myxomycetes collection of the Herbarium of the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR) and to add new records for the myxobiota of this State. The collection holds specimens collected in fragments of Open Ombrophilous Forest, Seasonal Semi-deciduous Forest, Riparian Forest, deforested areas and urban home gardens in the state of Roraima. The 157 exsiccates were analyzed and identified or redetermined based on identification keys, descriptions and illustrations. The collection is in good conditions of preservation and includes all subclasses of Myxomycetes, 83% of its orders, 50% of its families, and 20 species. Trichiales, with one family, three genera and six species, represents 62% of all exsiccates. Cribraria aff. splendens, Metatrichia vesparia, Physarella oblonga, Stemonaria longa and Stemonitis splendens are new records for Roraima and Arcyria obvelata, Comatricha pulchella, Stemonitis pallida and Stemonitopsis aequalis are referred for the first time in the Northern Region, enlarging the knowledge of the Brazilian geographic distribution of these species.