Experimental infectious bursal disease in the ostrich (Struthio camelus)

Clinically severe disease was produced in ostriches aged 4 weeks by oral infection with avirulent strain of infectious bursal disease virus (vIBDV), namely strain Faragher 52/70. Four days after infection the birds were humanely killed and tissue samples, including thymus, bursa of Fabricius (BF), brain and kidney were collected for examination. Histopathologically, the thymus and BF showed severe lymphoid depletion and necrosis, while immunolabelling with a polyclonal antibody demonstrated abundant viral antigen. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of gram-stained cervical smear from patients with Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

Cervical discharges from 142 women attending the Public Gynecologic Service of Araraqura (SESA), Brazil were cultured for Chlamydia trachomatis. Gram-smears and plating on semiquantitative sheep blood agar and chocolate agar were also carried out. An isolation rate of 18% was reported. The presence of purulent cervical secretion was observed in 8 (32%) out of 25 women. It was also observed that a substantial proportion of culture-positive women had no symptoms. Our data demonstrate that screening tests should be based on specific diagnostic techniques for Chlamydia trachomatis since the majority of infected women we examined were asymptomatic.

Evaluation of an indirect ELISA method for the detection of chicken antibodies against infectious bronchitis virus

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The hemolytic uremic syndrome as a complication of adriamycin nephropathy

Rats treated with two injections of adriamycin (week 0 and week 12) developed glomerusclerosis and severe tubulointerstitial lesions as described in the literature. In addition, a number of glomerular alterations were present. These included capillary loop dilation, insudation of eosinophilic material, necrosis, duplication of the glomerular basement membrane, severe mesangiolysis with disruption of the mesangial matrix and segmental double- contours. The renal arterioles and interlobular arteries showed endothelial cell swelling. The subendothelial space was infiltrated by fibrinoid material and there was intensive fibrinoid necrosis of the wall of both arteries and arterioles extending into the glomerular tuft. These alterations were very similar to those observed in the hemolytic uremic syndrome. This observation suggests that the two injections of adriamycin, with a long interval in between them, might induce renal lesions similar to those observed in the hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Detection of infectious bronchitis virus in experimentally infected chickens by an antigen-competitive ELISA

An antigen-competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Ag-C-ELISA) was developed for the detection of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) antigens, M41 strain, in tissues from experimentally infected chickens, or in allantoic fluid harvested from inoculated embryonated eggs. The detection limit of IBV in the Ag-C-ELISA was 104.1 median embryo infective doses (EID50)/well. Tracheal and lung samples from chickens vaccinated with 102.5 EID50 of live attenuated infectious bronchitis (H120) vaccine were negative in the direct detection Ag-C-ELISA. The results indicate that the Ag-C-ELISA has the potential to detect IBV, either directly in tissue samples or when combined with the passage of material in embryonated eggs, thereby constituting an alternative method for the diagnosis of IBV.

Evaluation of serum- and animal protein-free media for the production of infectious bronchitis virus (M41) strain in a continuous cell line

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Application of a serum/protein-free medium for the growth of mammalian cell lines and high level production of classical, variant and very virulent strain of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to different doses of attenuated vaccine against avian infectious bronchitis virus

The antibody and cellular immune responses against infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were evaluated at mucosal sites of chickens after immunization with various doses of an attenuated vaccine at 1 day of age. The correlation of these immune responses with protection of tracheal tissues was evaluated after experimental infection of these birds. Significantly reduced tracheal pathologic effects, measured according to ciliostasis and histology lesions, and reduced viral load were observed only in the full-dose vaccinated group at 5 days post-infection (dpi), while incomplete protection was observed for the subdose vaccinated groups. Moreover, birds of vaccinated groups, especially with full dose, developed higher levels of lachrymal IBV-specific IgG and IgA and increased the expression of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) genes, such as gamma interferon (IFNγ), CD8+ T cell marker, and granzyme homolog A more rapidly. In addition, these humoral and cellular immune responses evaluated at mucosal sites correlated significantly with tracheal protection against homologous IBV challenge in a vaccine dose-dependent manner. The results indicate that IgG, IgA and CD8+ T cell responses developed at mucosal sites after IBV vaccination of day-old chicks, could be taken as good correlates of protection against this virus. © 2013, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Avalição do desfecho clínico da febre reumática durante duas décadas no Hospital das Clínicas de Botucatu

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Derrame Pleural Parapneumônico: perfil e evolução de crianças internadas no Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto

Introdução: A pneumonia é uma das infecções mais comuns em crianças, sendo o derrame pleural uma complicação potencial, principalmente nos países em desenvolvimento, onde existem sérias limitações de recursos diagnóstico-terapêuticos. Objetivos: Conhecer o perfil das crianças portadoras de derrame pleural parapneumônico, analisando sua evolução a partir da terapêutica clínica e cirúrgica que são submetidas. Método: Estudo descritivo, transversal, de coleta prospectiva, no qual foram estudadas todas as crianças internadas em um hospital de referência de doenças infecciosas na Região Norte-Brasil com diagnóstico de derrame pleural parapneumônico, submetidas a procedimento cirúrgico para abordagem do mesmo, no período de outubro de 2010 a outubro de 2011. Resultados: A amostra foi composta por 46 crianças, com distribuição igual entre os sexos, predominância de menores de 3 anos (74%) e procedentes do interior do estado (54,3%). Parcela considerável (28%) possuía algum grau de inadequação do estado nutricional. A média de tempo de doença até à admissão na referida instituição foi de 16,9 dias, e todos os indivíduos eram provenientes de outro hospital. A duração média da internação hospitalar foi de 26,0 dias, e a do estado febril, de 9,8 dias. Foram utilizados 2,2 esquemas antimicrobianos, em média, por paciente e o Ceftriaxone foi o antibiótico mais comum. Diagnóstico etiológico só foi alcançado em um único caso. Em 22 crianças, (47,8%), havia empiema pleural, e elas apresentaram maior tempo de drenagem. Foi encontrada associação entre crianças com nanismo e cirurgias múltiplas (Teste G = 8,40; p= 0,040). A grande maioria das criança foi operada uma única vez (80,4%), e a drenagem torácica fechada foi a cirurgia mais realizada. A drenagem torácica aberta foi instalada em 24,0% dos pacientes. A toracotomia com descorticação foi realizada em 2 pacientes (4,0%). Todas as crianças da amostra obtiveram recuperação clínica e radiológica em até quatro meses após a alta hospitalar, e não houve óbito na amostra. Conclusão: A população estudada possui doença em estágio avançado e distúrbios nutricionais prevalentes, que podem influenciar na evolução. É necessária padronização da antibioticoterapia, e reconsiderar a drenagem torácica aberta no empiema pleural, a partir de novos estudos sobre o tema, principalmente na indisponibilidade da videotoracoscopia.

Avaliação in vitro da atividade antimicrobiana de extratos vegetais sobre microrganismos relacionados à lesão de mucosite oral

A mucosite oral é a complicação oral mais freqüente nos pacientes sob quimioterapia e/ou radioterapia. Vários microrganismos podem estar presentes nesta lesão o que dificulta o seu tratamento. A propriedade antimicrobiana de plantas tem sido estudada com o intuito de confirmar cientificamente sua ação, e o possível potencial no controle de doenças infecciosas, principalmente devido ao aumento de microrganismos resistentes aos antimicrobianos conhecidos. O estudo teve por objetivo observar a ação inibidora de extratos das plantas Arrabidaea chica, Bryophyllum calycinum, Mansoa alliacea, Azadirachta indica, Senna alata, Vatairea guianensis, Vismia guianensis, Ananas erectifolius, Psidium guajava, Euterpe oleracea e Symphonia globulifera sobre cepas de microrganismos frequentemente envolvidos em lesões de mucosite oral, tais como, Streptococcus mitis (ATCC 903), Streptococcus sanguis (ATCC 10557), Streptococcus mutans (ATCC 25175), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Candida albicans (ATCC 40175), Candida krusei (ATCC 40147) e Candida parapsilosis (ATCC 40038). A avaliação da atividade antimicrobiana e a determinação da Concentração Inibitória Mínima (CIM) foram realizadas através do método de disco-difusão em meio sólido. Os extratos brutos das plantas foram testados nas concentrações de 500, 250, 125, 62,50, 31,25 e 15,62 mg/ml utilizando como solvente o Dimetil-Sulfóxido (DMSO). Os extratos de anani e de pirarucu foram os que apresentaram maior espectro de ação, inibindo o crescimento de sete microrganismos dentre os oito testados. As menores CIM foram obtidas com os extratos de anani, lacre e mata pasto. O extrato de anani foi o mais ativo tendo demonstrado boa atividade antimicrobiana (CIM abaixo de 100 mg/mL) contra sete microrganismos (S. aureus, C. albicans, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, S. mitis. S. sanguis e S. mutans, sendo inativo apenas para P. aeruginosa). O extrato de lacre demonstrou boa atividade frente a cinco microrganismos. Mata pasto teve boa atividade contra S. aureus, S. mitis e C. albicans. P. aeruginosa foi o microrganismo mais resistente sendo suscetível apenas para os extratos de pariri e pirarucu. Dentre os extratos avaliados, apenas o curauá não apresentou atividade sobre nenhum dos microrganismos testados. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram a capacidade antimicrobiana dos produtos vegetais testados. Entretanto, estudos futuros são necessários para esclarecer os seus mecanismos de ações e as possíveis interações com as drogas antimicrobianas, visando seu aproveitamento na terapêutica de doenças infecciosas.

Prevalence of Oral Lesions in Hospitalized Patients with Infectious Diseases in Northern Brazil

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of oral lesions in infectious-contagious diseases patients being treated in the University Hospital of the Federal University of Para, northern Brazil. One hundred seven patients with infectious diseases were clinically investigated for oral lesions at the University Hospital of Para, northern Brazil. From total sample, most patients were men (65.7%) with a mean age of 45.4 years. About prevalence of systemic diseases, tuberculosis was the most frequent illness, followed by AIDS, hepatitis types B and C, leishmaniasis, and meningitis. Analyzing oral manifestations, periodontal diseases and candidiasis were the most prevalent diseases in both genders, followed by recurrent aphthous ulcers, saburral tongue, simplex herpes, and squamous cell carcinoma. Of all 107 patients, only 10 males and 6 females did not present any oral manifestation. There was no statistical difference between genders with any systemic condition (P > 0.05). The great prevalence of oral manifestations in hospitalized patients with systemic disorder emphasizes the need of integral dental care in this context, aiming at a multidisciplinary approach of patients. Therefore, presence of some oral conditions, such as candidiasis, should be an alert to different systemic conditions, once in assistance with physicians; dentists can influence the early diagnosis and treatment.

Presence of infectious agents and co-infections in diarrheic dogs determined with a real-time polymerase chain reaction-based panel

Background: Infectious diarrhea can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or protozoan organisms, or a combination of these. The identification of co-infections in dogs is important to determine the prognosis and to plan strategies for their treatment and prophylaxis. Although many pathogens have been individually detected with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a comprehensive panel of agents that cause diarrhea in privately owned dogs has not yet been established. The objective of this study was to use a real-time PCR diarrhea panel to survey the frequencies of pathogens and co-infections in owned dogs attended in a veterinary hospital with and without diarrhea, as well the frequency in different countries. Feces samples were tested for canine distemper virus, canine coronavirus, canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2), Clostridium perfringens alpha toxin (CPA), Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and Salmonella spp. using molecular techniques.Results: In total, 104 diarrheic and 43 control dogs that were presented consecutively at a major private veterinary hospital were included in the study. Overall, 71/104 (68.3%) dogs with diarrhea were positive for at least one pathogen: a single infection in 39/71 dogs (54.9%) and co-infections in 32/71 dogs (45.1%), including 21/32 dogs (65.6%) with dual, 5/32 (15.6%) with triple, and 6/32 (18.8%) with quadruple infections. In the control group, 13/43 (30.2%) dogs were positive, all with single infections only. The most prevalent pathogens in the diarrheic dogs were CPA (40/104 dogs, 38.5%), CPV-2 (36/104 dogs, 34.6%), and Giardia spp. (14/104 dogs, 13.5%). CPV-2 was the most prevalent pathogen in the dual co-infections, associated with CPA, Cryptosporidium spp., or Giardia spp. No statistical difference (P = 0.8374) was observed in the duration of diarrhea or the number of deaths (P = 0.5722) in the presence or absence of single or co-infections.Conclusions: Diarrheic dogs showed a higher prevalence of pathogen infections than the controls. Whereas the healthy dogs had only single infections, about half the diarrheic dogs had co-infections. Therefore, multiple pathogens should be investigated in dogs presenting with diarrhea. The effects of multiple pathogens on the disease outcomes remain unclear because the rate of death and the duration of diarrhea did not seem to be affected by these factors.