Effectiveness of the polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine among HIV-infected persons in Brazil: a case control study

Abstract Background Polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for use in HIV-infected adults in Brazil but there is uncertainty about its effectiveness in this patient population. The main objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine against invasive pneumococcal infection among HIV-infected adult patients in São Paulo, Brazil. Methods A case-control study of 79 cases and 242 controls matched on CD4+ cell count and health care setting was conducted. Among HIV-infected adults in São Paulo, Brazil, with and without S. pneumoniae recovered from a normally sterile site; prior receipt of 23 valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine was determined by review of medical records and patient interview. Results After adjustment for confounding factors, the point estimate for the effectiveness of 23 valent polysaccharide vaccine among HIV-infected adults against all invasive pneumococcal infection was 18% (95% CI: <0 to 62%). Conclusion We were unable to demonstrate a statistically significant protective effect of 23 valent polysaccharide against invasive pneumococcal infection vaccine among HIV-infected adults in Brazil. While the vaccine is relatively inexpensive and safe, its effectiveness among HIV-infected adults in Brazil is uncertain.

Evaluation of the acquired immune responses to Plasmodium vivax VIR variant antigens in individuals living in malaria-endemic areas of Brazil

Abstract Background The naturally-acquired immune response to Plasmodium vivax variant antigens (VIR) was evaluated in individuals exposed to malaria and living in different endemic areas for malaria in the north of Brazil. Methods Seven recombinant proteins representing four vir subfamilies (A, B, C, and E) obtained from a single patient from the Amazon Region were expressed in Escherichia coli as soluble glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins. The different recombinant proteins were compared by ELISA with regard to the recognition by IgM, IgG, and IgG subclass of antibodies from 200 individuals with patent infection. Results The frequency of individuals that presented antibodies anti-VIR (IgM plus IgG) during the infection was 49%. The frequencies of individuals that presented IgM or IgG antibodies anti-VIR were 29.6% or 26.0%, respectively. The prevalence of IgG antibodies against recombinant VIR proteins was significantly lower than the prevalence of antibodies against the recombinant proteins representing two surface antigens of merozoites of P. vivax: AMA-1 and MSP119 (57.0% and 90.5%, respectively). The cellular immune response to VIR antigens was evaluated by in vitro proliferative assays in mononuclear cells of the individuals recently exposed to P. vivax. No significant proliferative response to these antigens was observed when comparing malaria-exposed to non-exposed individuals. Conclusion This study provides evidence that there is a low frequency of individuals responding to each VIR antigens in endemic areas of Brazil. This fact may explain the host susceptibility to new episodes of the disease.

A hearing report from Brazil

The past several decades, the need for hearing health services is still great, especially in the northeast, the Amazonian, and the southern regions Brazil, officially Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest Portuguese-speaking country, and the fifth largest country in the world by population and by land. The vast land not only brings rich natural resources but also large varieties of exotic vegetation and wildlife. One hundred and ninety-three million inhabitants live in five geographical regions with diverse cultural practices influenced by immigrants from Italy, Spain, Japan, Germany, and other countries. Brazilian people generally are warm-hearted, very welcoming, and resilient. They are optimistic and creative despite having encountered many economic downturns and political challenges throughout history. A bachelor's degree is the entry level for the profession. As only 19 percent of the population aged 18–24 years have access to higher education, the competition for admissions is fierce, especially in government institutions. High school students need to pass tests of general knowledge in a national examination and a university-specific examination. Government educational institutions offer good education without charging tuition. The majority of scientific papers are also produced by scholars working in government institutions. Private institutions are generally ranked lower in academic rigor (Behlau and Gasparini, 2006), except for a few top-ranking institutions. The fields of speech-language pathology and audiology are marked by rapid changes in recent years. Currently, there are 104 undergraduate programs recognized by the Ministry of Education and distributed in all but three federal states of Brazil.

Sandflies (Diptera, Psychodidae) from forest areas in Botucatu municipality, central western São Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract Background The study of the distribution and ecology of sandfly species is essential for epidemiological surveillance and estimation of the transmission risk of Leishmania spp. infection. Findings In the present study, sandflies were captured in native fragmented forest areas in Rubião Júnior district, Botucatu municipality, São Paulo state, Brazil, between September 2001 and January 2005. A minimum of two automatic light traps were installed per night from 6 pm to 8 am, in different months, resulting in approximately 900 collecting hours. During this period, 216 sandfly specimens of sixteen species were captured. Pintomyia monticola and Brumptomyia guimaraesi were the most abundant with 56 specimens (25.93%) captured per species, followed by Pintomyia fischeri 28 (12.96%) and Psathyromyia pascalei 18 (8.33%). Other captured species were Lutzomyia amarali, Sciopemyia sordellii, Psathyromyia aragaoi, Nyssomyia whitmani, Migonemyia migonei, Pintomyia bianchigalatiae, Pintomyia misionensis, Brumptomyia carvalheiroi, Brumptomyia cardosoi, Brumptomyia cunhai, Brumptomyia nitzulescui, Brumptomyia brumpti and Brumptomyia spp. represented by 58 (26.85%) specimens. Conclusions Although less frequently found, the presence of Pintomyia fischeri, Nyssomyia whitmani and Migonemyia migonei, known vectors of Leishmania braziliensis, indicates risk of American cutaneous leishmaniasis occurrence. Moreover, the absence of Lutzomyia longipalpis-the main vector of Leishmania infantum chagasi, which is the agent of American visceral leishmaniasis-suggests that there is no risk of introduction and establishment of this disease in the studied area.

Detection of DENV-4 genotype I from mosquitoes collected in the city of Manaus, Brazil

Background Dengue epidemics have been reported in Brazil since 1981. In Manaus, a large city in the Amazon region, dengue is endemic with all four-virus serotypes (DENV-1, -2, -3, and -4) simultaneously causing human disease. In 2008, during a surveillance of dengue virus in mosquitoes in the district of Tancredo Neves in Manaus, 260 mosquitoes of Aedes genus were captured, identified and grouped into pools of 10 mosquitoes. Findings RNA extracts of mosquito pools were tested by a RT-Hemi-Nested-PCR for detection of flaviviruses. One amplicon of 222 bp, compatible with dengue virus serotype 4, was obtained from a pool of Aedes aegypti. The nucleotide sequence of the amplicon indicated that the mosquitoes were infected with DENV-4 of genotype I. This virus of Asian origin has been described in Manaus in 2008 infecting acute febrile illness patients. Conclusion This is the first report of dengue virus serotype 4 genotype I infecting Aedes aegypti in the Americas.

A comparison for a multiscale study of structural lineaments in southern Brazil: LANDSAT-7 ETM+ and shaded relief images from SRTM3-DEM

This paper presents a comparison of descriptive statistics obtained for brittle structural lineaments extracted manually from LANDSAT images and shaded relief images from SRTM 3 DEM at 1:100, 000 and 1:500, 000 scales. The selected area is located in the southern of Brazil and comprises Precambrian rocks and stratigraphic units of the Paraná Basin. The application of this methodology shows that the visual interpretation depends on the kind of remote sensing image. The resulting descriptive statistics obtained for lineaments extracted from the images do not follow the same pattern according to the scale adopted. The main direction obtained for Proterozoic rocks using both image types at a 1:500, 000 scale are close to NS±10, whereas at a 1:100, 000 scale N45E was obtained for shaded relief images from SRTM 3 DEM and N10W for LANDSAT images. The Paleozoic sediments yielded the best results for the different images and scales (N50W). On the other hand, the Mesozoic igneous rocks showed greatest differences, the shaded relief images from SRTM 3 DEM images highlighting NE structures and the LANDSAT images highlighting NW structures. The accumulated frequency demonstrated high similarity between products for each image type no matter the scale, indicating that they can be used in multiscale studies. Conversely, major differences were found when comparing data obtained using shaded relief images from SRTM 3 DEM and Landsat images at a 1:100, 000 scale.

Water transfer from São Francisco river to semiarid northeast of Brazil: technical data, environmental impacts, survey of opinion about the amount to be transferred

The transposition of the São Francisco River is considered one of the greatest engineering works in Brazil of all time since it will cross an extensive agricultural region of continental dimensions, involving environmental impacts, water, soil, irrigation, water payment and other multidisciplinary themes. Taking into account its importance, this subject was incorporated into a discipline of UFSCar (Federal University of São Carlos - Brazil) named "Pollution and Environmental Impacts". It was noted strong reaction against the project, even before the presentation. To allow a critical analysis, the first objective was to compile the main technical data and environmental impacts. The second objective was to detect the three most important aspects that cause reaction, concluding for the following reasons: assumption that the volume of water to be transferred was much greater than it actually is proposed in the project; lack of knowledge about similar project already done in Brazil; the idea that the artificial canal to be built was much broader than that proposed by the project. The participants' opinion about "volume to be transferred" was raised quantitatively four times: 2-undergraduate students; 1-graduate; 1-outside community. The average resulted 14 times larger than that proposed in the project, significant according to t-test. It was concluded that the reaction to water transfer project is due in part to the ignorance combined with a preconceived idea that tend to overestimate the magnitude of environmental impacts.

Survey on Chlamydophila psittaci in captive ramphastids in São Paulo State, Brazil

Chlamydophila psittaci (C. psittaci) has been detected in 460 avian species, among them the most frequent are the Psittaciformes, Columbiformes, Anseriformes and raptors. In Brazil, the main avian species recognized as healthy carriers belong to the order Psittaciformes and Columbiformes, but very few studies have been done in other bird families. Reports of the occurrence of this disease in the clinical form are rare in the Ramphastids; consequently, they are not commonly evaluated for this agent. The present study reports the investigation of C. psittaci in 25 captive ramphastids from a zoological park in São Paulo State, Brazil. Swabs samples from the cloaca were submitted to semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (semi-nested PCR) for direct detection of the microorganism. Additionally, blood samples obtained from these birds were submitted to the Complement Fixation Test (CFT) for detection of antibodies anti-C. psittaci. The presence of C. psittaci was not detected in the cloacal swab samples tested by the PCR. Nevertheless, 16% (4/25) of the bird's sera were positive by the CFT. Among the species with positive results, there are the saffron toucanet (Pteroglossus bailloni) and black-necked-aracari (Pteroglossus aracari), two species with no descriptions of the survey of C. psittaci published in the literature. Intermittent elimination of C. psittaci is a feature of chronically infected birds; however the absence of a positive-antigen sample did not guarantee that the bird is Chlamydophila-free. The serological results obtained show that the ramphastids tested were previously exposed to the pathogen and developed immune response, but showed no clinical signs of the disease and didn't eliminate regularly the organism in their feces in the moment of the sample collection.

Molecular typing of Clostridium perfringens isolated from swine in slaughterhouses from São Paulo State, Brazil

Clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic Gram-positive bacterium known as common pathogen for humans, for domestic and wildlife animals. Although infections caused by C. perfringens type C and A in swine are well studied, just a few reports describe the genetic relationship among strains in the epidemiological chain of swine clostridioses, as well as the presence of the microorganism in the slaughterhouses. The aim of the present study was to isolate C. perfringens from feces and carcasses from swine slaughterhouses, characterize the strains in relation to the presence of enterotoxin, alpha, beta, epsilon, iota and beta-2 toxins genes, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and comparing strains by means of Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Clostridium perfringens isolation frequencies in carcasses and finishing pig intestines were of 58.8% in both types of samples. According to the polymerase chain reaction assay, only alfa toxin was detected, being all isolates also negative to enterotoxin and beta2 toxin. Through PFGE technique, the strains were characterized in 35 pulsotypes. In only one pulsotype, the isolate from carcass sample was grouped with fecal isolate of the same animal, suggesting that the risk of cross-contamination was low. Despite the high prevalence of C. perfringens in swine carcasses from the slaughterhouses assessed, the risk of food poisoning to Brazilian pork consumers is low, since all strains were negative to cpe-gene, codifying enterotoxin.

Soroprevalência e variáveis epidemiológicas associadas à leishmaniose visceral canina em área endêmica no Município de São Luís, Maranhão, Brasil

Este trabalho teve como objetivos determinar a soroprevalência e as variáveis epidemiológicas associadas com a infecção de Leishmania spp. em cães de cinco localidades no Distrito do Tirirical no município de São Luís, Maranhão. Foram visitadas 72 moradias, perfazendo uma amostra de cem cães domiciliados, e aplicados questionários com o objetivo de determinar os fatores que poderiam estar relacionados com a ocorrência da infecção. Utilizaram-se como variáveis: proximidade da moradia com a mata, existência de criação/abrigo de animais de produção e de animais silvestres, sexo, idade, raça, além de exame clínico do animal, com observação da presença de sinais clínicos compatíveis com a doença. A análise sorológica demonstrou que 67 amostras apresentaram-se positivas para Leishmania spp. Os sinais clínicos observados foram linfadenopatia localizada, alopecia, pelo opaco, emagrecimento, úlceras cutâneas, descamação furfurácea, ceratoconjuntivite, e onicogrifose. Animais das localidades Cruzeiro de Santa Bárbara e Cajupari, ambas localizadas próximas de matas, têm 3,4 e 12,0 vezes mais chances de serem soropositivos para Leishmania spp. do que aqueles das outras localidades estudadas. Não se verificou correlação entre as outras variáveis estudadas e soropositividade para Leishmania spp.

Women in movement : Gender relations in quilombola community Buriti do Meio on the North of Minas Gerais/Brazil

In a civilisation space of Sao Francisco basin river. Women and men interlace on their relations building mutual and each one on your way in handling of the clay in politics fights and in life daily of Buriti do Meio Quilombo. The objective of this study was to do a ethnographically reflection of gender relations that link men and women in the black rural community Buriti do Meio in Sao Francisco municipal district on the North of Minas Gerais/Brazil. We tried to understand the meanings and the composed representations on the feminineness and the masculine ways in relation that men and women set up among themselves in handling workmanship for the information in politics fight of community group as quilombo remaining and to rights access derived and everyday life where they build and organize together the life of all their members reflecting in his symbolic order. Buriti do Meio is traditional known for its handcraft and for cultural manifestations, legacy of their ancestral, olds slaves that ran way to look for autonomy and freedom express signs of afrobrazilian culture inserted on the civilization space in Sao Francisco basin river

Women in movement : Gender relations in quilombola community Buriti do Meio on the North of Minas Gerais/Brazil

In a civilisation space of Sao Francisco basin river. Women and men interlace on their relations building mutual and each one on your way in handling of the clay in politics fights and in life daily of Buriti do Meio Quilombo. The objective of this study was to do a ethnographically reflection of gender relations that link men and women in the black rural community Buriti do Meio in Sao Francisco municipal district on the North of Minas Gerais/Brazil. We tried to understand the meanings and the composed representations on the feminineness and the masculine ways in relation that men and women set up among themselves in handling workmanship for the information in politics fight of community group as quilombo remaining and to rights access derived and everyday life where they build and organize together the life of all their members reflecting in his symbolic order. Buriti do Meio is traditional known for its handcraft and for cultural manifestations, legacy of their ancestral, olds slaves that ran way to look for autonomy and freedom express signs of afrobrazilian culture inserted on the civilization space in Sao Francisco basin river