Gastrointestinal parasite infections in Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa : the influence of individual, group and anthropogenic factors

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-168).This study investigates whether anthropogenic changes in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, have affected gastrointestinal parasite infections in a free-living population of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). Data on parasite diversity and prevalence were obtained from 616 faecal samples collected from over 350 individuals in eight troops (six from the Cape Peninsula, one from Pringle Bay, and one from Wildcliff Nature Reserve) between July 2006 and August 2007

Phylogenetic Evidence That Two Distinct Trichuris Genotypes Infect both Humans and Non-Human Primates

Although there has been extensive debate about whether Trichuris suis and Trichuris trichiura are separate species, only one species of the whipworm T. trichiura has been considered to infect humans and non-human primates. In order to investigate potential cross infection of Trichuris sp. between baboons and humans in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, we sequenced the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of adult Trichuris sp. worms isolated from five baboons from three different troops, namely the Cape Peninsula troop, Groot Olifantsbos troop and Da Gama Park troop. This region was also sequenced from T. trichiura isolated from a human patient from central Africa (Cameroon) for comparison. By combining this dataset with Genbank records for Trichuris isolated from other humans, non-human primates and pigs from several different countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, we confirmed the identification of two distinct Trichuris genotypes that infect primates. Trichuris sp. isolated from the Peninsula baboons fell into two distinct clades that were found to also infect human patients from Cameroon, Uganda and Jamaica (named the CP-GOB clade) and China, Thailand, the Czech Republic, and Uganda (named the DG clade), respectively. The divergence of these Trichuris clades is ancient and precedes the diversification of T. suis which clustered closely to the CP-GOB clade. The identification of two distinct Trichuris genotypes infecting both humans and non-human primates is important for the ongoing treatment of Trichuris which is estimated to infect 600 million people worldwide. Currently baboons in the Cape Peninsula, which visit urban areas, provide a constant risk of infection to local communities. A reduction in spatial overlap between humans and baboons is thus an important measure to reduce both cross-transmission and zoonoses of helminthes in Southern Africa

Estimating the Impact of Consecutive Blood Meals on Vector Competence of <i>Aedes albopictus</i> for Chikungunya Virus

The continuous expansion of Aedes albopictus in Europe and the increases in autochthonous arboviruses transmissions in the region urge a better understanding of the virus transmission dynamic. Recent work described enhanced chikungunya virus (CHIKV) dissemination in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes exposed to a virus-free blood meal three days after their infection with CHIKV. Our study investigated the impact of a second blood meal on the vector competence of Ae. albopictus from southern Switzerland infected with CHIKV. Seven-day-old Ae. albopictus females were exposed to CHIKV-spiked blood and incubated at constant (27 °C) and fluctuating (14–28 °C) temperatures. Four days post-infection (dpi), some of these females were re-fed with a non-infectious blood meal. Virus infectivity, dissemination, transmission rate, and efficiency were investigated at seven and ten dpi. No enhanced dissemination rate was observed among females fed a second time; however, re-fed females have shown higher transmission efficiency than those fed only once after seven days post-infection and incubated under a fluctuating temperature regime. Vector competence for CHIKV was confirmed in Ae. albopictus from southern Switzerland. We did not observe an increase in dissemination rates among mosquitoes fed a second time (second blood meal), regardless of the temperature regime

O doente cirúrgico no período pré-operatório: da informação recebida às necessidades expressas.

Mestrado em Ciências de EnfermagemMaster Degree in Sciences of Nursin

Bacterial diversity in the water column of meromictic Lake Cadagno and evidence for seasonal dynamics.

The meromictic Lake Cadagno is characterized by a compact chemocline with high concentrations of anoxygenic phototrophic purple and green sulfur bacteria. However, a complete picture of the bacterial diversity, and in particular of effects of seasonality and compartmentalization is missing. To characterize bacterial communities and elucidate relationships between them and their surrounding environment high-throughput 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing was conducted. Proteobacteria, Chlorobi, Verrucomicrobia, and Actinobacteria were the dominant groups in Lake Cadagno water column. Moreover, bacterial interaction within the chemocline and between oxic and anoxic lake compartments were investigated through fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and flow cytometry (FCM). The different populations of purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) and green sulfur bacteria (GSB) in the chemocline indicate seasonal dynamics of phototrophic sulfur bacteria composition. Interestingly, an exceptional bloom of a cyanobacteria population in the oxic-anoxic transition zone affected the common spatial distribution of phototrophic sulfur bacteria with consequence on chemocline location and water column stability. Our study suggests that both bacterial interactions between different lake compartments and within the chemocline can be a dynamic process influencing the stratification structure of Lake Cadagno water column

GenBank Accession Numbers for full length ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and ITS1 and ITS2 regions used in this study.

<p>A question mark is indicated when information on living conditions was not explicit in Genbank records.</p

Home ranges of the baboon troops in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, from which <i>Trichuris</i> sp. specimens were collected.

<p>Urban areas are shaded in grey and the border of Cape of Good Hope section of the Table Mountain National Park is outlined (dashed line).</p

Neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree based on a MUSCLE alignment of <i>ITS2</i> sequences from <i>Trichuris</i> spp. isolated from human, non-human primates and pigs.

<p>Bootstrap values are indicated as percentages on the branches of the consensus tree which was inferred from 1000 replicates <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0044187#pone.0044187-Felsenstein1" target="_blank">[33]</a>. The tree was rooted with <i>T. ovis and T. discolor</i>. The evolutionary distances were computed using the Tajima-Nei method <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0044187#pone.0044187-Tajima1" target="_blank">[32]</a> and the scale represents the number of base substitutions per site. Branches corresponding to Clade DG are highlighted in blue, while branches corresponding to the Clades CP-GOB and <i>T. suis</i> are highlighted in green and pink respectively. Clones H5a and H5k, H7b and H7e, H8b and H8c, derived from the worms H5, H7 and H8 <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0044187#pone.0044187-Nissen1" target="_blank">[18]</a> which clustered to different clades respectively, are highlighted with red stars.</p