Poliomielite – erradicação ou controle?

A poliomielite é uma doença infecciosa aguda causada pelo poliovírus, afeta o sistema nervoso central e leva à destruição de neurônios motores, resultando em paralisia flácida. O vírus pertence à família Picornaviridae e é constituído por RNA de fita simples de polaridade positiva e capsídeo icosaédrico. A doença está sob controle na maior parte do mundo, devido ao uso da vacina a partir de 1955 e a consolidação das medidas imunoprofiláticas, através do programa de imunização massiva iniciada na década de setenta. Entretanto, a ameaça de sua re-emergência persiste. Apesar dos intensos esforços para a erradicação da doença, prevista pela OMS para o ano de 2000, a doença permanece endêmica na Nigéria, Paquistão e Afeganistão. As vacinas de vírus inativado (VIP) (Salk) e atenuado (VOP) (Sabin) começaram a ser usadas, respectivamente, nas décadas de 50 e 60. No Brasil, o Plano Nacional de Imunização Antipoliomielite, passou a adotar o esquema de vacinação sequencial das duas vacinas, a partir de 2012, até então mantida somente com a VOP. Até que a erradicação do poliovírus seja consolidada, as demais regiões do mundo continuam em risco de importação da doença. Além disso, a poliomielite paralítica associada às cepas derivadas dos vírus vacinais (VDPV) impõe um novo e complexo desafio à erradicação da doença. Esta revisão propõe contextualizar as informações atuais da doença, do agente etiológico, vacinas e suas intercorrências

Comparison of Vitek-2 automated identification system and PCR-ITS for species characterization of clinical isolates of Candida spp

Serious infections caused by genus Candida have become a challenge in the diagnostic question, in order to detect and identify the etiologic agent of agile, precise and standardized form in manner clinical laboratories. The prediction of susceptibility to antifungal agents, and the need to generate epidemiological data highlight the importance of routine identification of yeast species involved in infections. Among the 200 Candida species already described, C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. guilliermondii, C. krusei and C. lusitaniae are most often related with infections in humans. All of the phenotypic methods of identification of Candida have limitations, especially the characterization of the species not C. albicans, however, the application of molecular methods may reflect the increased cost and spent time for obtain results on laboratory. In order to evaluate the implementation of the automated system Vitek 2 ID - YST (bioMerieux) combined with the use of chromogenic agar in the routine identification of Candida species were tested 44 isolates from invasive infection by inoculation of chromogenic agar and automated panel and realization DNA amplification for the internal transcribed spacer regions of rRNA 1 and 2 (ITS - PCR). Oligonucleotides specific species were used and the size of the amplified product was correlated to other results. The automated system identified 95.4 % of the isolates when in association with colonial features observed in chromogenic medium, however, the use of PCR -ITS or more sensitive methodologies would be needed to solve the other results, ambiguous and erroneous

Antiviral Activity of Sulfated Polysaccharide of Adenanthera pavonina against Poliovirus in HEp-2 Cells

Adenanthera pavonina, popularly known as red-bead tree, carolina, pigeon’s eye, and dragon’s eye, is a plant traditionally used in Brazil for the treatment of several diseases. The present study aimed at evaluating the activity of sulfated polysaccharide from the Adenanthera pavonina (SPLSAp) seeds against poliovirus type 1 (PV-1) in HEp-2 cell cultures. The SPLSAp presented a cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of 500 μg/mL in HEp-2 cell cultures, evaluated by the dimethylthiazolyl-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method (MTT). The SPLSAp exhibited a significant antiviral activity, with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 1.18 µg/mL, determined by plaque reduction assay and a high selectivity index (SI) of 423. The maximum inhibition (100%) of PV replication was found when the SPLSAp treatment was concomitant with viral infection (time 0 h), at all tested concentrations. The maximal inhibition was also found when the SPLSAp was used 1 h and 2 h postinfection, albeit at 50 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL. Therefore, we demonstrated that the SPLSAp inhibited PV growth. We also suggested that SPLSAp inhibited PV in more than one step of the replication, as the mechanism of antiviral action. We, therefore, selected the compound as a potential candidate for further development towards the control of the infection

Evolution of resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Londrina University Hospital from 2000 to 2011

The present study aimed to evaluate the evolution of antibiotic resistance in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae in the period of 2000 to 2011, at the University Hospital of Londrina (HU-UEL). A retrospective analysis of 2,318 antimicrobial susceptibility tests of K. pneumoniae was performed from a database of the Clinical Laboratory of Microbiology of the University Hospital. In the period of 2000 to 2009, the main mechanism of resistance observed to ?-lactam antimicrobials was due to the production of ESBL ?-lactamase type (?-lactamase wide spectrum), which can be verified by the increased resistance of K. pneumoniae to 3rd generation cephalosporins and cefepime. However, the first strains of K. pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing appeared in 2009, compromising the efficacy of carbapenems. The rates of resistance to ertapenem ranged from 16%, in 2005, to 40% in 2011. Another class of committed antibiotics was the fluoroquinolones; for ciprofloxacin, resistance rates ranged from 13% to 62%, in 2001 and 2011, respectively. Aminoglycosides exhibited oscillations of resistance during the period studied, reaching, in 2011, values of 56% and 30% for gentamicin and amikacin, respectively. Meanwhile, trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole and piperacillin/tazobactam reached about 60%, in the same period. Therefore, knowing the antimicrobial resistance of K. pneumoniae strains is essential for proper treatment of patients and adoption of appropriate measures that aims infection control, and proper use of these drugs