Prevalência baixa de adenovírus em crianças com diarreia em Belo Horizonte-MG Low prevalence of adenoviruses in children with acute diarrhea in Belo Horizonte-MG

INTRODUÇÃO: Diversos microrganismos são reconhecidos como agentes de diarreia aguda, entre eles, os adenovírus, cuja associação com a doença apresenta variações geográficas e é pouco conhecida no Brasil. OBJETIVOS: Investigar a presença de adenovírus em fezes de crianças com diarreia aguda e sem diarreia, em Belo Horizonte-MG, e estudar os fatores epidemiológicos associados à adenovirose intestinal. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: O teste imunocromatográfico qualitativo (kit VIKIA® Rota-Adeno, bioMérieux) foi utilizado para pesquisa de antígenos de adenovírus em amostras fecais obtidas de 268 crianças com diarreia aguda e 124 sem diarreia, em 2005 e 2006, no Hospital Infantil João Paulo II, Belo Horizonte-MG. Dados laboratoriais, clínicos e epidemiológicos foram registrados em banco de dados (SPSS Statistical package, IBM). RESULTADOS: Adenovírus foi detectado nas fezes de 16 crianças (4,1%): 12 (4,5%) com diarreia e quatro (3,2%) sem diarreia. A virose foi mais comum em meninas e a distribuição etária da infecção foi homogênea. Entre as 16 crianças com infecção pelo vírus, 11 (68,8%) tinham até 12 meses de idade. Entretanto, diferença significativa não foi observada para os parâmetros analisados. Distribuição sazonal da infecção por adenovírus não foi detectada. CONCLUSÃO: Nossos dados demonstram que a prevalência da adenovirose é baixa na população pediátrica no nosso meio.<br>INTRODUCTION: Several microorganisms, among them enteric adenovirus, are widely recognized as etiological agents of acute diarrhea. The association between adenovirus and the disease varies among geographical regions and is poorly known in Brazil. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the presence of adenovirus in stool samples from children with and without diarrhea in Belo Horizonte-MG. To study factors associated with enteric adenovirus infection. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A qualitative immunochromatographic assay (kit VIKIA® Rota-Adeno, bioMérieux) was performed to detect adenovirus antigens in stool samples from 268 children with acute diarrhea and 124 without diarrhea at Hospital Infantil João Paulo II from January/2005 to December/2006. Clinical, laboratory, and epidemiologic data were recorded in SPSS database (SPSS Statistical package, IBM). RESULTS: Adenovirus was detected in 16 samples (4.1%): 12 of them (4.5%) were from children with acute diarrhea and 4 of them (3.2%) from children without diarrhea. The viral infection was more prevalent among girls and the age distribution was homogenous. Among the 16 children infected by adenovirus,11 (68.8%) were younger than 12 months old. However, no significant statistical difference was observed within the analyzed parameters. There was no seasonal distribution of adenovirus infection. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that the prevalence of enteric adenovirus infection is low among children with diarrhea in Belo Horizonte-MG

Prevalence of Salmonella enterica in children aged less than 5 years with acute diarrhea and controls in Teresina-PI

We investigated the prevalence of Salmonella enterica (SE) among children (n = 400/250 with diarrhea) in Teresina-PI from 2004 to 2007. SE Newport was isolated from two samples and O-C2-C3-ND, Enteritidis, and Muenchen serological variants were isolated from one sample each. SE infection was more prevalent among children aged less than six months. Increased fecal volume, 3-10 evacuations/day, vomit and fever were reported for all cases. Resistance to nalidixic acid (NAL) and sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SXT) was ubiquitous. Our data substantiate the need for monitoring SE infections worldwide and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance

Shigella in Brazilian children with acute diarrhoea: prevalence, antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes

Diarrhoeal disease is still considered a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children. Among diarrhoeagenic agents, Shigella should be highlighted due to its prevalence and the severity of the associated disease. Here, we assessed Shigella prevalence, drug susceptibility and virulence factors. Faeces from 157 children with diarrhoea who sought treatment at the Children's Hospital João Paulo II, a reference children´s hospital in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were cultured and drug susceptibility of the Shigella isolates was determined by the disk diffusion technique. Shigella virulence markers were identified by polymerase chain reaction. The bacterium was recovered from 10.8% of the children (88.2% Shigella sonnei). The ipaH, iuc, sen and ial genes were detected in strains isolated from all shigellosis patients; set1A was only detected in Shigella flexneri. Additionally, patients were infected by Shigella strains of different ial, sat, sen and set1A genotypes. Compared to previous studies, we observed a marked shift in the distribution of species from S. flexneri to S. sonnei and high rates of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection in a Rural Area of the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection was evaluated by ELISA in 40 children and teenagers and in 164 adults from a rural area of the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Antibodies to H. pylori were detected in the serum of 31 (77.5%) children and teenagers and in 139 (84.7%) adults. The prevalence of infection increased with age (c^2 for trend, p { 0.01) even though no variations occurred in the region in the present century in terms of living conditions or sanitation, economical development and migratory influx supporting the hypothesis that the infection is also acquired during later life in developing countries. An inverse correlation was observed between the prevalence of infection and annual family income (c^2 for trend, p { 0.013). There was no correlation between type of system for sewage disposal and prevalence of infection (p = 0.8). In conclusion, the prevalence of H. pylori infection in Nossa Senhora do Livramento, a rural area from Brazil, is very high and similar to that observed in other developing countries. Furthermore, the increase in the prevalence of infection with age observed in this population seems to be due to both, cohort effect and acquisition of the infection during later life