Leishmaniose visceral canina e doença de Chagas em cães de Araguaína, Tocantins

The present study analyzed serum samples from 111 male and female dogs of various ages from the municipality\ud of Araguaína in the State of Tocantins, Brazil. Serological diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) was initially\ud performed at the Central Laboratory (Laboratório Central – LACEN) of Araguaína, resulting in 61 positive samples\ud by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) (≥1:40) and 50 non-reactive samples. The same samples were analyzed\ud at the São Paulo Institute of Tropical Medicine (Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo – IMTSP) by an enzyme-\ud linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), resulting in 57 positive samples (51.35%) and 54 negative samples (48.64%).\ud The Kappa coefficient of agreement between the tests was 0.74. The serum samples were also subjected to a diagnostic\ud assay for\ud Trypanosoma cruzi (Trypomastigote Excreted/Secreted Antigens\ud -TESA-blot) that detected five suspect animals;\ud three of those animals were positive for leishmaniasis by ELISA but negative by IIFA. These findings suggest that the\ud canine population of Araguaína may be simultaneously infected with\ud Leishmania chagasi\ud and\ud T. cruzi.\ud The results\ud obtained demonstrate the difficulty of using serology to detect CVL, thus emphasizing the necessity for a reference test\ud to diagnose CVL, particularly in regions where the infection is endemic.Neste estudo foram analisadas amostras de soros de 111 cães machos e fêmeas, de idades variadas, provenientes\ud do município de Araguaína, estado do Tocantins, Brasil. O diagnóstico sorológico para leishmaniose visceral canina\ud foi realizado, inicialmente, no Laboratório Central (LACEN) de Araguaína, resultando em 61 amostras positivas\ud na Reação de Imunofluorescência Indireta - RIFI (≥1:40) e 50 amostras não reativas. As mesmas amostras foram\ud analisadas no Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo (IMTSP) pelo\ud Enzyme-Linked-Immunosorbent Assay\ud (ELISA), sendo 57 amostras positivas (51,35%) e 54 amostras negativas (48,64%), com coeficiente de concordância\ud entre os testes (Kappa = 0,74). Os soros foram submetidos também a um teste de diagnóstico para\ud Trypanosoma cruzi\ud (Trypomastigote Excreted/Secreted Antigens\ud -TESA-\ud blot\ud ), o qual detectou cinco animais suspeitos, dos quais três foram\ud positivos para leishmaniose no ELISA, mas negativos na RIFI. Estas observações mostram que a população canina de\ud Araguaína pode também estar infectada simultaneamente com\ud Leishmania chagasi\ud e\ud T. cruzi.\ud Estes resultados mostram\ud a dificuldade da sorologia na detecção da Leishmaniose Visceral Canina (LVC), reforçando a necessidade de um teste de\ud referência para o diagnóstico da leishmaniose visceral canina, principalmente em regiões endêmicas para tais infecções

Leishmaniose visceral canina e doença de Chagas em cães de Araguaína, Tocantins

The present study analyzed serum samples from 111 male and female dogs of various ages from the municipality\ud of Araguaína in the State of Tocantins, Brazil. Serological diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) was initially\ud performed at the Central Laboratory (Laboratório Central – LACEN) of Araguaína, resulting in 61 positive samples\ud by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) (≥1:40) and 50 non-reactive samples. The same samples were analyzed\ud at the São Paulo Institute of Tropical Medicine (Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo – IMTSP) by an enzyme-\ud linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), resulting in 57 positive samples (51.35%) and 54 negative samples (48.64%).\ud The Kappa coefficient of agreement between the tests was 0.74. The serum samples were also subjected to a diagnostic\ud assay for\ud Trypanosoma cruzi (Trypomastigote Excreted/Secreted Antigens\ud -TESA-blot) that detected five suspect animals;\ud three of those animals were positive for leishmaniasis by ELISA but negative by IIFA. These findings suggest that the\ud canine population of Araguaína may be simultaneously infected with\ud Leishmania chagasi\ud and\ud T. cruzi.\ud The results\ud obtained demonstrate the difficulty of using serology to detect CVL, thus emphasizing the necessity for a reference test\ud to diagnose CVL, particularly in regions where the infection is endemic.Neste estudo foram analisadas amostras de soros de 111 cães machos e fêmeas, de idades variadas, provenientes\ud do município de Araguaína, estado do Tocantins, Brasil. O diagnóstico sorológico para leishmaniose visceral canina\ud foi realizado, inicialmente, no Laboratório Central (LACEN) de Araguaína, resultando em 61 amostras positivas\ud na Reação de Imunofluorescência Indireta - RIFI (≥1:40) e 50 amostras não reativas. As mesmas amostras foram\ud analisadas no Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo (IMTSP) pelo\ud Enzyme-Linked-Immunosorbent Assay\ud (ELISA), sendo 57 amostras positivas (51,35%) e 54 amostras negativas (48,64%), com coeficiente de concordância\ud entre os testes (Kappa = 0,74). Os soros foram submetidos também a um teste de diagnóstico para\ud Trypanosoma cruzi\ud (Trypomastigote Excreted/Secreted Antigens\ud -TESA-\ud blot\ud ), o qual detectou cinco animais suspeitos, dos quais três foram\ud positivos para leishmaniose no ELISA, mas negativos na RIFI. Estas observações mostram que a população canina de\ud Araguaína pode também estar infectada simultaneamente com\ud Leishmania chagasi\ud e\ud T. cruzi.\ud Estes resultados mostram\ud a dificuldade da sorologia na detecção da Leishmaniose Visceral Canina (LVC), reforçando a necessidade de um teste de\ud referência para o diagnóstico da leishmaniose visceral canina, principalmente em regiões endêmicas para tais infecções

HUMAN TOXOPLASMOSIS OUTBREAKS AND THE AGENT INFECTING FORM. FINDINGS FROM A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Toxoplasmosis, a worldwide highly prevalent zoonotic infection, is transmitted either by the oocysts, from water and soil, or the tissue cysts, in raw or undercooked infected meat, of Toxoplasma gondii. An ongoing debate is whether there are differences between the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the outbreaks due to one or the other infective form of the agent. We performed a systematic review, recovering 437 reported outbreaks of which 38 were selected. They were complete reports containing ascribed Toxoplasma infecting form, and clinical and demographic data. There was no gender or age group selection in the outbreaks, which were described more often in the Americas. A large number of individuals were affected when oocysts, associated with soil and water contaminated with cat feces, were considered the transmission source. Onset of symptoms occurred early when the infection was ascribed to meat tissue cysts (11.4 ± 6.7 days) with sharpened temporal distribution of cases, while a broader and prolonged appearance of new cases was observed when oocysts in water were the source of the infection (20 ± 7 days, p < 0.001). Such information may be useful in the design and implementation of control strategies.Toxoplasmose, infecção zoonótica altamente prevalente no mundo, é transmitida pela ingestão de oocistos em água e solo ou cistos teciduais em carne crua ou mal cozida. Um debate em andamento é se há diferenças nas características clínicas e epidemiológicas de surtos devido a uma ou outra forma infectante do agente. Realizamos revisão sistemática a partir de 437 relatos de surtos da doença, selecionando 38 artigos completos que descreveram a forma infectante do Toxoplasmacom dados clínicos e epidemiológicos. Não houve seleção por gênero ou faixa etária nos surtos, descritos mais frequentemente nas Américas. Quantidade maior de indivíduos foi afetada quando oocistos, associados com solo ou água contaminados com fezes de gato, foram considerados a fonte de transmissão. O início dos sintomas ocorreu mais precocemente quando a infecção foi atribuída a cistos na carne (11,4 ± 6,7 dias) com distribuição temporal nítida de casos, embora um aspecto mais amplo e prolongado de novos casos foi observado quando oocistos na água foram a fonte de infecção (20 ± 7 dias, p< 0.001). Essas informações podem ser úteis no desenvolvimento e implantação de estratégias de controle

Case-control study of an outbreak of acute toxoplasmosis in an industrial plant in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Foodborne diseases represent operational risks in industrial restaurants. We described an outbreak of nine clustered cases of acute illness resembling acute toxoplasmosis in an industrial plant with 2300 employees. These patients and another 36 similar asymptomatic employees were diagnosed with anti-T. gondii IgG titer and avidity by ELISA. We excluded 14 patients based on high IgG avidity and chronic toxoplasmosis: 13 from controls and one from acute disease other than T. gondii infection. We also identified another three asymptomatic employees with T.gondii acute infection and also anti-T. gondii IgM positive as remaining acute cases. Case control study was conducted by interview in 11 acute infections and 20 negative controls. The ingestion of green vegetables, but not meat or water, was observed to be associated with the incidence of acute disease. These data reinforce the importance of sanitation control in industrial restaurants and also demonstrate the need for improvement in quality control regarding vegetables at risk for T. gondii oocyst contamination. We emphasized the accurate diagnosis of indexed cases and the detection of asymptomatic infections to determine the extent of the toxoplasmosis outbreak