Occurrence of cryptosporidial oocysts and Giardia cysts in bottled mineral water commercialized in the city of Campinas, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

The consumption of bottled mineral water has significantly increased in Brazil so that it is in the interest of public health to determine the parasitological and microbiological status of some brands of Brazilian mineral water available in the town of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. For this purpose, detection of protozoa by direct immunofluorescence technique and microbiological parameters were determined for each specimen after membrane,filtration. Giardia cysts were not present while crytosporidial oocysts were detected in two samples. The counts of protozoa varied from 0.2 to 0.5 oocvsts/l. The detected level of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and heterotrophic bacteria reflected the level of organic enrichment of the water.97220520

Occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in small wildlife mammals from three mountainous areas in the Brazilian Southeastern region

This study describes infection of Cryptosporidium spp in the natural fauna of small wildlife mammals in the Serra da Mantiqueira region. These protozoa were detected by a modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique and a direct immunofluorescent assay. From 240 captured animals, acid-resistant structures were observed in the feces of 39 specimens, and these structures were confirmed to be C. muris (5.1%) or C. parvum (5.1%) by the direct immunofluorescent assay.561253

Comparison of two methodologies for detection of Giardia spp. cysts and Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts in activated sludge samples from a sewage treatment plant in the city of Campinas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. are recognized worldwide as highly infectious protozoan parasites that can cause severe gastrointestinal disease in humans and animals. The detection of these pathogens in activated sludge samples becomes interesting since there is an increasing trend for the use of sewage sludge (biosolids) in agriculture. A total of 22 samples were collected and evaluated by means of Centrifugal - Concentration, followed or not followed by a purification process (ether clarification and sucrose flotation). Student t tests for comparison of the two procedures indicated a higher recovery rate of Giardia cysts with Centrifugal - Concentration; with regard to Cryptosporidium oocysts, no significant differences were found between the two methods, as only two samples were positive. The Centrifugal - Concentration procedure was shown to be the simplest and cheapest to perform, as emphasized by the efficiency recovery results.5460961