Succinyl-CoA Synthetase: New Antigen Candidate of Bartonella bacilliformis

BACKGROUND: Bartonella bacilliformis is the causative agent of Carrion's disease, a neglected illness with mortality rates of 40-85% in the absence of treatment. The lack of a diagnostic technique to overcome misdiagnosis and treat asymptomatic carriers is of note. This study aimed to identify new B. bacilliformis antigenic candidates that could lead to a new diagnostic tool able to be implemented in endemic rural areas. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Blood (n = 198) and serum (n = 177) samples were collected in northern Peru. Clinical data were recorded. Specific 16S rRNA amplification by RT-PCR, IFA and ELISA for IgM/IgG with whole cells as antigens was done. Western blot analysis and N-terminal amino acid sequencing detected seroreactive proteins. ELISAs for IgM/IgG for the antigenic candidates were performed. Of the population 33.3% reported at least one symptom compatible with Carrion's disease; 25.4% (IFA), 27.1% (ELISA-IgG), 33.9% (ELISA-IgM) and 38.9% (RT-PCR) of samples were positive. Four proteins were considered potential antigenic candidates, including two new antigenic candidates, succinyl-CoA synthetase subunit alpha (SCS-alpha) and succinyl-CoA synthetase subunit beta (SCS-beta). On Western blot both Pap31 and SCS-alpha interacted with IgM, while GroEL and SCS-beta interacted with IgG. The presence of specific antibodies against the antigenic candidates varied from 34.5% (IgG against SCS-alpha) to 97.2% (IgM against Pap31). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: RT-PCR and the high levels of positivity for specific ELISAs demonstrate high levels of B. bacilliformis exposure and asymptomatic carriers among inhabitants. The new antigens identified might be used as a new rapid diagnostic tool to diagnose acute Carrion's disease and identify asymptomatic carriers

Genotype-specific prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in asymptomatic Peruvian women: a community-based study

Objective: To determine the general and genotype-specific prevalence of HPV and to identify potential risk factors for the infection in a population-based screening of Peruvian women. Results: A total of 524 samples were analyzed by PCR and a total of 100 HPV positive samples were found, of which 89 were high-risk, 19 were probably oncogenic, 9 were low-risk and 27 other HPV types. The 26–35 and 36–45 age groups showed the highest proportion of HPV positive samples with a total of 37% (37/100) and 30% (30/100), respectively. Moreover, high-risk HPV was found in 33.7% of both groups and probably oncogenic HPV in 52.6% and 31.6%, respectively. High-risk HPV were the most frequent types identified in the population studied, being HPV-52, HPV-31 and HPV-16 the most commonly detected with 17.6%, 15.7% y 12.9%, respectively. Demographic characteristics and habits were assessed in the studied population. A total of 62% high-risk HPV were detected in married/cohabiting women. Women with two children showed the highest proportion (33.8%) of high-risk HPV, followed by women with only one child (26.9%). Those women without history of abortion had a higher frequency of high-risk HPV (71.9%), followed by those with one abortion (25.8%).Revisión por pare

Engolo and Capoeira. From Ethnic to Diasporic Combat Games in the Southern Atlantic

This article provides a re-examination of the main Afrocentric narrative of capoeira origins, the engolo or ‘Zebra Dance’, in light of historical primary sources and new ethnographic evidence gathered during fieldwork in south-west Angola. By examining engolo’s bodily techniques, its socio-historical context and cultural meanings, the piece emphasises its insertion into a pastoral lifestyle and highlights the relatively narrow ethnic character of the practice in Angola. This analysis and the comparison with capoeira helps us to develop certain hypotheses about the formation, migration, and re-invention of diasporic combat games between southern Angola and coastal Brazil, and more broadly, to increase our understanding of how African cultures spread across the southern Atlantic

Public health utility of cause of death data : applying empirical algorithms to improve data quality

Background: Accurate, comprehensive, cause-specific mortality estimates are crucial for informing public health decision making worldwide. Incorrectly or vaguely assigned deaths, defined as garbage-coded deaths, mask the true cause distribution. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study has developed methods to create comparable, timely, cause-specific mortality estimates; an impactful data processing method is the reallocation of garbage-coded deaths to a plausible underlying cause of death. We identify the pattern of garbage-coded deaths in the world and present the methods used to determine their redistribution to generate more plausible cause of death assignments. Methods: We describe the methods developed for the GBD 2019 study and subsequent iterations to redistribute garbage-coded deaths in vital registration data to plausible underlying causes. These methods include analysis of multiple cause data, negative correlation, impairment, and proportional redistribution. We classify garbage codes into classes according to the level of specificity of the reported cause of death (CoD) and capture trends in the global pattern of proportion of garbage-coded deaths, disaggregated by these classes, and the relationship between this proportion and the Socio-Demographic Index. We examine the relative importance of the top four garbage codes by age and sex and demonstrate the impact of redistribution on the annual GBD CoD rankings. Results: The proportion of least-specific (class 1 and 2) garbage-coded deaths ranged from 3.7% of all vital registration deaths to 67.3% in 2015, and the age-standardized proportion had an overall negative association with the Socio Demographic Index. When broken down by age and sex, the category for unspecified lower respiratory infections was responsible for nearly 30% of garbage-coded deaths in those under 1 year of age for both sexes, representing the largest proportion of garbage codes for that age group. We show how the cause distribution by number of deaths changes before and after redistribution for four countries: Brazil, the United States, Japan, and France, highlighting the necessity of accounting for garbage-coded deaths in the GBD

Influenza Vaccination for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in the Americas: Consensus document of the Inter-American Society of Cardiology and the Word Heart Federation

Background Cardiovascular mortality is decreasing but remains the leading cause of death world-wide. Respiratory infections such as influenza significantly contribute to morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. Despite of proven benefits, influenza vaccination is not fully implemented, especially in Latin America. Objective The aim was to develop a regional consensus with recommendations regarding influenza vaccination and cardiovascular disease. Methods A multidisciplinary team composed by experts in the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease from the Americas, convened by the Inter-American Society of Cardiology (IASC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF), participated in the process and the formulation of statements. The modified RAND/UCLA methodology was used. This document was supported by a grant from the WHF. Results An extensive literature search was divided into seven questions, and a total of 23 conclusions and 29 recommendations were achieved. There was no disagreement among experts in the conclusions or recommendations. Conclusions There is a strong correlation between influenza and cardiovascular events. Influenza vaccination is not only safe and a proven strategy to reduce cardiovascular events, but it is also cost saving. We found several barriers for its global implementation and potential strategies to overcome them

Immunity and vaccine development efforts against Trypanosoma cruzi

Artículo de revisión especializadoTrypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) is the causative agent for Chagas disease (CD). There is a critical lack of methods for prevention of infection or treatment of acute infection and chronic disease. Studies in experimental models have suggested that the protective immunity against T. cruzi infection requires the elicitation of Th1 cytokines, lytic antibodies and the concerted activities of macrophages, T helper cells, and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). In this review, we summarize the research efforts in vaccine development to date and the challenges faced in achieving an efficient prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine against human CD.UTM