Detection of double-stranded RNA viruses in fecal samples of dogs with gastroenteritis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Detecção de vírus com genoma de RNA fita dupla em fezes de cães com gastrenterite no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Colheram-se 163 amostras fecais no período de 1995 a 2001 para investigar a ocorrência da infecção por parvovírus e rotavírus em cães com gastrenterite utilizando-se a técnica de eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida. Em três amostras observou-se a presença do genoma bisegmentado similar ao perfil eletroforético dos picobirnavírus (PBV) e em uma, três segmentos de RNA dupla fita, característico de picotrirnavírus. Das amostras positivas para PBV, duas foram obtidas de filhotes e uma foi positiva para parvovírus canino. Este é o primeiro relato da detecção de vírus com genoma bisegmentado em cães com diarréia no Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Noroviruses associated with acute gastroenteritis in a children's day care facility in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Noroviruses (Norwalk-like viruses) are an important cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. They are the most common cause of outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the adult population and occur in nursing homes for the elderly, geriatric wards, medical wards, and in hotel and restaurant settings. Food-borne outbreaks have also occurred following consumption of contaminated oysters. This study describes the application of a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using random primers (PdN6) and specific Ni and E3 primers, directed at a small region of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase-coding region of the norovirus genome, and DNA sequencing for the detection and preliminary characterisation of noroviruses in outbreaks of gastroenteritis in children in Brazil. The outbreak samples were collected from children <5 years of age at the Bertha Lutz children's day care facility at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, that occurred between 1996 and 1998, where no pathogen had been identified. At the Bertha Lutz day care center facility, only Fiocruz's employee children are provided for, and they come from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds. Three distinct genogroup II strains were detected in three outbreaks in 1997/98 and were most closely related to genotypes GII-3 (Mexico virus) and GII-4 (Grimsby virus), both of which have been detected in paediatric and adult outbreaks of gastroenteritis worldwide

Mycobacterium simiae infection in a patient with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Mycobacterium simiae is usually an environmental contaminant rarely associated with human disease. We report a fatal case of M.simiae infection in a 37 year old, HIV positive, male from whom the organism was isolated from blood culture. The identification of M.simiae was performed using DNA amplification followed by analysis on 3% agarose gel of the amplicon fragments after digestion by restriction endonucleases. The precise identification of mycobacterial isolates to the species level is important, with both epidemiological and therapeutic implications