Molecular and serological surveys of canine distemper virus : a meta-analysis of crosssectional studies

Background Canine morbillivirus (canine distemper virus, CDV) persists as a serious threat to the health of domestic dogs and wildlife. Although studies have been conducted on the frequency and risk factors associated with CDV infection, there are no comprehensive data on the current epidemiological magnitude in the domestic dog population at regional and national levels. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study and included our results in a meta-analysis to summarize and combine available data on the frequency and potential risk factors associated with CDV infection. Methods For the cross-sectional study, biological samples from dogs suspected to have canine distemper (CD) were collected and screened for viral RNA. Briefly, the PRISMA protocol was used for the meta-analysis, and data analyses were performed using STATA IC 13.1 software. Results CDV RNA was detected in 34% (48/141) of dogs suspected to have CD. Following our meta-analysis, 53 studies were selected for a total of 11,527 dogs. Overall, the pooled frequency of CDV positivity based on molecular and serological results were 33% (95% CI: 23–43) and 46% (95% CI: 36–57), respectively. The pooled subgroup analyses of clinical signs, types of biological samples, diagnostic methods and dog lifestyle had a wide range of CDV positivity (range 8–75%). Free-ranging dogs (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.05–1.97), dogs >24 months old (OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.1–3) and unvaccinated dogs (OR: 2.92, 95% CI: 1.26– 6.77) were found to be positively associated with CDV infection. In contrast, dogs <12 months old (OR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.20–0.64) and dogs with a complete anti-CDV vaccination (OR: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.05–0.59) had a negative association. Conclusion Considering the high frequency of CDV positivity associated with almost all the variables analyzed in dogs, it is necessary to immediately and continuously plan mitigation strategies to reduce the CDV prevalence, especially in determined endemic localities

Candomblé and the Academic's Tools : Religious Expertise and the Binds of Recognition in Brazil

ABSTRACT Latin American state efforts to recognize ethnically and racially marked populations have focused on knowledge and expertise. This article argues that this form of state recognition does not only call on subaltern groups to present themselves in a frame of expertise. It also pushes such groups to position themselves and their social and political struggles in a matrix based on expertise and knowledge. In the context of early 2000s Brazil, the drive to recognition led activists from the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé to reimagine the religion's practitioners? long-term engagements with scholars and scholarly depictions of the religion as a form of epistemological exploitation that had resulted in public misrecognition of the true source of knowledge on the religion: Candomblé practitioners. To remedy this situation, the activists called on Candomblé practitioners to appropriate the ?academic's tools,? the modes of representation by which scholarly expertise and knowledge were performed and recognized by the general public and state officials. This strategy transformed religious structures of expertise and knowledge in ways that established a new, politically efficacious epistemological grounding for Candomblé practitioners? calls for recognition. But it also further marginalized temples with limited connections or access to scholars and higher education. [politics of recognition, politics of expertise, state recognition, Candomblé religion, Brazil]Peer reviewe

Early and Late Pathogenic Events of Newborn Mice Encephalitis Experimentally Induced by Itacaiunas and Curionópolis Bracorhabdoviruses Infection

In previous reports we proposed a new genus for Rhabdoviridae and described neurotropic preference and gross neuropathology in newborn albino Swiss mice after Curionopolis and Itacaiunas infections. In the present report a time-course study of experimental encephalitis induced by Itacaiunas and Curionopolis virus was conducted both in vivo and in vitro to investigate cellular targets and the sequence of neuroinvasion. We also investigate, after intranasal inoculation, clinical signs, histopathology and apoptosis in correlation with viral immunolabeling at different time points. Curionopolis and Itacaiunas viral antigens were first detected in the parenchyma of olfactory pathways at 2 and 3 days post-inoculation (dpi) and the first clinical signs were observed at 4 and 8 dpi, respectively. After Curionopolis infection, the mortality rate was 100% between 5 and 6 dpi, and 35% between 8 and 15 dpi after Itacaiunas infection. We identified CNS mice cell types both in vivo and in vitro and the temporal sequence of neuroanatomical olfactory areas infected by Itacaiunas and Curionopolis virus. Distinct virulences were reflected in the neuropathological changes including TUNEL immunolabeling and cytopathic effects, more intense and precocious after intracerebral or in vitro inoculations of Curionopolis than after Itacaiunas virus. In vitro studies revealed neuronal but not astrocyte or microglial cytopathic effects at 2 dpi, with monolayer destruction occurring at 5 and 7 dpi with Curionopolis and Itacaiunas virus, respectively. Ultrastructural changes included virus budding associated with interstitial and perivascular edema, endothelial hypertrophy, a reduced and/or collapsed small vessel luminal area, thickening of the capillary basement membrane, and presence of phagocytosed apoptotic bodies. Glial cells with viral budding similar to oligodendrocytes were infected with Itacaiunas virus but not with Curionopolis virus. Thus, Curionopolis and Itacaiunas viruses share many pathological and clinical features present in other rhabdoviruses but distinct virulence and glial targets in newborn albino Swiss mice brain

O candomblé da Bahia na década de 1930

O TEXTO resgata a atuação de duas personalidades eminentes do candomblé da Bahia, na década de 1930: o babalaô Martiniano Eliseu do Bonfim e a ialorixá Eugênia Ana dos Santos, a famosa Aninha, do Centro Cruz Santa do Axé do Apo Afonjá. Martiniano, nascido na Bahia, era filho de escravos alforriados, tendo sido enviado por seu pai para estudar a língua ioruba e as tradições africanas em Lagos, na Nigéria. Voltando a Salvador, tornou-se um líder religioso e sempre manteve estreita ligação com destacados intelectuais baianos. Aninha foi outra figura modelar entre as comunidades religiosas de terreiros, destacando-se pela sua indiscutível capacidade de liderança. Tanto Martiniano como Aninha contribuíram para o grande êxito do Segundo Congresso Afro-Brasileiro, realizado em Salvador, em janeiro de 1937.<br>THIS ESSAY recalls the life and work of two eminent personalities of the Candomble religion in Bahia in the 1830s: babalaô [Yoruba priest] Martiniano Eliseu do Bonfim and ialorixá Eugênia Ana dos Santos, the renowned Aninha, spiritual director and priestess of the Cruz Santa do Axé do Apo Afonjá Center. Martiniano, born in Bahia, was the son of emancipated slaves. He was sent by his father to study the Yoruba language and African traditions in Lagos, Nigeria, and upon returning to Salvador, became a religious leader, maintaining close relationships with noted intellectuals from Bahia. Aninha was another model figure among the religious communities of the terreiros [ritual grounds of the Candomble religion], who stood out for her incontrovertible leadership ability. Both Martiniano and Aninha contributed to the huge success of the Second Afro-Brazilian Congress held in Salvador in January 1937

Estudo transversal da letalidade da hantavirose no estado de Goiás, 2007-2013

Resumo OBJETIVO: descrever o perfil epidemiológico e clínico da hantavirose e analisar fatores associados à letalidade em Goiás, Brasil. MÉTODOS: foi conduzido um estudo transversal com dados do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Sinan), referentes ao período de 2007 a 2013, no estado de Goiás. Regressão logística foi empregada para estimar razões de chances (OR) com intervalos de confiança de 95% (IC95%). RESULTADOS: foram notificados 1.171 casos suspeitos de hantavirose e 73 (6,2%) confirmados. Entre os confirmados, observou-se maior frequência entre homens (n=50), febre como sintoma mais frequente (n=70) e elevada proporção de hospitalizações (n=68). A taxa de letalidade foi de 57,5%. Foram fatores associados ao óbito: insuficiência respiratória aguda (IRpA) (OR=3,6; IC95%1,2;10,6), hemoconcentração (OR=3,3; IC95%1,1;7,9) e não uso do respirador mecânico (OR=3,4; IC95%1,3;9,1). Após ajuste, a IRpA permaneceu associada ao óbito (OR=3,4; IC95%1,0;11,6). CONCLUSÃO: foi identificada alta taxa de letalidade, associada principalmente com insuficiência respiratória