Seronegative disseminated Bartonella spp. infection in an immunocompromised patient

An 11 year old, hispanic girl with a history of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia was admitted to the hospital for symptoms compatible with Bartonella henselae infection. The first molecularly diagnosed case of disseminated Bartonella henselae infection was reported in an immunocompromised patient in Lima, Peru. The analysis was confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction and automated sequencing of a liver biopsy sample, even though the serologic tests were negative. In conclusion, Bartonella spp. infection should have a particular diagnostic consideration in immunocompromised patients with fever of unknown origin and further investigation regarding the patient's past exposures with cats should also be elicited

A silent public health threat: emergence of Mayaro virus and co-infection with Dengue in Peru

Objective: To describe frequency and clinical characteristics of MAYV infection in Piura, as well as the association of this pathogen with DENV. Results: A total of 86/496 (17.3%) cases of MAYV were detected, of which 54 were MAYV mono-infection and 32 were co-infection with DENV, accounting for 10.9% and 6.4%, respectively. When evaluating monoinfection by MAYV the main groups were 18–39 and 40–59 years old, with 25.9% and 20.4% respectively. Co-infections were more common in the age group 18–39 and those > 60 years old, with 34.4% and 21.9%, respectively. The most frequent clinical presentation were headaches (94.4%, 51/54) followed by arthralgias (77.8%, 42/54). During the 8-month study period the most cases were identified in the months of May (29.1%) and June (50.0%).National Research Foundation of KoreaRevisión por pare

Co-infection with Bartonella bacilliformis and Mycobacterium spp. in a coastal region of Peru

Abstract Objective This study investigated an outbreak of Bartonellosis in a coastal region in Peru. Results A total of 70 (n = 70) samples with clinical criteria for the acute phase of Bartonellosis and a positive peripheral blood smear were included. 22.85% (n = 16) cases of the samples were positive for Bartonella bacilliformis by PCR and automatic sequencing. Of those positive samples, 62.5% (n = 10) cases were positive only for B. bacilliformis and 37.5% (n = 6) cases were positive to both Mycobacterium spp. and B. bacilliformis. The symptom frequencies were similar in patients diagnosed with Carrion’s disease and those co-infected with Mycobacterium spp. The most common symptoms were headaches, followed by malaise and arthralgia

Desarrollo de una prueba inmunocromatográfica para la detección rápida de Bartonella bacilliformis

Background: Carrión's disease is an important disease that requires a timely diagnosis and management to reduce its morbimortality. Objective: Develop a lateral flow assay for the rapid detection of Bartonella bacilliformis using colloidal gold-labeled rabbit polyclonal antibodies. Materials and methods: Polyclonal antibodies against Bartonella bacilliformis were produced by the immunization of rabbits with GroEL protein purified from Bartonella bacilliformis. Colloidal gold of 40 nm was used for the conjugation process with the rabbit polyclonal antibodies. The analytical sensitivity was evaluated by testing solutions of B. bacilliformis with different concentrations ranging between 1 x 101 to 1 x 105 CFU/mL. Analytical specificity was determined by testing cross-reactivity with microorganisms from different species, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus viridans, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Candida spp. Results: The optimal concentrations for the capture antibody and the coating antibody (T-line) were 2 mg / mL and 0.4 mg / mL, respectively. The analytical sensitivity was determined to be between 1x102 CFU/mL and 1x101 CFU/mL. There were no cross-reactions observed with the groups of bacteria used in this study. We determined that the flowing time and volume required for an optimum signal to be generated was 20 minutes and 50 µL, respectively. Conclusions: We developed the first gold-based lateral flow assay for the rapid, sensitive and specific detection of Bartonella bacilliformis using polyclonal antibodies against the protein GroEL, which needs to be validated in future studies.TesisEsta tesis se encuentra en proceso de registro como patente

Helicobacter pylori and its relationship with variations of gut microbiota in asymptomatic children between 6 and 12 years

Abstract Objective To determine the variations in the composition of the intestinal microbiota in asymptomatic children infected with Helicobacter pylori in comparison with children without the infection. Results Children infected with H. pylori doubled their probability of presenting 3 of 9 genera of bacteria from the gut microbiota, including: Proteobacteria (p = 0.008), Clostridium (p = 0.040), Firmicutes (p = 0.001) and Prevotella (p = 0.006) in comparison to patients without the infection. We performed a nutritional assessment and found that growth stunting was statistically significantly higher in patients infected with H. pylori (p = 0.046)

Antibacterial Activity and Cytotoxic Effect of Pelargonium peltatum (Geranium) against Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis

Objective. To evaluate the in vitro antibacterial and cytotoxic properties of the methanolic extract of Pelargonium peltatum (geranium) against Streptococcus mutans (ATCC 25175) and Streptococcus sanguinis (ATCC 10556). Methods. Three extracts of P. peltatum were prepared using the leaf, stem, and root. Nine independent assays were prepared for each type of extract with chlorhexidine at 0.12% as the positive control. The agar diffusion method was performed to determine the antibacterial properties of each extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using the microdilution method, and the cytotoxicity was analyzed by means of the MTT reduction test using a MDCK cell line. Results. The root extract had the highest antibacterial effect with a mean result of (27.68 ± 0.97) mm and (30.80 ± 0.55) mm against S. mutans and S. sanguinis, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration for the leaf and root extracts was 250 mg/mL for S. mutans and 125 mg/mL for S. sanguinis. Cytotoxicity assays showed that both extracts had a low cytotoxicity at high concentrations. The cellular viability was highest for the root extract at 95.3% followed by the stem extract at 80.8% and finally the leaf extract with 75.4%. Conclusions. These findings show the antibacterial properties of the methanolic extracts of P. pelargonium against S. mutans and S. sanguinis. These extracts were not cytotoxic at high concentrations

Is glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency more prevalent in Carrion's disease endemic areas in Latin America?

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is a cytoplasmic enzyme with an important function in cell oxidative damage prevention. Erythrocytes have a predisposition towards oxidized environments due to their lack of mitochondria, giving G6PD a major role in its stability. G6PD deficiency (G6PDd) is the most common enzyme deficiency in humans; it affects approximately 400 million individuals worldwide. The overall G6PDd allele frequency across malaria endemic countries is estimated to be 8%, corresponding to approximately 220 million males and 133 million females. However, there are no reports on the prevalence of G6PDd in Andean communities where bartonellosis is prevalent

MOESM1 of Helicobacter pylori and its relationship with variations of gut microbiota in asymptomatic children between 6 and 12Â years

Additional file 1: Table S1. Nutritional status assessment in relation to the presence of H. pylori and the number of bacterial genre present in the intestinal microbiota