Sporotrichosis: an update on epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, laboratory and clinical therapeutics

In the late 90' s there was a change in both the route of transmission and the people at risk for sporotrichosis. This zoonotic cat-man alternative transmission route elicited changes in strategies to control the epidemic. There was a progressive increase in the number of cases involving especially children and the elderly. In addition to becoming hyperendemic, uncommon clinical pictures like immunoreactive clinical presentations or severe systemic cases have emerged. New species were identified and classified through molecular tools using more virulent clinical isolates, like S. brasiliensis, compared to the environmental isolates. Likewise, different species of Sporothrix have been associated with different geographic regions. The serological and molecular techniques are used as an auxiliary tool for the diagnosis and/or for species identification, although the isolation and the identification of Sporothrix spp. in clinical specimen is still the gold standard. Currently sporotrichosis epidemics requires the knowledge of the epidemiological-molecular profile to control the disease and the specific treatment. Itraconazole, potassium iodide, terfinafine, and amphotericin B are the available drugs in Brazil to treat sporotrichosis. The drug of choice, its posology, and treatment duration vary according to the clinical presentation, the Sporothrix species, and host immune status. New treatment choices, including a vaccine, are being developednevertheless, more clinical trials are required to confirm its efficacy.Univ Estado Rio De Janeiro, FCM, Dermatol Dept, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilFundação Oswaldo Cruz INI Fiocruz, Infect Dermatol Clin Res Lab, Inst Nacl Infectol Evandro Chagas, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed São Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Lab Emerging Fungal Pathogen, São Paulo, SP, BrazilHosp Univ Pedro Ernesto, Med Mycol Lab, Dermatol Dept, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed São Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Lab Emerging Fungal Pathogen, São Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Educomunicação e alfabetização midiática: conceitos, práticas e interlocuções

O livro organizado por Ismar de Oliveira Soares, Claudemir Edson Viana e Jurema Brasil Xavier apresenta uma série de artigos sobre o tema divididos em quatro partes: 1-Atualizando conceitos e práticas; 2-A educação midiática em diálogo com o currículo escolar; 3-A Educomunicação em interlocução com as políticas públicas; e, 4-A Educomunicação em interlocução com as políticas públicas. A obra dedica seus 24 artigos especificamente aos saberes e às práticas inerentes ao tema da alfabetização midiática. Numa perspectiva multidisciplinar, os leitores aqui encontrarão experiências alimentadas tanto pelos referenciais da mídia-educação quanto pelo paradigma da Educomunicação, que emerge dos movimentos sociais da América Latina, na confluência entre a comunicação alternativa e a educação popular freiriana, a partir dos anos de 1960 e 1970

Anais do V Encontro Brasileiro de Educomunicação: Educação midiática e políticas públicas

A presente coletânea, que chega ao público através de um suporte digital, tem como objetivo disponibilizar os papers, bem como os relatos de experiências educomunicativas apresentados durante o V ENCONTRO BRASILEIRO DE EDUCOMUNICAÇÃO, que teve como tema central: “Educação Midiática e Políticas Públicas”. O evento foi realizado em São Paulo, entre 19 e 21 de setembro de 2013, a partir de uma parceria entre o NCE/USP - Núcleo de Comunicação e Educação da USP, a Licenciatura em Educomunicação da ECA/USP, a ABPEducom – Associação Brasileira de Pesquisadores e Profissionais da Educomunicação e a FAPCOM – Faculdade Paulus de Tecnologia e Comunicação, que ofereceu seu campus, na Vila Mariana, para os atos do evento. Os presentes anais disponibilizam o texto de abertura, de autoria do coordenador geral do evento, denominado “Educação midiática e políticas públicas: vertentes históricas da emergência da Educomunicação na América Latina”. Na sequência, apresentam 61 papers sobre aspectos específicos da temática geral, resultantes de pesquisas na área, seguidos de 27 relatos de práticas educomunicativas, em nível nacional

SARS-CoV-2 Post-Infection and Sepsis by Saccharomyces cerevisiae: A Fatal Case Report—Focus on Fungal Susceptibility and Potential Virulence Attributes

The pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for approximately 6.8 million deaths worldwide, threatening more than 753 million individuals. People with severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection often exhibit an immunosuppression condition, resulting in greater chances of developing co-infections with bacteria and fungi, including opportunistic yeasts belonging to the Saccharomyces and Candida genera. In the present work, we have reported the case of a 75-year-old woman admitted at a Brazilian university hospital with an arterial ulcer in the left foot, which was being prepared for surgical amputation. The patient presented other underlying diseases and presented positive tests for COVID-19 prior to hospitalization. She received antimicrobial treatment, but her general condition worsened quickly, leading to death by septic shock after 4 days of hospitalization. Blood samples collected on the day she died were positive for yeast-like organisms, which were later identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae by both biochemical and molecular methods. The fungal strain exhibited low minimal inhibitory concentration values for the antifungal agents tested (amphotericin B, 5-flucytosine, caspofungin, fluconazole and voriconazole), and it was able to produce important virulence factors, such as extracellular bioactive molecules (e.g., aspartic peptidase, phospholipase, esterase, phytase, catalase, hemolysin and siderophore) and biofilm. Despite the activity against planktonic cells, the antifungals were not able to impact the mature biofilm parameters (biomass and viability). Additionally, the S. cerevisiae strain caused the death of Tenebrio molitor larvae, depending on the fungal inoculum, and larvae immunosuppression with corticosteroids increased the larvae mortality rate. In conclusion, the present study highlighted the emergence of S. cerevisiae as an opportunistic fungal pathogen in immunosuppressed patients presenting several severe comorbidities, including COVID-19 infection

Cutaneous murine model of infection caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum: a preliminary study of an emerging human pathogen

Neoscytalidium dimidiatum is an emerging fungus that causes a skin infection similar to dermatophytosisit affects both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals, and it may invade deeper tissues and organs and cause systemic disease. Little is known about the etiopathogenesis of the infection caused by this fungus, and no standard effective treatment is available. The aim of the present experimental study was to develop an animal model of skin infection with N. dimidiatum. BALB/c mice were inoculated with two fungal strains, and different routes of infection were tested. When challenged intradermally, N. dimidiatum strain HUPE164165 caused skin infection in 67% of the animals whereas strain HUPE115669 did it in 49%. Neoscytalidium dimidiatum was isolated from the skin of 25% of the animals inoculated via epidermal scarification and from 100% of the animals challenged via subcutaneous injection. Mice inoculated intradermally were followed-up during four weeks, and clinical samples were collected on days 3, 8, 15, and 29 after inoculation, corresponding to different stages of infection. The cutaneous infection rate, as measured by the recovery of N. dimidiatum strain HUPE164165 from skin biopsies of animals inoculated intradermally, revealed the presence of infection in 90% of the animals sacrificed at 3 days post-inoculation, 71% at 8, 85% at 15, and 33% at 29. Conidia and hyphae were observed in PAS-stained sections as well as a mild to moderate inflammatory infiltrate in haematoxylin-eosin, although it did not differ from animals inoculated either with T. quinckeanum or PBS. The intradermal route of inoculation was considered to be suitable for the study of skin infection with N. dimidiatum. The animal model developed in this preliminary study is the first to allow the study of cutaneous infection with N. dimidiatum and may contribute to further investigations of the aetiology, immunology, pathogenesis and treatment targeting this emerging mycosis.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - UERJUniv Estado Rio de Janeiro UERJ, Med Mycol Lab, Dept Dermatol, Rio De Janeiro, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Estado Rio De Janeiro, Dept Dermatol, Dermatopathol, Rio De Janeiro, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

SARS-CoV-2 Post-Infection and Sepsis by <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em>: A Fatal Case Report—Focus on Fungal Susceptibility and Potential Virulence Attributes

The pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for approximately 6.8 million deaths worldwide, threatening more than 753 million individuals. People with severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection often exhibit an immunosuppression condition, resulting in greater chances of developing co-infections with bacteria and fungi, including opportunistic yeasts belonging to the Saccharomyces and Candida genera. In the present work, we have reported the case of a 75-year-old woman admitted at a Brazilian university hospital with an arterial ulcer in the left foot, which was being prepared for surgical amputation. The patient presented other underlying diseases and presented positive tests for COVID-19 prior to hospitalization. She received antimicrobial treatment, but her general condition worsened quickly, leading to death by septic shock after 4 days of hospitalization. Blood samples collected on the day she died were positive for yeast-like organisms, which were later identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae by both biochemical and molecular methods. The fungal strain exhibited low minimal inhibitory concentration values for the antifungal agents tested (amphotericin B, 5-flucytosine, caspofungin, fluconazole and voriconazole), and it was able to produce important virulence factors, such as extracellular bioactive molecules (e.g., aspartic peptidase, phospholipase, esterase, phytase, catalase, hemolysin and siderophore) and biofilm. Despite the activity against planktonic cells, the antifungals were not able to impact the mature biofilm parameters (biomass and viability). Additionally, the S. cerevisiae strain caused the death of Tenebrio molitor larvae, depending on the fungal inoculum, and larvae immunosuppression with corticosteroids increased the larvae mortality rate. In conclusion, the present study highlighted the emergence of S. cerevisiae as an opportunistic fungal pathogen in immunosuppressed patients presenting several severe comorbidities, including COVID-19 infection