Estudio de microsporidios en fauna peridoméstica

En este momento se conocen 17 especies de microsporidios patógenas de humanos, causando problemas gastrointestinales autolimitados en la mayoría de afectados, pero con la posibilidad de cronificación y de diseminación a otros órganos en personas inmunodeprimidas, en las que puede desarrollarse una patología grave. Dado que en España no se ha hecho ningún estudio sobre prevalencia de estos parásitos en roedores y que en Canarias solo consta uno realizado en humanos, se ha realizado una búsqueda bibliográfica de los últimos artículos en estos animales para conocer la situación actual y evaluar su papel como posibles reservorios así como el potencial de los microsporidios como agente zoonótico, atendiendo a aspectos como la relación entre el hospedador y el huésped, los métodos y muestras utilizados para el diagnóstico y la extrapolación a las especies habitantes de Canarias.At the moment, 17 microsporidia species are known as pathogen for humans, causing auto limited gastrointestinal problems in most of cases, with the possibility of chronification and dissemination to another organs in immunosuppressed people, which can develop severe disease. Given that there is no research about the prevalence of these parasitic in rodents in Spain and there is just one in the Canary Islands concerning humans, a bibliographic search has been done looking for the last papers about these animals to know the actual situation and to evaluate their labour as possible reservoirs as well as their and the performance of the microsporidia as zoonotic agent, attending aspects like the relationship between host and guest, diagnostic test and samples utilized and extrapolation to resident canary species

Actividad de productos de origen natural frente a kinetoplástidos

Los tratamientos de elección para la leishmaniosis y la enfermedad de Chagas han sido los mismos durante más de 50 años, presentando problemas de toxicidad y eficacia cada vez mayores; sin contar con la dificultad añadida del acceso de la población afectada a los mismos. Estas enfermedades, causadas por protozoos parásitos, afectan a millones de personas alrededor del mundo con cuadros clínicos muy variables y potencialmente mortales. Consideradas como enfermedades tropicales desatendidas por la Organización Mundial de la Salud, por pasar inadvertidas tanto para la sociedad como para la comunidad científica, requieren urgentemente de la investigación de nuevos principios activos para combatirlas. En este estudio se ha realizado un fraccionamiento bioguiado de Streptomyces sanyensis, con el fin de obtener moléculas con buena actividad leishmanicida y tripanocida y baja toxicidad, con relación a los fármacos de referencia.The treatment of choice for leishmaniosis and Chagas disease had been the same one for more than 50 years, which presents growing ineffectiveness and toxicity problems; not counting the trouble of the affected population to get it. These illnesses, caused by parasitic protozoa, harm millions of people worldwide with different and potentially deadly clinical manifestations. Considered as neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization because of being unnoticed for society and scientific community, they require urgent researches on new drugs to fight them. In this study a biomass extract of Streptomyces sanyensis has been fractioned and tried in order to obtain molecules with better antileishmanial and antitrypanosomal activities and lower toxic effects than the current treatments

New Data on Pterygodermatites ( Pterygodermatites) plagiostoma Wedl, 1861 (Nematoda, Rictulariidae) Parasite of the Algerian Hedgehog Atelerix algirus Linnaeus, 1758 (Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae) from the Canary Islands

A redescription of the rictulariid nematode Pterygodermatites (Pterygodermatites) plagiostoma Wedl, 1861, is made by means of light and scanning electron microscopy, including the first data on male specimens. The morphologic study was based on specimens recovered from two Algerian hedgehogs (Atelerix algirus) from Tenerife and Gran Canaria islands (Canary Archipelago, Spain). The main characteristics of P. (P.) plagiostoma males are the presence of 49-53 pairs of cuticular projections, the presence of one or two midventral precloacal fans (generally one), and the size of two unequal spicules, measuring 98-123 µm (right spicule) and 185-236 µm (left spicule). The cloacal papillae are arranged according to the Ascaridida type. They include two precloacal pairs, an unpaired precloacal papilla, one pair lateral to the cloaca, six postcloacal pairs, and a pair of phasmids near the tail tip. Females are mainly characterized by the presence of 71-77 pairs of cuticular projections, with 43-46 pairs of prevulvar combs, by the differentiation from combs to spines at the level of or slightly posterior to the vulva and by the position of the vulva, located posteriorly to the esophagus-intestine junction. Clear differences were found between P. (P.) plagiostoma and related species of the subgenus P. (Pterygodermatites). Keywords: Atelerix algirus; Canary Islands; Erinaceidae; Pterygodermatites (Pterygodermatites) plagiostoma; Rictulariidae

Data on New Intermediate and Accidental Hosts Naturally Infected with <i>Angiostrongylus cantonensis</i> in La Gomera and Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain)

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a metastrongyloid nematode and the etiologic agent of angiostrongyliasis, a disease characterized by eosinophilic meningitis. This emerging zoonotic parasite has undergone great expansion, including in some regions of Europe and America. In the Canary Islands, the parasite was first discovered parasitizing Rattus rattus on the island of Tenerife in 2010. To date, the distribution of this parasite in the Canary Islands has been restricted to the northern zone and the main cities of Tenerife. Using molecular tools for the sentinel species present in the Canary Islands, this study confirmed the presence of the nematode on two other islands in the Canary Archipelago: La Gomera and Gran Canaria. Furthermore, this emerging parasite was detected, besides in the common definitive host R. rattus, in wild Mus musculus and Felis catus and in four terrestrial gastropod species, Limacus flavus, Milax gagates, Insulivitrina emmersoni, and Insulivitrina oromii, two of them endemic to La Gomera, for the first time, increasing the number of non-definitive host species. This study reinforces the expansion character of A. cantonensis and highlights the importance of knowledge about sentinel species for identifying new transmission locations that help prevent and control the transmission of the parasite and, thus, prevent public health problems

La evaluación colegiada de las competencias básicas en la Comunidad Autónoma de Canarias : hacia un modelo de escuela inclusiva y sostenible

Precede al título: Educación Primaria y Educación Secundaria ObligatoriaLa Ley Orgánica de Educación (LOE) introduce el concepto de «competencias básicas» como eje articulador del currículo, conectando de pleno con las reflexiones y las estrategias que se están desarrollando en otros sistemas educativos internacionales a la luz del informe Delors (1996), el documento DeSeCo (Definición y Selección de Competencias fundamentales) elaborado por la OCDE, de las evaluaciones PISA (Programa para la Evaluación Internacional del Alumnado), etc. Esta propuesta centra el foco en la dimensión formativa de la «evaluación», aspecto inacabado con la LOGSE (Ley Orgánica General del Sistema Educativo), a pesar de los esfuerzos realizados en esa dirección. Trabajar en las aulas para la consecución de las «competencias básicas» lleva ineludiblemente al problema de cómo evaluarlas de forma colegiada —cuando la propia ordenación del sistema educativo fragmenta cada una de las enseñanzas en diferentes áreas o materias— y de cómo emplear la información que proporciona esta labor para hacer valer el sentido formativo y regulador que debe tener la evaluación de las competencias básicas.Consejería de Educación y Universidades. Dirección General de Ordenación, Innovación y Promoción Educativa; Avda. Buenos Aires, 5; 38071 Tenerife; Tel. +34922592592; Fax +34922592570; [email protected]

Subcutaneous anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin for prevention of disease in asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trialResearch in context

Summary: Background: Anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin (hIG) can provide standardized and controlled antibody content. Data from controlled clinical trials using hIG for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 outpatients have not been reported. We assessed the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin 20% (C19-IG20%) compared to placebo in preventing development of symptomatic COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: We did a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, in asymptomatic unvaccinated adults (≥18 years of age) with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection within 5 days between April 28 and December 27, 2021. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive a blinded subcutaneous infusion of 10 mL with 1 g or 2 g of C19-IG20%, or an equivalent volume of saline as placebo. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants who remained asymptomatic through day 14 after infusion. Secondary endpoints included the proportion of individuals who required oxygen supplementation, any medically attended visit, hospitalisation, or ICU, and viral load reduction and viral clearance in nasopharyngeal swabs. Safety was assessed as the proportion of patients with adverse events. The trial was terminated early due to a lack of potential benefit in the target population in a planned interim analysis conducted in December 2021. ClinicalTrials.gov registry: NCT04847141. Findings: 461 individuals (mean age 39.6 years [SD 12.8]) were randomized and received the intervention within a mean of 3.1 (SD 1.27) days from a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. In the prespecified modified intention-to-treat analysis that included only participants who received a subcutaneous infusion, the primary outcome occurred in 59.9% (91/152) of participants receiving 1 g C19-IG20%, 64.7% (99/153) receiving 2 g, and 63.5% (99/156) receiving placebo (difference in proportions 1 g C19-IG20% vs. placebo, −3.6%; 95% CI -14.6% to 7.3%, p = 0.53; 2 g C19-IG20% vs placebo, 1.1%; −9.6% to 11.9%, p = 0.85). None of the secondary clinical efficacy endpoints or virological endpoints were significantly different between study groups. Adverse event rate was similar between groups, and no severe or life-threatening adverse events related to investigational product infusion were reported. Interpretation: Our findings suggested that administration of subcutaneous human hyperimmune immunoglobulin C19-IG20% to asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection was safe but did not prevent development of symptomatic COVID-19. Funding: Grifols