Haematological parameters in a free-ranging population of Didelphis virginiana from Mexico

The American opossum Didelphis virginiana is the marsupial species with the largest geographic distribution in North America, a very important natural host and key to the maintenance and transmission of many zoonotic pathogenic microorganisms of importance in public health, and one of the wild mammals with the greatest adaptation to the human environment, but despite all that very little is known about some physiological aspects in their free-ranging populations. In the present study, basic haematological parameters of 201 opossums from a synanthropic population of D. virginiana in a rural locality of the state of Yucatan, are first described. The average values of haemoglobin, packed cell volume, red blood cells, and eosinophils were higher in males and adults (except eosinophils) than in females and juveniles, respectively, and juvenile opossums had higher values of lymphocytes, neutrophils, and platelets than males. Non-pregnant females had significantly higher values of mean corpuscular volume, lymphocytes and platelets than pregnant ones, while red blood cell count and segmented neutrophils showed higher values in pregnant females. The establishment of the basic haematological parameters for free-ranging populations of D. virginiana is a very useful reference for both the health monitoring of the populations and further studying the host-parasite relationship of some zoonotic pathogens present in the Yucatan Peninsula

La investigación participativa en niños como herramienta en la promoción de la salud para la prevención de la Enfermedad de Chagas en Yucatán, México

Introducción: La Investigación Participativa (IP) es una herramienta que puede abordarse para el análisis de procesos socioculturales, medioambientales, y de salud pública. La participación de niños en edad escolar en la apropiación del conocimiento para la prevención de la Enfermedad de Chagas (EC) puede romper su ciclo de transmisión. La EC es un problema de salud pública que afecta principalmente a comunidades rurales endémicas de países en desarrollo. Objetivo: Desarrollar una estrategia para la adquisición y transferencia de nuevos conocimientos en niños, debido en la falta de información acerca del ciclo de transmisión de la Enfermedad de Chagas. Material y Métodos: Estudio observacional de corte transversal, realizado con un grupo de 48 niños de una comunidad en pobreza extrema en Yucatán, México. Mediante herramientas de IP y con el apoyo de padres de familia, autoridades ejidales y escolares, se impartieron talleres educativos a niños en la escuela de educación básica para conocer el ciclo de transmisión, y prevenir la EC debido a la abundancia del vector en el área de estudio. Se implementó un programa denominado “Pequeños Investigadores”, para iniciar procesos de apropiación y socialización del conocimiento en la comunidad. Resultados: El nuevo conocimiento adquirido por el grupo de niños fue aprovechado y diseminado a sus familias, compañeros de escuela, y círculos sociales, fomentando la prevención de la enfermedad. Fueron recolectados 182 triatomas a nivel domiciliar y peri domiciliar. Conclusiones: Los nuevos conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas adquiridos por los niños bajo esquemas de participación, resulta benéfico para la prevención de la EC. Se recomienda al sector oficial la participación en la promoción de la salud en niños bajo el esquema del presente estudio en países en desarrollo.   Keywords: Enfermedad de Chagas, niños, promoción de la salud, investigación participativa   ABSTRACT   INTRODUCTION: Participatory Research (PR) is a tool that can be approached for the analysis of sociocultural, environmental, and public health processes. The participation of school-age childrens in the appropriation of knowledge for the prevention of Chagas' Disease (CD) can break the cycle of transmission. CD is a public health problem that mainly affects rural endemic communities of developing countries. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a group of 48 childrens from a community in extreme poverty in Yucatan, Mexico. Through PR tools and with the support of parents, ejidal and school authorities, educational workshops were given to children of the basic education to know the cycle of transmission, and to prevent CD due to the abundance of the vector in the study area. A program called "Small Investigators" was implemented to initiate processes of appropriation and socialization of knowledge in the community. RESULTS: The new knowledge acquired by the group of children was used and disseminated to their families, partners, and social circles, promoting the prevention of the disease. 182 triatomas were collected at home and peri domicile. CONCLUSIONS: The new knowledge, attitudes and practices acquired by children under participation schemes is beneficial for the prevention of the Chagas Disease. The official sector is recommended to design the promotion health programs in children under the scheme of the present study in developing countries.   Keywords: Chagas Disease, childs, promotion health, participatory researc

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

The Opossum Didelphis virginiana as a Synanthropic Reservoir of Trypanosoma cruzi in Dzidzilché, Yucatán, México

In México, the role of mammals in the transmission cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi   is poorly known. In the State of Yucatán, an endemic area of Chagas disease, both Didelphis virginiana   and D. marsupialis occur sympatrically. However, until now, only the former species had been found infected with T. cruzi . To evaluate the role of D. virginiana in a peridomestic transmission, nine periods of capture-recapture were performed around the village of Dzidzilché, Yucatán. The sex, age, reproductive status, location, and presence of infection with T. cruzi were recorded for each opossum. The chromosome morphology was used to identify the opossum species. T. cruzi was identified by the presence of pseudocysts of amastigotes in cardiac muscle fibers of Balb/c mice inoculated with strains isolated from opossums. However, xenodiagnosis was the best diagnostic method. Triatoma dimidiata, the vector, were collected in and around the opossums' nests, and human dwellings; and were checked for T. cruzi . From 102 blood samples of D. virginiana examined 55 (53.9%) were positive to T. cruzi , the only two D. marsupialis captured were negative. Significant differences were found between infection, and both sex and reproductive condition. Eight out of 14 triatomines collected in peridomestic nests (57.1%), and 32 of 197 captured inside houses (16.3%) were found infected, suggesting a peridomestic transmission. The statistically high abundance of infected opossums and triatomines during the dry season (March to May) suggested the existence of a seasonality in the peridomestic transmission of T. cruzi in Dzidzilché

Data from: Transcriptomic analysis of skin pigmentation variation in the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

Skin and coat pigmentation are two of the best-studied examples of traits under natural selection given their quantifiable fitness interactions with the environment (e.g. camouflage) and signaling with other organisms (e.g. warning coloration). Previous morphological studies have found that skin pigmentation variation in the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is associated with variation in precipitation and temperatures across its distribution range following Gloger’s rule (lighter pigmentation in temperate environments). To investigate the molecular mechanism associated with skin pigmentation variation, we used RNA-Seq and quantified gene expression of wild opossums from tropical and temperate populations. Using differential expression analysis and a coexpression network approach, we found that expression variation in genes with melanocytic and immune functions are significantly associated with the degree of skin pigmentation variation and may be underlying this phenotypic difference. We also found evidence suggesting that the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway might be regulating the depigmentation observed in temperate populations. Based on our study results, we present several alternative hypotheses that may explain Gloger’s rule pattern of skin pigmentation variation in opossum, including changes in pathogen diversity supporting a pathogen resistant hypothesis, thermal stress associated with temperate environments, pleiotropic and epistatic interactions between melanocytic and immune genes