Distribuição espacial de acidentes escorpiônicos em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 2005 a 2009 (Spatial distribution of scorpion sting accidents in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 2005 to 2009)

Scorpion sting accidents are a public health problem in Belo Horizonte and veterinarians play an important role in its control program when based on capture, mapping of cases and educational actions with the population. A retrospective epidemiological study was done to analyze the frequency and spatial distribution of scorpion sting cases in Belo Horizonte, between 2005 and 2009, and to associate them with the Health Vulnerability Index (IVS), a regional and composed socio-economic index. Notification data of scorpion sting accidents were used from the National System of Notifiable Diseases (SINAN) and Epidemiological Surveillance System (SISVE) for years 2008 and 2009. For the period between 2005 and 2007 it was necessary to retrieve data from the clinical records of João XXIII Hospital (HPSJ XXIII) which were not digitalized in the referred information systems. For georeference and spatial analysis, geographic base EndGeo and features of the programs MapInfo version 10.0, Hotspot Detective and SatScan were used. Between 2005 and 2009 2769 cases of scorpionism, occurred in Belo Horizonte which represents an average incidence of 22.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Among 1924 (69.5%) georeferenced cases, the highest incidence was observed in two Sanitary District (DS). A large concentration of cases was also observed in the areas of the city cemeteries. Two clusters were detected during this period, one in 2005, located in the Northwest and West DS, and another between 2006 and 2007 in the Northwest and Northeast DS. There was no association between higher incidence areas of scorpionism in Belo Horizonte and the areas of higher health risk classified by IVS. It is necessary to improve the reporting process regarding scorpion sting accidents. Another conclusion is that the mapping of cases is a relevant tool to base the targeting of educative actions to the priority areas of Belo Horizonte

The alga Bryothamnion seaforthii contains carbohydrates with antinociceptive activity

Bryothamnion seaforthii, a red alga common to the Northeastern coast of Brazil, was used to prepare the protein fraction F0/60 by ammonium sulfate precipitation. The chromatography of F0/60 on DEAE-Sephadel column resulted in two lectin fractions, PI and PII, which have antinociceptive properties in rodents. We determined the antinociceptive activity of the PII fraction and of a carbohydrate-containing fraction (CF) in mice. The CF was prepared from the dried algae, after digestion with 100 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0, containing 5 mM cysteine, EDTA and 0.4% papain, at 60ºC. A 10% cetylpyridinium chloride was added to the filtrate, and the precipitate was dissolved with 2 M NaCl:ethanol (100:15, v/v) followed by the carbohydrate precipitation with ethanol. The final precipitate, in acetone, was dried at 25ºC. The PII fraction markedly inhibited acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing after ip administration (control: 27.1 ± 2.20; PII 0.1 mg/kg: 5.5 ± 1.85; 1 mg/kg: 1.6 ± 0.72 writhes/20 min) and after oral administration (control: 32.0 ± 3.32; PII 0.1 mg/kg: 13.1 ± 2.50; 1 mg/kg: 9.4 ± 3.96 writhes/20 min). PII was also effective against both phases of pain induced by 1% formalin (control, ip: 48.2 ± 2.40 and 27.7 ± 2.56 s; PII: 1 mg/kg, ip: 34.3 ± 5.13 and 5.6 ± 2.14 s; control, po: 44.5 ± 3.52 and 25.6 ± 2.39 s; PII 5 mg/kg, po: 26.5 ± 4.67 and 15.3 ± 3.54 s for the 1st and 2nd phases, respectively) and in the hot-plate test. The CF (ip) also displayed significant antinociceptive properties in all tests but at higher doses (1 and 5 mg/kg, ip and po). Thus, CF at the dose of 5 mg/kg significantly inhibited writhes (ip: 7.1 ± 2.47 and po: 14.5 ± 2.40 writhes/20 min) as well as the 1st (po: 19.6 ± 1.74 s) and 2nd (po: 7.1 ± 2.24 s) phases of the formalin test compared to controls ip and po. The antinociceptive effects of both the PII and CF in the formalin and hot-plate tests were prevented at least partially by pretreatment with the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (2 mg/kg, sc). Moreover, both fractions retained antinociceptive activity in the acetic acid-induced writhing test following heating, a procedure which abolished the hemagglutinating activity of the fraction, presumably due to lectins also present. Finally, both fractions also prolonged the barbiturate-induced sleeping time. These results indicate that carbohydrate molecules present in the PII (26.8% carbohydrate) and CF (21% of the alga dried weight) obtained from B. seaforthii display pronounced antinociceptive activity which is resistant to heat denaturation and is mediated by an opioid mechanism, as indicated by naloxone inhibition

Distribuição temporal e espacial da raiva bovina em Minas Gerais, 1976 a 1997

Realizou-se um estudo observacional retrospectivo com o objetivo de avaliar a distribuição espaço-temporal da raiva bovina em Minas Gerais. Foram analisadas 7.526 fichas de diagnóstico de raiva por imunofluorescência direta, de 1976 a 1997. Para distribuição espacial da raiva bovina foi utilizado o aplicativo de mapeamento MAP-INFO Professional 4.5. Foi observada tendência crescente anual não só de diagnósticos positivos de raiva (Y=23,588X), com predominância nos meses de abril a agosto, como também de municípios positivos (Y=0,0461X), caracterizando intensa expansão da raiva bovina em Minas Gerais