The influence of serial fecal sampling on the diagnosis of giardiasis in humans, dogs, and cats

Giardia infection is a common clinical problem in humans and pets. The diagnosis of giardiasis is challenging as hosts intermittently excrete protozoan cysts in their feces. In the present study, we comparatively evaluated two methods of serial fecal sampling in humans, dogs, and cats from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Faust et al. technique was used to examine fecal specimens collected in triplicate from 133 patients (52 humans, 60 dogs, and 21 cats). Specimens from 74 patients were received from the group assigned to carry out sampling on consecutive days - 34 humans, 35 dogs, and 5 cats, and specimens from 59 patients were received from the group assigned to carry out sampling on non-consecutive, separate days - 18 human beings, 25 dogs, and 16 cats. G. duodenalis cysts were found in stools of 30 individuals. Multiple stool sampling resulted in an increase in the number of samples that were positive for Giardia in both groups. The authors therefore conclude that multiple stool sampling increases the sensitivity of the Faust et al . technique to detect G. duodenalis cysts in samples from humans, cats and dogs

Avaliação do ensaio imunoenzimático (ELISA) e técnica de Faust e cols. (1939) para o diagnóstico da infecção por Giardia ssp. (Lambl, 1859) em Canis familiaris

As espécies do gênero Giardia são os parasitos intestinais mais comuns mundialmente, sendo o diagnóstico microscópico considerado o "padrão ouro" para a sua detecção em amostras fecais caninas e humanas. Entretanto, a microscopia é uma técnica demorada, laboriosa e de menor sensibilidade quando apenas uma amostra fecal é examinada. No presente estudo, a avaliação microscópica através da técnica de Faust e cols. (1939) realizada em amostras obtidas durante três dias consecutivos e o ensaio imunoenzimático ProSpecT Giardia foram utilizados para o diagnóstico de infecção por Giardia spp. em 94 cães domiciliados na cidade de Niterói, RJ. 61 pacientes caninos apresentaram-se portadores de pelo menos um parasito intestinal, sendo detectadas infecções por dois ou mais parasitos em 44,26% dos cães avaliados através dos exames coproparasitológicos. um total de 18 cães (20,21%) foram considerados positivos para Giardia spp. utilizando-se como "padrão ouro" a técnica de Faust e cols. Destas Infecções, 61,11% foram diagnosticadas no primeiro dia de coleta de amostras, 83,33% no segundo dia e 100,00% no terceiro dia. 14 cães apresentaram-se positivos através da técnica ELISA, que apresentou concordância de 83,30% com a técnica de Faust e cols. o exame microscópico de concentrados fecais ainda é a base do diagnóstico de grande número de enfermidades parasitárias, pela simplicidade, sensibilidade e baixo custo e por possibilitar a detecção com alta especifidade das formas evolutivas de nematelmintos, platelmintos e protozoários. Baseados em nossas observações, a utilização de um ensaio imunoenzimático para a detecção de Giardia spp. parece ser mais adequada aos levantamentos epidemiológicos e aos casos onde não se é possível a coleta seriada de amostras fecais dos pacientes suspeitos

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data