M. Fernanda Espinoza

Michael Seeger

Seeger, Michael

Espinoza, M. Fernanda

Hemeroteca Cientifica Catalana

MEETINGSIn the spectacular world heritage city of Quito, Ecuador, in avalley of towering Andean volcanoes, the 19th ALAM Con-gress (15–18 October, 2008) brought together around 500microbiologists from 18 countries, including 11 from LatinAmerica (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile,Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Canada, USA, Spain,Belgium, UK, France and Poland)[www.microbiologiaecuador.com/].The meeting was held in conjunctionwith the 6th Ecuadorian Congress ofMicrobiology. The program covereda well balanced combination of sci-entific themes related to clinical, vet-erinary, environmental and industrialmicrobiology. The meeting wasorganized by the ALAM (LatinAmerican Association for Microbiol-ogy) [Int. Microbiol. 11:221-225(2008)], and the Ecuadorian Societyfor Microbiology, with the collabora-tion of the Spanish Society forMicrobiology. María Fernanda Espi-noza, president of ALAM and of theEcuadorian Society for Microbio-logy, chaired this meeting.The participants attended an intensive four-day scientificprogram combined with evening social events in the beautiful,well preserved historic center of Quito. In this part of Quito, atthe end of the eighteenth century, the Ecuadorian physician andhygienist Eugenio Espejo pioneered preventive measures tocurb the spread of microbial diseases such as smallpox [seebackcovers of Int. Microbiol. 8(3,4), in 2005]. He also promot-ed public hygiene and sanitary conditions. As a pioneer ofmicrobiology, Espejo stated as early as 1785 that a variety of“small living atoms” (atomillos vivientes) are the agents of thediverse epidemic infections and that these “mobile corpuscles”(corpúsculos movibles) must be studied to further our under-standing of infections. Emerging and re-emerg-ing diseases. In recent yearsthe risks of exposure to emergingpathogens have increased due toclimate change, urbanization,globalization, increasing interna-tional trade and travel, lifestylechanges, and closer interactionwith animals. Tuberculosis (TB) is one of themost important re-emerging dis-eases, with a tragically high mor-tality of nearly 2 million deathseach year. In some areas of sub-Saharan Africa, TB is now themost frequently reported cause ofadult deaths (WHO). Detectionand treatment of infectious cases is crucial, due to the absenceof an effective vaccine. New methods for diagnosing TBinclude rapid point-of-care tests and the detection of circulat-ing biomarkers and antigens (R. McNerney, UK). Novel diag-nostic technologies being investigated are dipsticks to detectcirculating biomarkers and antigens, and rapid tests forvolatile organic compounds in the headspace of specimens.Cholera is another re-emerging disease in Latin America.INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGY (2008) 11:289-292DOI: 10.2436/20.1501.01.74  ISSN: 1139-6709 www.im.microbios.org Michael Seeger,1 M. Fernanda Espinoza21Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Environmental Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry & Nucleus of Microbial Ecology and EnvironmentalMicrobiology and Biotechnology, Technical University Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile. 2School of Bioanalysis, Master in Microbiology,Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Quito, EcuadorHighlights of Latin American microbiology:the 19th ALAM CongressE-mails: michael.seeger@usm.cl; mafespinoza@gmail.com290 INT. MICROBIOL. Vol. 11, 2008Since the January 1991 outbreak in Peru, cholera has spread to18 countries. Since 1817, seven pandemics, all caused by thebacterium Vibrio cholerae serotype O1, have been reported.Pulse field gel electrophoresis has allowed two pathogenicserotypes to be identified in Argentina (N. Binsztein,Argentina). V. cholerae serotype O1 has been detected inaquatic reservoirs in Argentina and, under non-favorable con-ditions can be found in a viable non-cultivable state with path-ogenic potential. Interestingly, it may sometimes be associatedwith the marine dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans. Manyother pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escheri-chia and other Vibrio species may also be found in a viablenon-cultivable state in the environment (F. Andueza, Vene-zuela). Cultivation-independent molecular biology methodsare therefore required for the detection of these pathogens. Yellow fewer remains an important health problem intropical regions of America and Africa. Epidemic cases ofthis viral disease have been detected in Paraguay in 2008 forthe first time after 30 years (M. Martínez, Paraguay), andthus far ten lives have been claimed. Novel molecular-biolo-gy-based methods were used for confirmation of the virus. HIV infection in humans is pandemic. AIDS has killedmore than 25 million people since the virus was first recog-nized in 1981 by Luc Montagnier, Nobel Prize for Medicine,2008. In 2007, more than 30 million people were living withHIV (WHO), and more than 2.1 died. In the same year inLatin America and the Caribbean 1.9 million people had HIVinfection and around 77,000 people died of AIDS(UNAIDIS). The prevalence of HIV infection ranged from0.1% in Cuba and 0.2% in Bolivia to 2.5% in Guyana and 3%in the Bahamas. Novel aspects of HIV protein synthesis andthe search for novel drugs were presented at the conference.It was shown that the protein HuR has a modulating role inthe IRES-mediated translational control of HIV-1 (M. López-Lastra, Chile). HuR represses the translation of HIV-1 IRESwhile it acts as a translational activator for hepatitis C virusIRES. The search for novel inhibitors for the RNase H of thereverse transcriptase of HIV-1 is under investigation using arecombinant variant of RNase H (O. León, Chile).Leishmaniasis, a disease with skin eruptions caused bythe protozoan parasite Leishmania, is found from northernArgentina to Texas. Transmitted by the bite of the sand fly(genus Lutzomyia), this disease is prevalent in Brazil and inAndean regions of Ecuador and Peru (E. Gómez, Ecuador),where the reservoirs for the parasite are rodents (Rattus rattus)and canids (Canis familiaris).Antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobials are essential forthe control of human and animal pathogens, but the increas-ing antibiotic resistance of bacterial pathogens has beenobserved world wide. This issue is a very important one andresistance is currently subject to surveillance in many regionsof Latin America. A program of the Pan American HealthOrganization (PAHO) and the National MicrobiologyLaboratory (NML) of Canada collects surveillance data onthe antimicrobial resistance of foodborne pathogens in theLatin American and Caribbean countries (L.K. Ng, Canada).The spread of a genetic material leading to multidrug resist-ance between different bacterial pathogens has been detect-ed. Increasing antibiotic resistance has been observed inanaerobe pathogens such as bacteroides and species of thegenera Fusobacterium, Prevotella, Porphyromonas andClostridium (H. Biannchini, Argentina). Vancomycin-resist-ant Enterococcus spp. associated with nosocomial diseaseswere detected in hospitals in Paraguay (J. Otellado, Para-guay). In remote communities in the coastal region of Ecua-dor, horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes inEscherichia coli isolates was observed (G. Trueba, Ecuador).These genes were transferred between bacterial strains usingintegrons and gene cassettes. Diagnostics. Accreditation and certification of microbiolo-gy and clinical laboratories of Latin America is a special pro-gram of WHO and PAHO (J.M. Gabastou, France). Chile,Brazil and Argentina are leading the accreditation of laborato-ries in the region (K. Sáenz, Ecuador). Regulations affectingmicrobiology laboratories have to be updated in many countriesin the region. The role of microbiology laboratories in pharma-ceutical companies was also addressed (M. Soubes, Uruguay).Advances in the diagnosis of the most common infectiousdiseases in Latin American countries through methods basedon molecular biology were presented. Myths of clinicalmicrobiology (J. Zurita, Ecuador) and the advantages andlimitations of molecular-biology–based techniques formicrobiological diagnosis were discussed (J.C. Hormazabal,Chile). It was shown that the detection of Helicobacter pyloriin gastric biopsies can be 25% higher with such methods incomparison with histopathology (O. Rodriguez, Ecuador).Mycobacterium genavense and Mycobacterium haemo-philum were detected in patients in Venezuela for the firsttime (J. de Waard, Venezuela). Randomly amplified poly-morphic DNA analysis discriminates the novel species Myco-bacterium colombiense from Mycobacterium avium strainsin non-tuberculous patients (C. Soto, Colombia).PCR methods discriminate diverse diarrheic E. coliparatypes in the feces of children in Mexico (T. Estrada-García, Mexico). It was also shown that around 40% of thetaco dressings sold on the streets in Mexico City were con-taminated with E. coli. Multiplex PCR techniques wereapplied to detect and characterize clinical isolates of entero-SEEGER, ESPINOZA291INT. MICROBIOL. Vol.11, 2008toxigenic E. coli (R. Vidal, Chile), a cause of diarrheaaccounting for 380,000 deaths annually world wide. Nationalreference laboratories have to play a major role in the diag-nosis of infection by pathogens of concern for public health.For example, the NML of Canada supports scientists in rap-idly identifying pathogens in such events as nosocomial out-breaks due to a new clone of Clostridium difficile or methi-cillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, potential intentionalthreats (e.g., Bacillus anthracis), or the re-emergence of lym-phogranuloma venereum (L.K. Ng, Canada). Finally, novelapplications of clinical and in vitro antibiotic susceptibilitytesting criteria and quality control parameters for analyzingantibiotic-resistant pathogens, were discussed (E. Riera,Paraguay). For training of microbiologists, a theoretical and practicalpre-congress course of molecular biology techniques for thediagnosis of infectious diseases caused by pathogens such asMycobacterium spp., H. pylori and Streptococcus spp. wastaught by O. Rodriguez (Ecuador), A. García (Chile) and J. deWaard (Venezuela). Veterinary microbiology. Current zoonotic infectiondiseases in Latin America and their diagnoses were reviewed.Representatives of the main control organizations of LatinAmerican countries participated in the ALAM meeting.Animal pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni, Toxo-plasma gondii, mycobacteria (Mycobacterium bovis),Brucella spp., Listeria spp., and the parasite Trichinella spi-ralis were detected in diverse American regions. Brucellosis,porcine trichinosis, bovine tuberculosis, and paratuberculosis(Johne’s disease) are still important zoonotic public healthproblems which are underestimated in the region due to theabsence of diagnosis and control programs in many countriesincluding Ecuador (F. Proaño, Ecuador; J. Ron, Ecuador).The epidemiology of scrapie-induced animal diseases wasalso presented (A. Andrade, Ecuador).Campylobacter jejuni is the second or third causativeagent of diarrhea in underdeveloped countries and the maincause of diarrhea in developed regions. C. jejuni and relatedpathogenic species are transmitted to humans by chickenmeat, crude milk, water and domestic and farm animals. C.jejuni has been detected throughout Latin America, with anisolation frequency in humans ranging from 0.6% in Cuba to23% in Iquitos, Peru (H. Fernández, Chile; M.B. Cevallos,Ecuador). Related bacteria of the genus Arcobacter have alsorecently been implicated in diarrhea. Shiga toxin-producingE. coli, a pathogen also implicated in zoonotic disease, wasobserved in 69% of feces of healthy pigs in Chile (R. Vidal,Chile). Toxoplasma gondii is an important animal and humanpathogenic and parasitic protozoan which is transmitted fromits natural host, the cat, to humans. Toxoplasmosis can haveserious and even fatal effects on fetuses or immunocompro-mised humans or cats. Seroprevalence in countries of thisregion is high, ranging from 30 to 40% (M. Valenzuela,Chile). Environmental microbiology. The ecology and evolu-tion of microbes are of increasing interest and importance inmicrobiology. Only a minor fraction of microorganisms areknown. The microbial biomass represents half of the planet’sbiomass and although the microbial biodiversity is an out-standing treasure of Latin America, it remains mainly undis-covered. It is interesting that a growing number of researchersin the region are concentrating in this area. MoselioSchaechter described inspiringly beautiful examples of theclose interactions of microbes with humans, animals andplants. Novel approaches and molecular biology-based meth-ods are now allowing microbial ecology and evolution to bestudied in what has been called the Third Golden Age ofmicrobiology (M. Schaechter, USA). Diverse methodologieshave been used for studying the ecology of soils (R. Dick,USA). Fertilizers are routinely applied to agricultural soils toimprove crop production. Microbial analyses of fertilizersare important for detecting human and plant pathogens (e.g.,E. coli and Salmonella spp.) in order to avoiding spreadingdiseases such as gastroenteritis. The importance of biofertil-izers (nitrogen fixating and phosphorous solubilizing bacte-ria) for agricultural soil quality was also highlighted (M.M.Martínez, Colombia).Bioremediation of petroleum polluted areas in theEcuadorian Amazon region were discussed (D. Hidalgo,Ecuador). Bioaugmentation using bacterial consortia andbiostimulation were both successfully applied for the decon-tamination of hydrocarbon-polluted soils. Microbial commu-nities involved in herbicide bioaugmentation in agriculturalsoils were studied using classical and culture-independentapproaches such as fluorescence in situ hybridization, theanalysis of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism(T-RFLP), and the construction of clone libraries (M. Seeger,Chile). Changes of specific bacterial groups were observedafter bioaugmentation. Searching for novel microorganismsfor biodegradation in cold environments, researchers haveisolated psychrotolerant bacterial consortia able to degradehalophenol compounds from lakes in Chilean Patagonia (M.Martínez, Chile).Biocontrol of plant pathogens by native microorganismsis an attractive alternative to chemical pesticides. For exam-ple, fungi of the genus Trichoderma control plant pathogensbelonging to the genera Rhizoctonia, Pythium and FusariumLATIN AMERICA MICROBIOLOGY292 INT. MICROBIOL. Vol. 11, 2008by increasing root growth and N fixation of plants (M.E. Cazar,Ecuador). The search for and selection of viruses for the bio-logical control of the potato moth (Tecia solanivora) werealso described (J.L. Zedam, Ecuador). Beneficial bacteria forplant growth were screened in diverse soils using T-RFLP(M.S. Benitez, Ecuador). Biofilms and microbial mats in water are complex biolog-ical systems that can be studied using modern molecular biol-ogy-based methods (C. Rodríguez, Spain). Structural andfunctional analysis of the genome of a nonpathogenicBurkholderia strain allows the reconstruction of their abilityto metabolize aromatic compounds, leading to the design ofimproved biocatalysts for biodegradation (M. Seeger, Chile).A symposium devoted to the bacterial culture collectionsof the Latin American Federation of Culture Collections(FELACC) was coordinated by M. Floccari (Argentina). Thissymposium included a discussion of the structure and financ-ing of culture collections (V. Rodríguez-Lemoine, Venezue-la), an important issue for the region if native and pathogen-ic microbial strains are to be preserved and quality controlstandards implemented. Industrial microbiology. The fossil fuel-based worldeconomy of the 20th century is changing to one based on thebiotechnology that uses renewable raw materials, specifically itsbiomass and genes. Novel microorganisms and enzymes arerequired for industrial processes and the production of drugs (M.Gutiérrez-Correa, Perú). The use of beneficial bacterial strainsas probiotics for the shrimp industry, the main economic activi-ty along the Ecuadorian coast, is one relevant example (R.Cedeño, Ecuador). Lactobacillus plantarum is an interestingprobiotic used in processing uchuva fruit pulp (O. Montoya,Colombia). Thermostable tannases with biotechnological poten-tial were produced at high levels by an Aspergillus ochraceusstrain isolated from Brazilian soil (L. Guimarães, Brasil). Advances in water and food microbiology were discussed.Diverse pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites are transmit-ted in Latin American cities through drinking water and the reg-ulation and control of drinking water must be improved inmany Latin American countries in order to protect humanhealth (M.A. Mosso, Spain). Important pathogens such asH. pylori, Mycobacterium spp., and Legionella pneumophilahave been detected in drinking water (C. de la Rosa, Spain). Inaddition, water can contain opportunistic pathogens such asbacterial strains of Arcobacter, Burkholderia, Pseudomonasand Stenotrophomonas spp. Therefore, the use of bacterio-phages for the control of pathogenic strains in water is of inter-est (A. López Merino, Mexico). Latin American microbiology. The 19th ALAMmeeting in Quito was a great success and has enhanced coor-dination and cooperation in microbiology within the region.The ALAM meetings are held every two years. In 2006, theconference was held in Chile, chaired by Michael Seeger,president of the Chilean Society for Microbiology. Held inthe southern city of Pucón, the meeting attracted over 600microbiologists [Int. Microbiol. 9:306-308 (2006)]. TheALAM meetings are important for exchanging and updatingscientific information and for promoting scientific coopera-tion and exchange in microbiology among Latin Americancountries and between the region and the rest of the world.They are also essential for improving public health and envi-ronmental policies and regulations and for supporting scien-tific journals. Latin America is a complex and diverse regionthat has been growing and developing in recent decades, inspite of a history of political and economic instability. In thiscontext, ALAM meetings have been important for maintain-ing and strengthening microbiology, public health, animalcare, and agricultural, industrial and environmental develop-ment in Latin American countries.ALAM highlights. During the 19th ALAM meeting, theSpanish Society for Microbiology was welcomed as a fullmember of the ALAM Assembly. This is the first society out-side Latin America to belong to ALAM. Ricardo Guerrero,president of the Spanish society thanked ALAM for theacceptance and offered support for future activities. Microbio-logists from Colombia and Costa Rica were invited to attendthe ALAM Assembly as guests and to promote microbiologysocieties in their countries. The editors of Latin American andSpanish microbiology journals were called upon by VidalRodríguez-Lemoine (Venezuela) to promote communicationand cooperation between scientific journals in the region.Within the framework of this ALAM meeting, an informa-tion and documentation center for microbiology was openedat the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, thanks to thegenerous support of the American Society for Microbiology(ASM). Finally, it was announced that the 20th ALAM meet-ing will take place in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 2010, underthe presidency of Matilde Soubes [msoubes@fq.edu.uy]. Theorganizing committee is already working toward another suc-cessful Latin American microbiology meeting.The enthusiasm of the young researchers and studentswho attended the ALAM 2008 meeting, together with theexperience and expertise of leaders of science and technolo-gy, will open new doors and encourage hope for the growthand development of microbiology in this region.SEEGER, ESPINOZA

Highlights of Latin American Microbiology: the 19th ALAM Congress

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Hemeroteca Cientifica Catalana