Ibero-Panamerican Federation of Periodontology Delphi study on the trends of periodontology and periodontics by the year 2030. A Latin American consensus.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: As elsewhere in the world, the prevalence of periodontitis in stages I-II is high in the Latin American population, this scenario emphasizes the need for identification of urgent needs for allocating adequate resources to provide diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of these diseases. The aim of this Delphi study was to predict the trends in periodontology/periodontics in the Latin American region by the year 2030. METHODS: A steering committee and an advisory group of experts in periodontology/periodontics were selected from 16 countries. An open questionnaire of 60 questions was validated and used following the Delphi methodology. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-five experts from Latin America answered the two rounds of the questionnaire. Moderate to strong consensus was reached on 45 questions (75%). The prediction was that the prevalence of gingivitis and periodontitis in stages I and II will be maintained, the importance of the link with systemic diseases will increase, and the impact of prevention and periodontal treatment will also increase, mainly in the private sector. There was a strong consensus that plastic and regenerative surgical procedures will increase, as well as the demand for training in the specialty of periodontology. CONCLUSIONS: The present study has provided relevant and useful information on predictions in periodontology/periodontics in Latin America, with important level of consensus among experts. It has been predicted that periodontitis will still be a highly prevalent disease, and its links with other medical conditions should demand more attention by health authorities to develop adequate prevention and management policies and strategies.

Clinical outcomes associated with Mu variant infection during the third epidemic peak of COVID-19 in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: The higher number of cases and deaths caused by COVID-19 in Colombia occurred during the third epidemic peak, where the Mu variant was associated with 50% of the cases. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between the clinical outcome of COVID-19 with health conditions and SARS-CoV-2 lineages. METHODS: In this study, clinical metadata and SARS-CoV-2 lineages from 535 patients with different degrees of COVID-19 severity were obtained after the SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance in Colombia. Then, the associations between these variables were determined using a multidimensional unfolding analysis. RESULTS: Asymptomatic, symptomatic, severe, and deceased outcomes represented 15.2%, 29.7%, 7.3%, and 47.8% of the cases, respectively. Males tend to develop more serious COVID-19, and severe or fatal outcomes were typically observed in patients aged >60 years with comorbidities, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, kidney disease, obesity, asthma, and smoking history. The SARS-CoV-2 Mu and Gamma variants dominated the third epidemic peak and accounted for most fatal cases with odd ratio values of 128.2 (CI 53.0-310.1) and 18.6 (CI 8.294-41.917). CONCLUSION: This study shows the high impact of SARS-CoV-2 lineages with higher prevalence on public health and the importance of monitoring COVID-19 risk factors to control the associated mortality.

Differences in the subgingival microbiome according to stage of periodontitis: A comparison of two geographic regions.

No microbiological criteria were included in the 2018 EFP-AAP classification of periodontal diseases that could be used to differentiate between stages and grades. Furthermore, differences in the subgingival microbiome depending on stage and grade have not been established. Sixty subgingival biofilm samples were collected in Spain (n = 30) and Colombia (n = 30) from three distinct patient categories: those with periodontal health/gingivitis (n = 20), those with stage I-II periodontitis (n = 20), and those with stage III-IV periodontitis (n = 20). Patients were evaluated by 16S rRNA gene amplification sequencing. Amplicon sequence variants were used to assign taxonomic categories compared to the Human Oral Microbiome Database (threshold ≥97% identity). Alpha diversity was established by Shannon and Simpson indices, and principal coordinate analysis, ANOSIM, and PERMANOVA of the UNIFRAC distances were performed using QIIME2. Although differences in the alpha diversity were observed between samples according to country, Filifactor alocis, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-4] bacterium HMT 369, Fretibacterium fastidiosum, Lachnospiraceae [G-8] bacterium HMT 500, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-5] [Eubacterium] saphenum, Peptostreptococcus stomatis, and Tannerella forsythia were associated with periodontitis sites in all stages. However, only F. alocis, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-4] bacterium HMT 369, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-9] [Eubacterium] brachy, Peptostreptococcaceae [XI][G-5] [Eubacterium] saphenum, and Desulfobulbus sp. HMT 041 were consistent in stage III-IV periodontitis in both countries. Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia were differentially expressed in severe lesions in the countries studied. Although some non-cultivable microorganisms showed differential patterns between the different stages of periodontitis, they were not the same in the two countries evaluated. Further studies using larger samples with advanced next-generation techniques for high-throughput sequencing of phyla and non-cultivable bacteria within the subgingival microbiome could provide more insight into the differences between stages of periodontitis.

Ibero-Panamerican Federation of Periodontics Delphi study on the trends in diagnosis and treatment of peri-implant diseases and conditions: A Latin American consensus.

BACKGROUND: The social diversity, heterogeneous culture, and inherent economic inequality factors in Latin America (LA) justify conducting a comprehensive analysis on the current status and future trends of peri-implant diseases and conditions. Thus, the aim of this Delphi study was to predict the future trends in the diagnosis and treatment of peri-implant diseases and conditions in LA countries for the year 2030. METHODS: A Latin American steering committee and group of experts in implant dentistry validated a questionnaire including 64 questions divided into eight sections. The questionnaire was run twice with an interval of 45 days, with the results from the first round made available to all the participants in the second round. The results were expressed in percentages and data was analyzed describing the consensus level reached in each question. RESULTS: A total of 221 experts were invited to participate in the study and a total 214 (96.8%) completed the two rounds. Moderate (65%-85%) to high consensus (≥ 85%) was reached in 51 questions (79.69%), except in the questions dealing with "prevalence", where no consensus was reached. High and moderate consensus was attained for all the questions in three fields (risk factors and indicators, diagnosis and treatment of peri-implant conditions and deficiencies, and prevention and maintenance). CONCLUSIONS: The present study has provided relevant and useful information on the predictions in the diagnosis and treatment of peri-implant diseases with a high level of consensus among experts. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of agreement in certain domains.

Fine Resolution Analysis of Microbial Communities Provides Insights Into the Variability of Cocoa Bean Fermentation.

Cocoa bean fermentation is an important microbial process, where most metabolites that affect chocolate quality and aroma are generated. Production of reproducible high-quality beans is a major challenge because most fermentations occur in open containers with a lack of variable control. Here we present a study that aims to identify the effect of farm protocols, climate, and bean mass exposure, in the dynamics and composition of microbial communities. Using high-throughput sequencing of molecular markers for bacteria and yeasts, complemented with culture-based methods, we evaluated the microbial diversity and dynamics associated to spontaneous cocoa fermentation in two distinct agro-ecological zones in Colombia. The bacterial communities were classified at two levels of evolutionary relationship, at a coarse resolution (OTU-level) and at a finer resolution (oligotype-level). A total of six bacterial OTUs were present in both farms, following a microbial succession that starts with the Enterobacteraceae family (one OTU), transitioning to the Lactobacillaceae family (three OTUs), and finishing with Acetobacteraceae family (two OTUs). When undesirable practices were done, OTUs were observed at unexpected moments during the fermentation. At a finer taxonomic resolution, 48 oligotypes were identified, with 46 present in both farms. These oligotypes have different patterns of prevalence. In the case of Lactobacillaceae a high evenness was observed among oligotypes. In contrast, for Enterobacteraceae and Acetobacteraceae a high dominance of one or two oligotypes was observed, these oligotypes were the same for both farms, despite geographic location and season of sampling. When the overall fermentations were compared using correlations matrices of oligotypes abundance, they show a clear clustering by farm, suggesting that farm protocols generate a unique fingerprint in the dynamics and interactions of the microbial communities. The comparison between the upper and middle layers of the bean mass showed that environmental exposure affects the paces at which ecological successions occur, and therefore, is an important source of cocoa quality heterogeneity. In conclusion, the results presented here showed that the dynamics of microbial fermentation can be used to identify the sources of variability and evidence the need for better fermentation technologies that favor the production of reproducible high-quality cocoa beans.

The draft genome of Brucella abortus strain Ba col-B012, isolated from a dairy farm in Nariño, Colombia, bring new insights into the epidemiology of biovar 4 strains.

Brucellosis is a commonly diagnosed zoonosis that causes infertility and abortion in cattle, it is acquired from handling of infected animals or consuming contaminated milk or milk products. In Colombia, it belongs to the official notifiable disease list, despite its relevance little is known about the origin, epidemiology and the genetic constituents of the strains circulating in dairy farms. Here we present the draft genome of B. abortus Ba Col-B012, an isolate obtained from a female Holstein belonging to a dairy farm in Nariño, Colombia. This genome comprises 3,234,714 bp and 3018 predicted protein-encoding genes. Using comparative genomics and phylogenetic analysis, we found that the strain Ba Col-B012 clustered with known biovar 4 variants. The analysis of the core genes allowed the identification of polymorphisms only present in biovar 4 genomes, these regions are proposed as possible targets for identification by PCR. The sequencing of B. abortus Ba Col-B012 genome provides important insights to improve the diagnosis and the epidemiology of this disease and represents the first report of the biovar 4 in Colombia.