Hepatitis B, C, and D and HIV infections among immigrants from Equatorial Guinea living in Spain.

A total of 1,220 subjects from Equatorial Guinea living in Spain (median age = 41 years; 453 male and 767 female) was examined for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B (HBV), C (HCV), and D (HDV) viruses. Extracted RNA and DNA from the positive samples were used to quantify viral load. The prevalence of HIV antibodies, HCV RNA, and HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) was 10.8% (N = 132), 11.6% (N = 141), and 7.9% (N = 96), respectively. The most prevalent HIV variant was CRF02_AG (38.5%; N = 40). HCV genotype 4 (60%; N = 36) and HBV genotype A3 (32%; N = 8) were the hepatitis variants most frequently found. Superinfection with HDV was seen in 20.9% (N = 24) of HBsAg carriers. A control group of 276 immigrants from other sub-Saharan countries showed similar rates of HIV and HBsAg, although no HCV cases were found. Immigrants constitute a major source of HIV and hepatitis viruses in Spain; therefore, it is important that control measures are intensified.

[Cutaneous myiasis over tumor-lesions: presentation of three cases]. / Miasis cutáneas sobre lesiones tumorales: presentación de tres casos.

We report three cases of myiasis in patients with tumor-lesions. The first patient, a 54-year-old male, presented with laryngeal carcinoma with extensive local involvement, forming a large tumorous mass on the front of the neck that had been irradiated, where several active larvae were seen. The other two patients, females aged 101 and 87 years, respectively, presented with skin tumors on the scalp and face, and several active larvae could be seen in these tumors. After microbiological examination of the larvae removed, the species in the first case was identified as Chrysomya, while the species in the other two cases was Sarcophaga. Several risk factors for developing myiasis have been described, such as advanced age, poor hygiene, diabetes mellitus, venous insufficiency, etc. These manifestations are self-limited, but in most cases treatment is necessary. This consists of cleaning and mechanical removal of visible larvae, with or without occlusion methods.

[Evaluation of xylose galactosidase (XG) culture medium for the isolation of enteropathogens]. / Evaluación del medio xilosa galactosidasa (XG) para el aislamiento de enteropatógenos.

INTRODUCTION: The chromogenic medium, XG, was evaluated and compared to conventional media for the isolation of Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica and Aeromonas spp. METHODS: A total of 1226 human stool samples were inoculated on XG, MacConkey agar, Salmonella-Shigella agar (SS), selenite broth, blood-ampicillin agar and cefsulodin-Irgasan-novobiocin agar (CIN). RESULTS: The 235 positive cultures included the following: 229 Salmonella spp., 3 Shigella spp., 2 Yersinia enterocolitica and one Aeromonas spp. Among the 229 containing Salmonella spp., 100 were detected on both XG and conventional media and the 129 remaining were detected only on conventional media; recovery of Salmonella spp. on conventional media was significantly higher with respect to XG medium (p < 0.005). The 3 isolates of Shigella spp. were obtained on XG, the 2 isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica were recovered on CIN agar and the single isolate of Aeromonas spp. was obtained both on XG and blood-ampicillin agar. Colonies suspected to be some of the enteropathogens investigated were present in 791 of the negative stool samples. Among these false-positives 441 (35.9%) were obtained from XG, 142 (11.6%) after selenite enrichment, 132 (10.8%) from MacConkey agar and 76 (6.2%) from SS agar. Most of the false-positive isolates obtained on XG medium were consistent with Salmonella spp. (n = 408). CONCLUSIONS: XG chromogenic medium showed low sensitivity (64%) and specificity (69%) for the detection of Salmonella spp. Recovery of Shigella spp. on XG medium in three samples may have been due to the immediate processing of the samples. We conclude that XG chromogenic medium can not be recommended as an alternative to currently used conventional media.