Overview of rabies in the Americas.

Between 1993 and 2002, the number of human and canine rabies cases in the Americas Region fell by approximately 80%. There were 39 human cases in 2002, 63% of them transmitted by dogs. Furthermore, human rabies transmitted by wildlife, mostly by bats is a risk to inhabitants in many countries in the Region. The objective of this study is to describe this epidemiological situation based in the information received from the countries of the Americas Region in Regional Rabies Surveillance System in the Americas (SIRVERA) administrated by the Pan American Health Organization. This sharp reduction is attributable mainly to the control measures implemented by the countries of the Region, such as the mass vaccination of dogs and prophylactic treatment for people who have been exposed.

An outbreak of plague including cases with probable pneumonic infection, Ecuador, 1998.

During February and March of 1998, 12 sudden deaths were reported among residents of a high-Andean community in Ecuador. All 12 fatalities were members of the same extended family and some had apparent exposure to sick guinea-pigs. Following an initial investigation by public health officials, an additional death was reported in a nearby community in April, also associated with exposure to sick guinea-pigs. Blood samples from humans, dogs, and a rodent were tested for antibody to the F1 antigen of Yersinia pestis by passive haemagglutination assay. Tissue from rodents was subjected to direct fluorescent antibody staining using fluorescein-labelled monoclonal antibody to Y. pestis F1 antigen. Formalin-fixed specimens from the 2 autopsies were evaluated using a 2-step alkaline phosphatase immunoassay with a monoclonal antibody to Y. pestis F1 antigen, and tissues that had not been embedded in paraffin were tested for the presence of DNA encoding the F1 structural antigen by polymerase chain reaction. Serological evaluation of close contacts of the fatalities revealed positive titres to F1 antigen of Y. pestis, the aetiological agent of plague, in 3 contacts from the first community and 1 from the second. Immunohistochemical staining of tissues collected from 2 of the fatalities provided evidence that both had pneumonic plague. Five of 14 dogs found in the communities were seropositive for plague antibody, providing evidence of a recent epizootic plague in the area.

Aislamiento de dermatofitos en baños suana y turcos Medellín. 1991 / Dermatophytes isolation in sauna and Turkish baths, Medellín 1991

Se realizó un estudio descriptivo con el objeto de determinar la presencia de dermatofitos en las saunas y baños turcos de 10 gimnasios de la ciudad de Medellín. En cada gimnasio se tomaron 4 muestras en el sauna y 4 en el baño turco, se completaron así 80 cultivos. Se registraron datos referentes a la temperatura de dichos sitios. Las muestras fueron tomadas por el método del tapiz y sembradas en cajas de Petri que tenían el medio DTM (Dermatophyte Test Medium"). Las colonias resultantes fueron observadas al microscopio buscando elementos de esporulación típicos. Las temperaturas anotadas por los saunas y baños turcos fueron en promedio, de 60.5 °C y 39 °C, respectivamente. No se obtuvo crecimiento de dermatofitos en ninguno de los cultivos practicados. Este hallazgo coincide con el hecho conocido de la sensibilidad de estos microorganismos a temperaturas elevadas...