Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Mostrar: 20 | 50 | 100
Resultados 1 - 20 de 73
Filtrar
Mais filtros

Base de dados
País/Região como assunto
Tipo de documento
Intervalo de ano de publicação
1.
J Clin Microbiol ; 59(2)2021 01 21.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33208476

RESUMO

Neonatal diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis is based on a combination of serological and molecular tests. Maternal screening and treatment differ according to national policies and may impact the sensitivity of diagnostic methods in infants at birth. In this multicenter study, 115 neonates born to 61 treated (53%) and 54 (47%) untreated women were retrospectively included in three centers (France, Serbia, and the United States) to assess the impact of maternal anti-Toxoplasma treatment on the performance of neonatal workup at birth (neosynthesized anti-Toxoplasma IgM, IgA, and IgG and quantitative PCR [qPCR]) using univariate and multivariate approaches. Independently of the time of maternal seroconversion, the serological techniques were impacted differently by maternal treatment. The detection of IgM by immunosorbent agglutination assay (ISAGA) and Western blotting (WB) dropped from 90.7% and 88.2% in untreated neonates to 53.3% and 51.9% in treated neonates (P < 0.05), whereas IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and IgA ISAGA were not significantly affected by maternal treatment. A 2-fold reduction in the sensitivity of neosynthesized IgG by WB was also observed in the case of treatment during pregnancy (37.7% versus 82.3%). Interestingly, the effect of treatment was shown to be duration dependent, especially for IgM detection, when the treatment course exceeded 8 weeks, whatever the therapy. The sensitivity of Toxoplasma PCR in blood was also lowered by maternal treatment from 39.1% to 23.2%. These results highlight that anti-Toxoplasma therapy during pregnancy may set back biological evidence of neonatal infection at birth and underline the need for a careful serological follow-up of infants with normal workup.


Assuntos
Toxoplasma , Toxoplasmose Congênita , Anticorpos Antiprotozoários , Testes Diagnósticos de Rotina , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Feminino , França , Humanos , Imunoglobulina M , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Gravidez , Estudos Retrospectivos , Toxoplasma/genética , Toxoplasmose Congênita/diagnóstico , Toxoplasmose Congênita/tratamento farmacológico
2.
Parasitol Res ; 120(2): 593-603, 2021 Feb.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33415386

RESUMO

Toxoplasma gondii is a widespread zoonotic protozoan that infects most species of mammals and birds, including poultry. This study aimed to investigate the course of T. gondii infection and the efficacy of diclazuril and Artemisia annua in preventing infection in experimentally infected chickens. Seventy-five 1-month-old chickens, female and male, were randomly divided into five groups (n = 15 each) as follows: (1) uninfected untreated (negative control, NC); (2) infected with T. gondii genotype II/III isolated from a wild cat (group WC); (3) infected with T. gondii genotype II isolated from a domestic cat (group DC); (4) infected with T. gondii domestic cat strain and treated with the anticoccidial diclazuril (group DC-D); and (5) infected with T. gondii domestic cat strain and treated with the medicinal plant Artemisia annua (group DC-A). Clinical signs, body temperature, mortality rate, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, hematological parameters, and the presence of T. gondii-specific IgY antibodies were recorded in all groups. Five chickens per group were euthanized 28 days post-infection (p.i.) and their brains, hearts, and breast muscle tested for T. gondii by mouse bioassay and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). No clinical signs related to the experimental infection were observed throughout the study period. T. gondii-specific antibodies were detected by day 28 p.i., but not in all infected chickens. Overall, T. gondii DNA was detected (bioassay or tissue digests) in all infected and untreated chickens (10/10), while viable parasite (bioassay) was isolated from 7 out of 10 chickens. The parasite was most frequently identified in the brain (7/10). There were no differences in the T. gondii strains regarding clinical infection and the rate of T. gondii detection in tissues. However, higher antibody titers were obtained in chickens infected with T. gondii WC strain (1:192) comparing with T. gondii DC strain (1:48). A. annua reduced replication of the parasite in 3 out of 5 chickens, while diclazuril did not. In conclusion, broiler chickens were resistant to clinical toxoplasmosis, irrespective of the strain (domestic or wild cat strain). The herb A. annua presented prophylactic efficacy by reduced parasite replication. However, further studies are required aiming at the efficacy of diclazuril and A. annua for the prevention of T. gondii infection in chickens using quantitative analysis methods.


Assuntos
Anticorpos Antiprotozoários/imunologia , Artemisia annua , Coccidiostáticos/farmacologia , Nitrilas/farmacologia , Doenças das Aves Domésticas/prevenção & controle , Toxoplasma/imunologia , Toxoplasmose Animal/prevenção & controle , Triazinas/farmacologia , Animais , Encéfalo/parasitologia , Gatos , Galinhas , Feminino , Genótipo , Coração/parasitologia , Masculino , Camundongos , Músculos Peitorais/parasitologia , Plantas Medicinais , Doenças das Aves Domésticas/tratamento farmacológico , Doenças das Aves Domésticas/parasitologia , Distribuição Aleatória , Soroconversão , Distribuição Tecidual , Toxoplasma/genética , Toxoplasma/fisiologia , Toxoplasmose Animal/tratamento farmacológico , Toxoplasmose Animal/parasitologia
3.
Exp Parasitol ; 209: 107824, 2020 Feb.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31870927

RESUMO

Giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis are recognized by the WHO as important emerging diseases of the 21st century. Symptoms are similar and include diarrhoea and vomiting, which may be severe, even life-threatening, for the immunocompromised and children under five years of age. Between 2013 and 2017, the Institute for Public Health in Serbia recorded 10 waterborne epidemics that manifested as gastrointestinal disease. Routine testing for enteropathogenic bacteria and viruses did not identify the aetiological agents of these outbreaks. As water is not examined for the presence of protozoa in Serbia, we performed a pilot study to analyse samples from four major rivers and their tributaries using a newly implemented methodology for detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium, based on the ISO 15553:2006 standard. Using immunofluorescence microscopy, Giardia was detected in 10 out of the 31 samples, Cryptosporidium in five, while two samples were positive for both. Presence of G. duodenalis gDNA was confirmed by amplification of the ß-giardin gene in eight samples, of which one and two, respectively, were identified by RFLP as potentially zoonotic assemblages A and B. The results suggest that surface water in Serbia may be a potential source of infection and call for more in-depth studies using sophisticated molecular tools.


Assuntos
Cryptosporidium/isolamento & purificação , Giardia/isolamento & purificação , Rios/parasitologia , Animais , Cryptosporidium/genética , Proteínas do Citoesqueleto/genética , DNA de Protozoário/química , DNA de Protozoário/isolamento & purificação , Técnicas de Genotipagem , Giardia/classificação , Giardia/genética , Humanos , Complexo Mediador/genética , Microscopia de Fluorescência , Projetos Piloto , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Polimorfismo de Fragmento de Restrição , Proteínas de Protozoários/genética , RNA Ribossômico/genética , Sérvia
4.
Parasitol Res ; 118(6): 1875-1883, 2019 Jun.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30945017

RESUMO

Neosporosis in cattle is a globally important disease, causing abortions and significant economic losses if epidemic abortions occur. In Serbia, however, studies of Neospora caninum infection in cattle are few and are based on limited samples and/or from limited areas. We thus performed a nationwide study to examine the seroprevalence of N. caninum infection in a sample of cows randomly selected from dairy farms in 12 epidemiological units from throughout Serbia, as well as the possible transmission risk factors. Sera from a total of 1496 cattle were tested by competitive ELISA, and N. caninum-specific antibodies were shown in 7.2% animals (95% confidence interval CI, 6.6-7.9%), ranging from 2.2 to 12% across the epidemiological units. At least one seropositive animal was detected on 10.7% (95% CI, 9.7-11.8%) of farms, with a range of 5.9-25.9%. Logistic regression analysis showed that the single risk factor for infection in individual animals was keeping cows in loose-stalls (OR = 3.31, 95% CI = 1.95-5.60, P < 0.001). Risk factors for the presence of infection on farms also included housing in loose-stalls (OR = 18.49, 95% CI = 5.40-63.36, P < 0.001), and herd size > 100 animals (OR = 24.08, 95% CI = 3.85-150.50, P = 0.001). In view of the relatively low prevalence of infection showed at both the individual and farm level, this is the perfect time to undertake appropriate preventive measures to improve animal health and reduce economic losses.


Assuntos
Anticorpos Antiprotozoários/sangue , Doenças dos Bovinos/epidemiologia , Coccidiose/epidemiologia , Coccidiose/veterinária , Neospora/imunologia , Animais , Bovinos , Doenças dos Bovinos/parasitologia , Doenças dos Bovinos/transmissão , Coccidiose/transmissão , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática/veterinária , Fazendas , Feminino , Neospora/isolamento & purificação , Gravidez , Prevalência , Fatores de Risco , Sérvia , Estudos Soroepidemiológicos
5.
Acta Vet Hung ; 67(2): 204-211, 2019 06.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31238734

RESUMO

Consumption of undercooked or raw pork is considered a significant risk factor for human infection with Toxoplasma gondii. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure of 18 T. gondii strains obtained from slaughter pigs from Northern Serbia (mainly Vojvodina). The examined samples originated from eight pigs from large commercial farms, six backyard pigs and four free-range Mangalica pigs, all found to be positive for either viable T. gondii or T. gondii DNA. Genotyping was attempted from both pig tissues and mouse brains from the bio-assays using a multiplex multilocus nested polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (Mn-PCR-RFLP) method with seven markers (GRA6, alt. SAG2, PK-1, BTUB, C22-8, CS3 and Apico). Identification was achieved for nine T. gondii isolates. Seven isolates were classified as type II and two as type III. These results are consistent with previous studies on animal isolates from Serbia as well as with previous reports that type III is more frequently found in samples from Southern Europe than in those from other parts of the continent.


Assuntos
Genótipo , Doenças dos Suínos/parasitologia , Toxoplasma/genética , Toxoplasmose Animal/parasitologia , Animais , Sérvia , Sus scrofa , Suínos , Toxoplasma/fisiologia
6.
Acta Vet Hung ; 67(1): 34-39, 2019 03.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30922087

RESUMO

Human trichinellosis and Trichinella infection in pigs are both still endemic in the Balkans, including Serbia. Because of the flow between the sylvatic and the domestic cycle of Trichinella spp., monitoring wildlife has been recommended for the risk assessment of Trichinella spp. infection in swine. We have previously shown the presence of Trichinella infection in wild carnivores including the wolf and the golden jackal, and here we report on Trichinella infection in several other mesocarnivore species. From a total of 469 animals collected between 1994 and 2013, Trichinella larvae were detected in 29 (6.2%, 95% CI = 4.0-8.4) animals, including 14 red foxes (4.7%), 7 wild cats (35%), 5 beech martens (4.8%), 2 pine martens (16.7%), and 1 European badger (6.25%). No Trichinella larvae were detected in the examined specimens of European polecats, steppe polecats and European otters. Species identification of the Trichinella larvae performed for 18 positive samples revealed T. spiralis in 77.8% and T. britovi in 22.2% of the isolates. Both species were detected in red foxes and wild cats. The predominance of T. spiralis in wildlife in Serbia indicates the (past or present) spillover of this pathogen from domestic to wild animals.


Assuntos
Carnívoros/parasitologia , Doenças Endêmicas/veterinária , Trichinella/isolamento & purificação , Triquinelose/parasitologia , Animais , Animais Selvagens , Florestas , Sérvia/epidemiologia , Triquinelose/epidemiologia
7.
Emerg Infect Dis ; 24(8): 1497-1504, 2018 08.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30014843

RESUMO

Transplantation activity is increasing, leading to a growing number of patients at risk for toxoplasmosis. We reviewed toxoplasmosis prevention practices, prevalence, and outcomes for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and solid organ transplant (SOT; heart, kidney, or liver) patients in Europe. We collected electronic data on the transplant population and prevention guidelines/regulations and clinical data on toxoplasmosis cases diagnosed during 2010-2014. Serologic pretransplant screening of allo-hematopoietic stem cell donors was performed in 80% of countries, screening of organ donors in 100%. SOT recipients were systematically screened in 6 countries. Targeted anti-Toxoplasma chemoprophylaxis was heterogeneous. A total of 87 toxoplasmosis cases were recorded (58 allo-HSCTs, 29 SOTs). The 6-month survival rate was lower among Toxoplasma-seropositive recipients and among allo-hematopoietic stem cell and liver recipients. Chemoprophylaxis improved outcomes for SOT recipients. Toxoplasmosis remains associated with high mortality rates among transplant recipients. Guidelines are urgently needed to standardize prophylactic regimens and optimize patient management.


Assuntos
Transplante de Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/efeitos adversos , Transplante de Órgãos/efeitos adversos , Toxoplasmose/epidemiologia , Toxoplasmose/etiologia , Adulto , Europa (Continente)/epidemiologia , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Risco , Transplantados
8.
Euro Surveill ; 23(4)2018 01.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29382412

RESUMO

IntroductionThis paper reviews the current knowledge and understanding of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in humans, animals and the environment in 10 countries in the eastern part of Europe: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Methods: Published scientific papers and conference proceedings from the international and local literature, official national health service reports, national databases and doctoral theses in local languages were reviewed to provide an extensive overview on the epidemiology, diagnostics and research on these pathogens, as well as analyse knowledge gaps and areas for further research. Results:Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. were found to be common in eastern Europe, but the results from different countries are difficult to compare because of variations in reporting practices and detection methodologies used. Conclusion: Upgrading and making the diagnosis/detection procedures more uniform is recommended throughout the region. Public health authorities should actively work towards increasing reporting and standardising reporting practices as these prerequisites for the reported data to be valid and therefore necessary for appropriate control plans.


Assuntos
Criptosporidiose/epidemiologia , Cryptosporidium/isolamento & purificação , Doenças Transmitidas por Alimentos/parasitologia , Giardia/isolamento & purificação , Giardíase/epidemiologia , Saúde Pública , Animais , Criptosporidiose/parasitologia , Cryptosporidium/genética , Meio Ambiente , Europa Oriental/epidemiologia , Fezes/parasitologia , Doenças Transmitidas por Alimentos/epidemiologia , Giardia/genética , Giardíase/parasitologia , Humanos , Prevalência , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real
9.
Parasitol Res ; 116(11): 3117-3123, 2017 Nov.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28956155

RESUMO

Insufficiently cooked pork is considered as an important source of human infection with Toxoplasma gondii. The aim of our study was to investigate the presence of T. gondii in pigs intended for human consumption from Northern Serbia. Blood and diaphragm samples were collected from 182 naturally infected market-weight pigs, originating from both commercial farms and smallholdings. Sera were examined using modified agglutination test (MAT), and diaphragms from seropositive, as well as from some MAT-negative pigs, were bioassayed in mice. In addition, digests were examined for the presence of T. gondii DNA using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) which was targeted at the 529 bp repetitive element of the T. gondii genome. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii in pigs was 17% (31/182), with no difference between pigs from large commercial farms (17.8%) and those raised on smallholdings (16.3%). However, the seroprevalence in farm pigs was largely influenced by the findings on a single farm, where all examined animals tested positive. Parasites and/or parasite DNA were detected in the tissues of 15 of the 45 (25 seropositive and 20 seronegative) animals examined by either direct method. Tissue cysts were isolated in eight bioassays and an additional bioassay was positive by serology; all nine were confirmed positive by qPCR. All positive bioassays originated from seropositive pigs, but no correlation was observed between isolation rate and antibody titer. T. gondii DNA was detected in diaphragm tissues of eight pigs, of which three were seronegative. The results of our study provide further evidence for pork as a source of human T. gondii infection.


Assuntos
Testes de Aglutinação/veterinária , Anticorpos Antiprotozoários/sangue , Carne Vermelha/parasitologia , Sus scrofa/parasitologia , Toxoplasma/isolamento & purificação , Toxoplasmose Animal/parasitologia , Animais , DNA de Protozoário/genética , Diafragma , Humanos , Sequências Repetitivas Dispersas/genética , Camundongos , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real , Sérvia , Estudos Soroepidemiológicos , Suínos , Doenças dos Suínos/parasitologia , Toxoplasma/genética
10.
Molecules ; 22(3)2017 Feb 24.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28245583

RESUMO

Malaria is a severe and life-threatening disease caused by Plasmodium parasites that are spread to humans through bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. Here, we report on the efficacy of aminoquinolines coupled to benzothiophene and thiophene rings in inhibiting Plasmodium falciparum parasite growth. Synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antimalarial activity and toxicity, in vitro and in mice. Benzothiophenes presented in this paper showed improved activities against a chloroquine susceptible (CQS) strain, with potencies of IC50 = 6 nM, and cured 5/5 Plasmodium berghei infected mice when dosed orally at 160 mg/kg/day × 3 days. In the benzothiophene series, the examined antiplasmodials were more active against the CQS strain D6, than against strains chloroquine resistant (CQR) W2 and multidrug-resistant (MDR) TM91C235. For the thiophene series, a very interesting feature was revealed: hypersensitivity to the CQR strains, resistance index (RI) of <1. This is in sharp contrast to chloroquine, indicating that further development of the series would provide us with more potent antimalarials against CQR strains.


Assuntos
Aminoquinolinas/síntese química , Antimaláricos/síntese química , Malária/tratamento farmacológico , Plasmodium falciparum/efeitos dos fármacos , Tiofenos/química , Aminoquinolinas/química , Aminoquinolinas/farmacologia , Animais , Antimaláricos/química , Antimaláricos/farmacologia , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Resistência a Múltiplos Medicamentos/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Camundongos , Estrutura Molecular , Plasmodium berghei/efeitos dos fármacos
11.
Bioorg Med Chem ; 23(9): 2176-86, 2015 May 01.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25801154

RESUMO

We herein report the design and synthesis of a novel series of thiophene- and furan-based aminoquinoline derivatives which were found to be potent antimalarials and inhibitors of ß-hematin polymerization. Tested compounds were 3-71 times more potent in vitro than CQ against chloroquine-resistant (CQR) W2 strain with benzonitrile 30 being as active as mefloquine (MFQ), and almost all synthesized aminoquinolines (22/27) were more potent than MFQ against multidrug-resistant (MDR) strain C235. In vivo experiments revealed that compound 28 showed clearance with recrudescence at 40 mg/kg/day, while 5/5 mice survived in Thompson test at 160 mg/kg/day.


Assuntos
Aminoquinolinas/farmacologia , Antimaláricos/farmacologia , Furanos/farmacologia , Plasmodium berghei/efeitos dos fármacos , Tiofenos/farmacologia , Aminoquinolinas/síntese química , Aminoquinolinas/química , Animais , Antimaláricos/síntese química , Antimaláricos/química , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Furanos/química , Células Hep G2 , Humanos , Macrófagos/efeitos dos fármacos , Camundongos , Estrutura Molecular , Testes de Sensibilidade Parasitária , Relação Estrutura-Atividade , Tiofenos/química
13.
Exp Parasitol ; 147: 67-71, 2014 Dec.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25448359

RESUMO

Oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii represent one of the most common environmental contaminants causing the zoonotic infection toxoplasmosis. The aim of the present study was to compare the Mini-FLOTAC device with traditional cell counting plates (Kova Slide) for the detection of T. gondii oocysts from feline feces. Two types of experiments were performed: (i) purified oocysts were counted in different dilutions and (ii) specific pathogen free T. gondii-negative cat feces was inoculated with numbers of purified oocysts and counting was performed directly from feces. Our analysis showed a thousand times higher sensitivity of Mini-FLOTAC (5 × 10(2) oocysts) compared to Kova Slide (5 × 10(5) oocysts). Also, when compared by McNemar's test, counting of the purified oocysts showed a higher sensitivity of Mini-FLOTAC compared to Kova Slide, for a dilution of 10(3) oocysts/ml (chi(2) = 6.1; P < 0.05). A better sensitivity was also found with Mini-FLOTAC in dilutions of 10(5) and 10(4) oocysts/ml, when counted from feces (chi(2) = 4.2 and 8.1, respectively, P < 0.05). Our results show that Mini-FLOTAC is more sensitive than traditional methods of T. gondii oocysts detection and quantification is more accurate. Furthermore, Mini-FLOTAC simplicity and cost effectiveness allow it to be used with light microscopes in any laboratory or field conditions. We therefore recommend its use for regular screening. Further studies are needed to validate Mini-FLOTAC for the detection of oocysts in soil and water samples in field conditions.


Assuntos
Doenças do Gato/parasitologia , Fezes/parasitologia , Contagem de Ovos de Parasitas/métodos , Toxoplasma/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Toxoplasmose Animal/parasitologia , Animais , Doenças do Gato/diagnóstico , Gatos , Camundongos , Oocistos/citologia , Oocistos/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Contagem de Ovos de Parasitas/instrumentação , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Organismos Livres de Patógenos Específicos , Toxoplasma/citologia , Toxoplasmose Animal/diagnóstico
14.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol ; 14: 1414067, 2024.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38912206

RESUMO

Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite of importance to human and veterinary health. The structure and diversity of the genotype population of T. gondii varies considerably with respect to geography, but three lineages, type I, II and III, are distributed globally. Lineage III genotypes are the least well characterized in terms of biology, host immunity and virulence. Once a host is infected with T.gondii, innate immune mechanisms are engaged to reduce the parasite burden in tissues and create a pro-inflammatory environment in which the TH1 response develops to ensure survival. This study investigated the early cellular immune response of Swiss-Webster mice post intraperitoneal infection with 10 tachyzoites of four distinct non-clonal genotypes of lineage III and a local isolate of ToxoDB#1. The virulence phenotype, cumulative mortality (CM) and allele profiles of ROP5, ROP16, ROP18 and GRA15 were published previously. Methods: Parasite dissemination in different tissues was analyzed by real-time PCR and relative expression levels of IFNγ, IL12-p40, IL-10 and TBX21 in the cervical lymph nodes (CLN), brain and spleen were calculated using the ΔΔCt method. Stage conversion was determined by detection of the BAG1 transcript in the brain. Results: Tissue dissemination depends on the virulence phenotype but not CM, while the TBX21 and cytokine levels and kinetics correlate better with CM than virulence phenotype. The earliest detection of BAG1 was seven days post infection. Only infection with the genotype of high CM (69.4%) was associated with high T-bet levels in the CLN 24 h and high systemic IFNγ expression which was sustained over the first week, while infection with genotypes of lower CM (38.8%, 10.7% and 6.8%) is characterized by down-regulation and/or low systemic levels of IFNγ. The response intensity, as assessed by cytokine levels, to the genotype of high CM wanes over time, while it increases gradually to genotypes of lower CM. Discussion: The results point to the conclusion that the immune response is not correlated with the virulence phenotype and/or allele profile, but an early onset, intense pro-inflammatory response is characteristic of genotypes with high CM. Additionally, high IFNγ level in the brain may hamper stage conversion.


Assuntos
Citocinas , Genótipo , Toxoplasma , Toxoplasmose Animal , Toxoplasma/patogenicidade , Toxoplasma/genética , Toxoplasma/imunologia , Animais , Camundongos , Virulência , Citocinas/metabolismo , Toxoplasmose Animal/imunologia , Toxoplasmose Animal/parasitologia , Fenótipo , Feminino , Baço/imunologia , Baço/parasitologia , Baço/patologia , Encéfalo/parasitologia , Encéfalo/patologia , Encéfalo/imunologia , Proteínas de Protozoários/genética , Proteínas de Protozoários/imunologia , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Linfonodos/parasitologia , Interferon gama/metabolismo , Interferon gama/genética , Proteínas com Domínio T/genética , Proteínas com Domínio T/metabolismo , Imunidade Celular
15.
J Clin Microbiol ; 51(8): 2686-90, 2013 Aug.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23761151

RESUMO

In immunocompromized patients, including hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, life-threatening toxoplasmosis may result from reactivation of previous infection. We report a case of severe disseminated toxoplasmosis that developed early after allogeneic HSCT for T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma in a 15-year-old Toxoplasma gondii-seropositive boy with Nijmegen breakage syndrome, a rare genetic DNA repair disorder associated with immunodeficiency. The donor was the patient's HLA-identical brother. Prophylaxis with cotrimoxazole was discontinued a day before the HSCT procedure. Signs of lung infection appeared as early as day 14 post-HSCT. The presence of tachyzoite-like structures on Giemsa-stained bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid smears suggested toxoplasmosis. Real-time PCR targeted at the T. gondii AF146527 gene revealed extremely high parasite burdens in both blood and BAL fluid. Although immediate introduction of specific treatment resulted in a marked reduction of the parasite load and transient clinical improvement, the patient deteriorated and died of multiple organ failure on day 39 post-HSCT. Direct genotyping of T. gondii DNA from blood and BAL fluid with the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method revealed type II alleles with SAG1, SAG2, and GRA6 markers but alleles of both type I and type II with GRA7. Additional analysis with 15 microsatellite markers showed that the T. gondii DNA was atypical and genetically divergent from that of the clonal type I, II, and III strains. This is the first report of increased clinical severity of toxoplasmosis associated with an atypical strain in the setting of immunosuppression, which emphasizes the need to diagnose and monitor toxoplasmosis by quantitative molecular methods in cases of reactivation risk.


Assuntos
Transplante de Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/efeitos adversos , Hospedeiro Imunocomprometido , Toxoplasma/isolamento & purificação , Toxoplasmose/diagnóstico , Adolescente , Líquido da Lavagem Broncoalveolar/parasitologia , Evolução Fatal , Genótipo , Humanos , Masculino , Pneumonia/parasitologia , Pneumonia/patologia , Proteínas de Protozoários/genética , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real , Toxoplasma/classificação , Toxoplasma/genética
16.
Vaccines (Basel) ; 11(3)2023 Feb 24.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36992128

RESUMO

The course of the COVID-19 pandemic has been critically altered by the availability of vaccines. To assess the risk of COVID-19 in the vaccinated, as compared to the unvaccinated population, as well as the comparative effectiveness of the BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm), BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech), Gam-COVID-Vac (Sputnik V) and ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca) vaccines in the prevention of clinical infection, we carried out a retrospective study of the incidence of clinical COVID-19 in the Belgrade city municipality of Vozdovac among both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals during a 4-month period between 1 July and 31 October 2021. The study included all individuals with a symptomatic infection confirmed by a positive PCR and/or antigen test. Only those who received two vaccine doses were considered as vaccinated. The results showed that of the Vozdovac population of 169,567, a total of 81,447 (48%) individuals were vaccinated by the end of the study. Vaccination coverage increased with age, ranging from 1.06% in those below age 18, to even 78.8% in those above 65 years of age. More than one half (57.5%) of all those vaccinated received BBIBP-CorV, while 25.2% received BNT162b2, 11.7% Gam-COVID-Vac and 5.6% ChAdOx1. The overall risk of infection of the vaccinated vs. the unvaccinated was 0.53 (95% CI 0.45-0.61). Compared to the incidence of COVID-19 of 8.05 per 1000 in the unvaccinated population, the relative risk in the vaccinated was 0.35 (95% CI 0.3-0.41). The overall VE was 65%, differing widely among age groups and by vaccine. VE was 79% for BNT162b2, 62% for BBIBP-CorV, 60% for ChAdOx1 and 54% for Gam-COVID-Vac. The VE for BBIBP-CorV and BNT162b2 increased with age. The obtained results demonstrate a significant overall effectiveness of anti-COVID-19 vaccination, which, however, varied significantly among the analyzed vaccines, and was the highest for BNT162b2.

17.
Aging Dis ; 14(1): 99-111, 2023 Feb 01.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36818555

RESUMO

Older people in nursing homes (NH) have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a retrospective study of three outbreaks of COVID-19, occurring during the waves of the initial pre-Alpha, Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants, in one NH in suburban Belgrade, Serbia. All staff and 95% residents were vaccinated in February 2021, mostly with BBIBP-CorV, and two thirds were boosted with a third dose in August 2021. COVID-19 was diagnosed by positive PCR and/or antigen test. After the first outbreak, 80 affected individuals were tested for SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies. The first outbreak involved 64/126 (50.8%) residents and 45/64 (70.3%) staff, the second 22/75 (29.3%) residents and 3/40 (7.5%) staff, and the third involved 36/110 (32.7%) residents and 19/56 (33.9%) staff. Clinical presentation ranged from asymptomatic to severe, with severe cases referred to hospital ICUs. Deaths occurred only in residents, and the case fatality rate was 31.2%, 9.1% and 0%, respectively in outbreaks 1, 2 and 3. Specific IgG antibodies were detected in all 35 residents and 44 of the 45 staff, and higher IgG levels were detected in the residents (417.3±273.5) than in the staff (201.9±192.9, p<0.0001) despite a double difference in age (79.0±7.4 vs. 40.1±11.5 years). Outbreaks 2 and 3 involved four and 23 breakthrough infections, respectively. Older individuals mounted a good immunological response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination, which prevented significant mortality and severe morbidity in the subsequent outbreaks, despite a significant number of breakthrough infections.

18.
Microorganisms ; 11(7)2023 Jul 23.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37513029

RESUMO

As pork is an important source for Toxoplasma gondii infection, we have analyzed T. gondii genotypes and toxoplasmosis prevalence in pigs in Serbia in the context of production statistics and economics to assess the specific risk to public health. Genotyping was performed using MnPCR-RFLP; T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies were detected using a modified agglutination test (MAT); and statistical data were extracted from official records and provided by government authorities. The results indicate that, from 2006 to 2021, the median number of annually slaughtered pigs was 5.6 million, yet only 36.1% were processed by abattoirs. The remainder were "backyard pigs" slaughtered on family farms and homesteads. Toxoplasmosis seroprevalence in market-weight (MW) pigs prior to 2006 was 15.2%, and was 15.1% in 2019. The seroprevalence in owned city cats, likely infected by livestock meat, was 33.2%. ToxoDB#1 was identified in pig tissues. The results indicate that backyard pigs are the backbone of the industry and provide as much as 60% of the pork in Serbia. The seroprevalence in pigs and city cats shows that farms are reservoirs for the parasite. Thus, innovative means of reducing T. gondii infection designed with backyard farmers in mind are needed to reduce the risk to public health.

19.
Exp Parasitol ; 131(3): 372-6, 2012 Jul.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-22613495

RESUMO

A sensitive real-time PCR technique was used to examine the distribution of Toxoplasma gondii in the blood and tissues of mice during acute and chronic infection. Groups of Swiss Albino mice, inoculated i.p. with 10(2) or 10(6) tachyzoites of the RH strain as a typical type-1 strain, or fed 10 cysts of the Me49 strain as a typical type-2 strain, were killed at different time points post-infection (p.i.), and blood and organs including the lungs, brain and liver were harvested for DNA extraction. Toxoplasma DNA was quantified by a real-time PCR targeted at the 529bp gene fragment, with a detection limit of a single parasite per g/ml of tissue. The results showed a strain- and dose-dependent spread of Toxoplasma. In infection with type-1 parasites, in case of a high infective dose, Toxoplasma DNA was detected within 24h p.i. in all analyzed tissues including the brain. Conversely, in case of a low infective dose, parasitaemia was undetectable early p.i., at a time when Toxoplasma DNA was detected in the tissues, but reached very high levels as infection progressed. With both infective doses, pre-death parasite burdens were higher in the blood than in the tissues, whereas the same loads in the lungs suggest that reaching these Toxoplasma burdens may be critical for survival. In infection with Me49 parasites, steady high parasite burdens were noted up to the end of the experiment at d42 only in the brain, parasitaemia was low but detectable throughout, and Toxoplasma DNA was completely cleared only from the liver. These data are important to better understand the pathogenesis of toxoplasmosis, and also as baseline data for the experimental evaluation of novel chemotherapeutics.


Assuntos
Parasitemia/parasitologia , Toxoplasma/fisiologia , Toxoplasmose Animal/parasitologia , Animais , Encéfalo/parasitologia , DNA de Protozoário/análise , DNA de Protozoário/sangue , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Feminino , Cinética , Fígado/parasitologia , Pulmão/parasitologia , Camundongos , Toxoplasma/genética , Toxoplasma/patogenicidade , Toxoplasmose Animal/sangue , Virulência
20.
Foodborne Pathog Dis ; 9(11): 967-73, 2012 Nov.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-23113724

RESUMO

Echinococcosis (hydatidosis) is traditionally endemic in Southeast Europe, Serbia included. In Serbia, echinococcosis is mandatory reportable, and this review analyzes the officially reported data as well as the research data published between 1998 and 2010. Official data on human and animal infections were obtained from the Institute of Public Health of Serbia (IPHS, 2010), and from the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry and Water Management (MATFWM) and the Statistical Office, respectively. Published data were obtained by searching the Medline, Scopus, and Google databases using "echinococcosis," "hydatidosis," and "Serbia" as key words. In addition, the search included national journals and doctoral theses, as well as conference proceedings. Only Echinococcus granulosus has been reported in Serbia, with a total of 409 cases of human infection officially reported during the observed period as opposed to 820 cases described in clinical studies. No trend in the incidence of infection was shown among adults, but the number of cases in children continuously decreased over the period. Patients were more frequently female and from rural areas. Differences in the geographic distribution of cases were noted, with a lower incidence in the central part of country. Liver disease was by far the most common presentation, but cases of unusual cyst locations have been described. Among domestic animals, sheep were the most highly infected species. A decreasing incidence of echinococcosis in animals has been noted as of the 1970s. Echinococcosis continues to be endemic in Serbia in the 21st century, but despite predictions, neither official data nor those from clinical studies indicate its re-emergence. However, there is gross underreporting. Public health authorities should actively work to increase reporting, as only valid reported data provide an accurate basis for future control plans.


Assuntos
Equinococose/epidemiologia , Echinococcus granulosus/patogenicidade , Adulto , Animais , Bovinos , Criança , Equinococose/parasitologia , Equinococose/prevenção & controle , Feminino , Humanos , Incidência , Masculino , Prevalência , Saúde Pública , Sérvia/epidemiologia , Zoonoses
SELEÇÃO DE REFERÊNCIAS
DETALHE DA PESQUISA