Gut microbiota of children with atopic dermatitis: Controlled study in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: It is possible that imbalances in the composition of the gut microbiota or the relationship of the microbiota with the host may be implicated in the origin of allergy. Therefore, we studied the intestinal microbiota of children with atopic dermatitis (AD). METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 81 children aged 5-11; 23 with AD and 58 controls. Surveys were conducted to obtain demographic, socioeconomic and neonatal data. Diagnosis of AD was made based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. Eubacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, B. fragilis, E. coli, Lactobacillus spp., S. aureus, E. faecalis, Salmonella spp., M. smithii, Bifidobacterium spp., C. difficile and C. perfringens were quantified using real-time PCR. RESULTS: The analysis showed an association between presence of C. difficile (OR: 5.88; 95 % CI: 1.24; 27.98), greater abundance of bifidobacteria (OR: 11.09; 95 % CI: 2.14; 57.39) and a lower abundance of lactobacilli (OR: 0.07; 95 % CI: 0.01; 0.51) in the gut microbiota of children with AD. Counts of Eubacteria (0,05×103 and 8.49×103), B. fragilis (0.72×109 and 4.5×109), Lactobacillus spp. (0.02×108 and 0.38×108), E. coli (0.13×109 and 1.52×109) and M. smithii (0.02×108 and 0.31×108) were lower in children with AD (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that children living in the metropolitan area of São Paulo (Brazil) with AD have a different microbiota pattern with higher prevalence of C. difficile, lower abundance of Lactobacillus and greater abundance of bifidobacteria, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Children living near a sanitary landfill have increased breath methane and Methanobrevibacter smithii in their intestinal microbiota.

This study evaluated the breath CH4 excretion and concentration of M. smithii in intestinal microbiota of schoolchildren from 2 slums. One hundred and eleven children from a slum near a sanitary landfill, 35 children of a slum located away from the sanitary landfill, and 32 children from a high socioeconomic level school were included in the study. Real-time PCR was performed to quantify the M. smithii nifH gene and it was present in the microbiota of all the participating children, with higher (P < 0.05) concentrations in those who lived in the slum near the landfill (3.16 × 10(7) CFU/g of feces), comparing with the children from the slum away from the landfill (2.05 × 10(6) CFU/g of feces) and those from the high socioeconomic level group (3.93 × 10(5) CFU/g of feces). The prevalence of children who present breath methane was 53% in the slum near the landfill, 31% in the slum further away from the landfill and, 22% in the high socioeconomic level group. To live near a landfill is associated with higher concentrations of M. smithii in intestinal microbiota, comparing with those who live away from the landfill, regardless of their socioeconomics conditions.

ß-Lactam Resistance Genes: Characterization, Epidemiology, and First Detection of blaCTX-M-1 and blaCTX-M-14 in Salmonella spp. Isolated from Poultry in Brazil-Brazil Ministry of Agriculture's Pathogen Reduction Program.

Salmonella spp. are widespread in nature; however, human infections occur mainly through ingestion of contaminated food, specially poultry and eggs. In Brazil, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) oversees food production in general, with the goal of preventing transmission of pathogens through the food chain. In 2004, MAPA initiated a program to monitor and control levels of Salmonella in poultry during slaughter. This study analyzes isolates from MAPA's program for ß-lactam resistance and the resistance genes involved, as well as the geographic distributions of potentially clonal populations of resistant isolates within Brazil. Initially, 1,939 Salmonella spp. isolated between 2004 and 2011 were examined. These isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, and 100 isolates resistant or intermediate to ampicillin and ceftriaxone were screened initially for the presence of blaSHV, blaTEM, blaOXA, blaPSA, blaCMY-1, and blaCMY-2 genes. There were 55 isolates whose resistance genes were not identified by this panel and these isolates are the subject of this report. These 55 isolates were differentiated into 31 distinct ribogroups, with multiple ß-lactam resistance genes, including AmpC blaCMY, blaTEM, blaCTX-M-1, blaCTX-M-2, blaCTX-M-8, and blaCTX-M-14. Isolates carrying variants of blaCTX-M were identified in three geographic regions. Salmonella carrying particular genetic variants of blaCTX-M and belonging to the same ribogroup were identified from multiple poultry slaughtering facilities. In some instances, these presumptive clonal-related isolates were from facilities over 300 miles apart, indicating potential clonal spread between two geographic regions. This is the first report of blaCTX-M-1 and blaCTX-M-14 in Salmonella in Brazil.