Prevalence, risk factors and molecular characteristics of meningococcal carriage among brazilian adolescents

BACKGROUND: In 2010, introduction of the meningococcal C conjugate vaccine in Brazil for children <2 years provided an immediate reduction in the incidence rates of disease among the age groups targeted for the vaccine, but no early impact was observed in unvaccinated age groups. Knowledge about meningococcal carriage is crucial for improving our understanding of the disease epidemiology and for designing effective vaccination programs. Taking in account the very limited published data currently available describing meningococcal carriage in Brazil, we performed a study to evaluate the prevalence of Neisseria meningitidis carriage among adolescent students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 to assess the prevalence of meningococcal carriage among a representative sample of 1208 students 11­19 years of age in Campinas, Brazil. Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of isolated carriage strains and the effect of potential risk factors for carriage were also analyzed. Results: The overall carriage prevalence was 9.9% (95% confidence interval, 8.3­11.8%), with dominance of serogroup C (1.32%), followed by serogroups B (0.99%), E (0.74%), Y (0.49%) and W (0.25%). A lower level of education of the parents was independently associated with a higher risk of carriage. A high diversity of genotypes was found among carriage strains. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence gathered during this study provides estimates of carriage prevalence in Brazilian adolescents, showing an unusually high dominance of serogroup C. These results have important implications in future strategies to optimize the impact of the current meningococcal C vaccination program in Brazil

Hygienic-sanitary conditions of vegetables and irrigation water from kitchen gardens in the municipality of Campinas, SP

We examined samples of irrigation water and vegetables from kitchen gardens in Campinas, Brazil. The bacterial analysis condemned 22.3 per cente of the vegetable samples, and the parasitological examination condemned 14.5 per cente. The criteria established by the Brazilian legislation condemned 11.8 per cente of the irrigation water samples. Parasites were significantly more frequent in vegetables in the rainy season, while excessive fecal coliforms were more frequent in the dry season. A proper monitoring of the irrigation water supply is important to avoid the contamination of vegetables.

Ocorrência de cryptosporidium parvum e isospora belli na Regiäo de Campinas, SP / Occurrence of cryptosporidium parvum e isospora belli in the area of Campinas, SP

No período compreendido entre março de 1990 e dezembro de 1994 foi realizada pequisa de coccídios em amostras de fezes de 172 pacientes, com e sem diarréia, na Seçäo de Biologia Médica do Instituto Adolfo Lutz - Campinas, encaminhados pelos Serviços de Saúde do Município de Campinas e Regiäo. Os pacientes foram divididos em dois grupos: indivíduos HIV possitivos e suspeitos. Oocistos de Cryptosporidium parvum foram encontrados em 32-18,60 (por cento) e de Isospora belli em 27-15,70 (por cento) dos pacientes. Coinfecçäo pelos dois coccídios foi observada em 04-2,33 (por cento) da populaçäo estudada. A ocorrência de ambos os coccídios entre os pacientes estudados foi de 31,98 (por cento)