THE NEED FOR HBV GENOTYPING: A COST-EFFICIENT APPROACH.

The outcome of chronic HBV infection is variable; approximately one half of individuals transition to an inactive carrier state, 30% progress to cirrhosis, and the remainder to chronic hepatitis. Ten different HBV genotypes and many subtypes have been identified with distinct geographical distributions. Over the years, a lot of studies presented the efficiency of different genotyping methods; for this reason we aimed to present a cost efficient genotyping diagnosis algorithm of CHB infected patients, especially useful to identify those at risk of disease progression and determine optimal anti-viral therapy as useful instrument for physicians.

Distribution of sandflies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) in forest remnants and adjacent matrix habitats in Brazilian Amazonia.

We studied the distribution of sandflies (Diptera: Phlebotominae)--insect vectors of several diseases, including leishmaniasis--at the interface between primary forest and cattle pasture and between primary forest and secondary forest (< 15 yr old) in Southern Brazilian Amazonia. Sandflies were collected by using a combination of light traps and traps having vertebrates as baits. Strong differences in abundance and species richness were found between primary forests and pastures. Very few sandfly species were found in the pastures, and those that were found generally occurred at lower densities when compared to the adjacent forest. At least one species (Lutzomyia lainsoni), however, can become extremely abundant in pastures, possibly depending on the presence of cattle and water bodies. Differences between primary forests and secondary forests were not so strong, although the latter usually had fewer species and lower population abundances. No species were exclusively found in pastures or secondary forests; the species present in these two habitats were a subset of those found in primary forests. The distance to the edge did not affect the abundance, richness and composition of sandfly species in primary forests. The abundance and richness of sandflies, however, was greater in forest edges facing pastures than those facing secondary forests. This pattern could not be explained by an influx of species and individuals from the adjacent pasture, suggesting the existence of in situ differences between the different types of forest edges studied.

Epidemiological and laboratory features of chronic hepatitis B cases in the interval 2010-2013.

UNLABELLED: HBV virus infection is an important public health problem because of its huge transmission potential, and severe evolution to cirrhosis or liver cancer. AIM: Analysis of the epidemiological and laboratory features of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The patients with chronic hepatitis B admitted to the "Sf. Parascheva" University Hospital for Infectious Diseases in the interval: January 1st, 2010 - December 31st were analyzed. RESULTS: Patients age was 18 to 66 years with a prevalence of middle-aged males. Most patients came from urban areas. Alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) levels were elevated, without significant differences between HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative patients, the elevated ALAT levels being associated with the increased prevalence of fibrosis. HBeAg-positive patients had viral loads above the threshold of 2,000/l in 34 cases (89.5%), and below 2,000 IU/l in only 10.5% of cases, and the majority (88%) of HBeAg-negative patients presented high viral load levels. The prevalence of stage F2-F4 liver fibrosis was 63.4% in the HBeAg-negative patients with viremia > 25,000 IU/l compared to 55.2% in the HBeAg-positive patients. The correlation between the level of viral load and fibrosis shows that there are significant differences between viremia and the status of HBeAg-positive or negative patients. Increased viral load was correlated with increasing prevalence of fibrosis, significant in HBeAg-negative patients, and the increasing fibrosis prevalence was correlated with low viral load. CONCLUSIONS: The correlation between viral load and fibrosis shows that there are significant differences between viral load and the status of HBAg-positive or negative patients.

Distribution of sandflies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) in forest remnants and adjacent matrix habitats in Brazilian Amazonia

We studied the distribution of sandflies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) - insect vectors of several diseases, including leishmaniasis - at the interface between primary forest and cattle pasture and between primary forest and secondary forest (< 15 yr old) in Southern Brazilian Amazonia. Sandflies were collected by using a combination of light traps and traps having vertebrates as baits. Strong differences in abundance and species richness were found between primary forests and pastures. Very few sandfly species were found in the pastures, and those that were found generally occurred at lower densities when compared to the adjacent forest. At least one species (Lutzomyia lainsoni), however, can become extremely abundant in pastures, possibly depending on the presence of cattle and water bodies. Differences between primary forests and secondary forests were not so strong, although the latter usually had fewer species and lower population abundances. No species were exclusively found in pastures or secondary forests; the species present in these two habitats were a subset of those found in primary forests. The distance to the edge did not affect the abundance, richness and composition of sandfly species in primary forests. The abundance and richness of sandflies, however, was greater in forest edges facing pastures than those facing secondary forests. This pattern could not be explained by an influx of species and individuals from the adjacent pasture, suggesting the existence of in situ differences between the different types of forest edges studied.