Clinical and pathological aspects of first report of Tunga penetrans infestation on southern brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba clamitans) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Tungiasis is a neglected neotropical disease caused by penetration of Tunga spp. into the skin of the host. METHODS: Two primates were rescued from nearby different indigenous villages, and the clinical, pathological, and parasitological features of tungiasis were described. Flea identification occurred through their morphometry and was confirmed with the use of a dichotomous key. RESULTS: Monkey 1 was parasitized by 23 sand fleas and, after treatment, was assigned to the animal rehabilitation center. Monkey 2 was in poor body condition and died shortly after clinical examination. At necropsy, this primate was parasitized by 26 specimens of sand fleas. CONCLUSIONS: Both animals altered their tree behavior by staying on the ground for long periods. This parasitic relationship implies the possibility of enlargement of the sand flea dispersion. Thus, this is the first record of Tunga penetrans occurrence in wild Alouatta guariba clamitans.

The fungus Pestalotiopsis sp., isolated from Perna perna (Bivalvia:Mytilidae) cultured on marine farms in Southeastern Brazil and destined for human consumption.

The Pestalotiopsis sp. genus comprises filamentous fungi whose species present both pathogenic and clinical-industrial importance. The cultivation and production of bivalve molluscs in regions of Rio de Janeiro is lucrative both artisanally and industrially, as the climate, geography and water quality favor the practice of this activity throughout the year at reduced costs, making the region competitive in the national market. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify filamentous fungi associated with the internal tissue anatomy of bivalve molluscs (Perna perna) from mariculture farms. Samples collected from BEMAR marine farms were dissected and transferred to 1% hypochlorite, washed in sterile distilled water and sown on Petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar (BDA). After four days, a white colony, displaying vigorous mycelium, cotton-like with abundant sporulation and black conidia masses was isolated. Observations concerning vegetative and reproductive structures were performed by microcultures stained with Amann's Lactophenol andCotton Blue. Micromorphology analyses indicated spindle and septated conidia, with two to three apical filiform appendages and a short basal pedicel. The result indicates that bivalve mollusks may be bioindicators for the presence of Pestalotiopsis sp; associated with water transport, possibly due to diluted sediments in the medium. No infectious processes or lesions in the processed material were observed. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of Pestalotiopsis sp; in Perna perna mytilids.

Rare occurrence of gynandromorphism in Lutzomyia davisi (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in Brazil.

Descriptions of morphological anomalies of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) have been recorded in both the New World and the Old World. The majority of these anomalies are associated with the genitalia, the number of cibarial teeth, wing venation, the size of the palps, and other less significant features. Such morphological variations, particularly in symmetry, can result in incorrect species identification. The occurrence of gynandromorphism in sand flies is a rare phenomenon. Currently, only five such cases have been registered in worldwide literature. In Brazil, only one report of gynandromorphism was observed in a specimen of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva 1912) from the state of the Ceará. We report here on the first known case of gynandromorphism in Lutzomyia davisi (Root 1934) captured in Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.

[Human neurocysticercosis in Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil]. / A neurocisticercose humana na Baixada Fluminense, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

The objective of this manuscript was to know the neurocysticercosis prevalence and some epidemiological aspects in Baixada Fluminense, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The data came from the service of computerized tomography of the Nova Iguaçu General Hospital from 1996 to 2002 and from neuroimage "D'IMAGEM" Center from 1992 to 2002. We analyzed 36,379 tomographies identifying 72 cases of the parasitoses, the majority in women (62.5%, p>0.05) and in the chronic phase (93.1%). The neurocysticercosis had occurred in all age groups and increase with age (r=0.84, p<0.05), being that 45.8% of them up to 50 years. The 20 interviewed cases were origin from several municipal districts of Baixada Fluminense, the monthly per capita income was 366 R dollars. The growing urbanization, deficient sanitary vigilance, absence of sewage systems and sanitary education are the main factors that potentially the transmission of cysticercosis and taeniasis in the Baixada Fluminense.

[Absence of Lutzomyia longipalpis in some endemic visceral leishmaniasis areas in Rio de Janeiro municipality]. / Ausência da Lutzomyia longipalpis em algumas áreas de ocorrência de leishmaniose visceral no Município do Rio de Janeiro.

The first autochthonous case of human visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro was diagnosed in 1977. Since 1980, 54 autochthonous cases have been diagnosed in various locations, and since 1993 some 17 autochthonous human cases have been reported. Eight of these occurred in the neighborhood of Barra de Guaratiba and the others were distributed in the following neighborhoods: Camorim, Colônia, Grota Funda, Grumari, Ilha de Guaratiba, and Carapiá. From September 1996 to December 1999, phebotomine sandfly captures were performed at 18 sites on the mountainsides of the Pedra Branca Massif, in the Municipality, and a total of 18,303 specimens were collected, with a predominance of L. intermedia (87.33%), L. migonei (6.59%), L. longipalpis (3.10%), and L. firmatoi (1.90%). The species L. longipalpis predominated in Barra de Guaratiba (46.80%) and was absent from the other six locations where VL cases also occurred, suggesting the participation of other species like L. migonei and L. firmatoi, belonging to the same paraphyletic group of the vector species, in the VL transmission chain in the region.

Pneumocistosis asociada a la infección por el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana en la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, Brasil / Pneumocystis associated to the human immunodeficiency virus in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Objetivo: investigou a prevalência de pneumopatia causada por Pneumocystis jirovecii em pacientes com o Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana (HIV). Os pacientes pesquisados foram aqueles tratados em clínicas de pneumologia de alguns hospitais da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.Métodos: entre janeiro de 2009 e julho de 2010 foram examinadas 230 amostras de enxague brônquio alveolar obtidos de pacientes de ambos os sexos na faixa etária entre 14 e 41 anos. Os lavados obtidos foram corados pelo método de Giemsa e analisados por microscopia óptica.Resultados: a prevalência geral da infecção por P. jirovecii foi de 23,5 % (54 infectados de 230 amostras analisadas), sendo 22,3 % no sexo masculino (32 infectados de 142 examinados) e 25,6 % no feminino (21 mulheres infectadas de 82 examinadas), não demonstrando diferença significativa entre os gêneros (x2= 0.05, p> 0.05). A correlação entre a infecção e a faixa etária indicou que a infecção aumenta conforme o aumento da idade, porém de forma insignificante (rs= 0,78; p> 0,05). Esse aumento ocorre de tal forma que a prevalência nos grupos etários entre 26 e 41 anos representaram individualmente mais que o dobro da observada entre os pacientes mais jovens entre 15 e 25 anos.Conclusão: os pacientes com SIDA têm grande propensão a desenvolver pneumonia por Pneumocystis jirovecii, com risco especial de colapso respiratório.

Objetivo: este estudio retrospectivo investigó la prevalencia de neumopatía causada por Pneumocystis jirovecii en pacientes con el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH). Los pacientes investigados fueron aquellos tratados en clínicas de neumología de algunos hospitales de la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, estado de Río de Janeiro, Brasil.Métodos: entre enero de 2009 y julio de 2010 se examinaron 230 muestras de lavado bronquioalveolar obtenidas de pacientes de los 2 sexos en la franja etaria entre 14 y 41 años. Los lavados obtenidos se colorearon por el método de Giemsa y se analizaron por microscopia óptica.Resultados: la prevalencia general de la infección por Pneumocystis jirovecii fue de 23,5 % (54 infectados de 230 muestras analizadas), con 22,3 % en el sexo masculino (32 infectados de 142 examinados) y 25,6 % en el femenino (21 mujeres infectadas de 82 examinadas), no demostrando diferencia significativa entre los géneros (×2= 0,05, p> 0,05). La correlacción entre la infección y la franja etaria indicó que la infección aumenta conforme el incremento de la edad, sin embargo, de modo no significativo (rs= 0,78; p> 0,05). Ese aumento ocurre de tal forma que la prevalencia en los grupos etarios entre 26 y 41 años representó, individualmente, más que el doble de la observada entre los pacientes más jóvenes de 15 a 25 años.Conclusión: los pacientes con sida son propensos a desarrollar neumonía por Pneumocystis jirovecii, con riesgo especial de colapso respiratorio.

Objective: a retrospective study was conducted to determine the prevalence of pneumopathy due to Pneumocystis jirovecii in patients with the human immunodefiency virus (HIV). The patients surveyed were being treated at pneumological clinics of several hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Methods: 230 bronchoalveolar lavage samples from patients of both sexes aged 14-41 were examined from January 2009 to July 2010. The lavage samples were stained by Giemsa's method and analyzed by optical microscopy.Results: overall prevalence of infection due to Pneumocystis jirovecii was 23.5 % (54 infected of 230 examined), of whom 22.3 % were male (32 infected of 142 examined) and 25.6 % were female (21 infected of 82 examined), with no significant difference between the sexes (×2= 0,05, p> 0,05). On the other hand, prevalence of the infection was found to increase with age, though not significantly (rs= 0,78; p> 0,05). This increase occurs in such a way that prevalence in the 26-41 age group more than doubles that of the 15-25 age group.Conclusion: AIDS patients are prone to develop Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, with a marked risk of respiratory collapse.

The patterns of tungiasis in Araruama township, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This paper describes patterns of infestation with Tunga penetrans (L., 1758) within the poor community of Araruama municipality, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, assessed by the number of persons and domestic animals parasitized. The overall prevalence of infestation was 49.2% (211 parasitized hosts) of the 429 examined. Humans (p < 0.01) and dogs (p < 0.01) were the most important hosts with 62.6% and 35.6% respectively. Dogs were considered as the potential infestation source to humans. Considering sex and age groups, both measures showed a significant difference (p < 0.01): female (62.2% infested of 143 examined) and male (43.9% infested of 98 examined). All age classes were found infested with significant difference (G = 42.5; p < 0.01) and most of the infestation occurred in children in the 0-9-year old category (27.3%). In contrast and based on mean of chigoe burden per person, the parasitic intensity was significantly higher on male than on female in all age categories, except for the 50+ (H = 27.1; p < 0.01) and decreasing with the increase of age (chi2 = 69.7, A = -124.6, p < 0.01). Growing urbanization, improved housing and sewage systems, use of appropriate footwear, examination of the feet principally in young children, antitetanus prophylaxis and reduction of stray dogs population are the major prophylactic methods recommended.