Tanay virus, a new species of virus isolated from mosquitoes in the Philippines.

In 2005, we isolated a new species of virus from mosquitoes in the Philippines. The virion was elliptical in shape and had a short single projection. The virus was named Tanay virus (TANAV) after the locality in which it was found. TANAV genomic RNA was a 9562 nt+poly-A positive strand, and polycistronic. The longest ORF contained putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP); however, conserved short motifs in the RdRP were permuted. TANAV was phylogenetically close to Negevirus, a recently proposed taxon of viruses isolated from haemophagic insects, and to some plant viruses, such as citrus leprosis virus C, hibiscus green spot virus and blueberry necrotic ring blotch virus. In this paper, we describe TANAV and the permuted structure of its RdRP, and discuss its phylogeny together with those of plant viruses and negevirus.

Insect bite reactions.

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods. Insect bite reactions are commonly seen in clinical practice. The present review touches upon the medically important insects and their places in the classification, the sparse literature on the epidemiology of insect bites in India, and different variables influencing the susceptibility of an individual to insect bites. Clinical features of mosquito bites, hypersensitivity to mosquito bites Epstein-Barr virus NK (HMB-EBV-NK) disease, eruptive pseudoangiomatosis, Skeeter syndrome, papular pruritic eruption of HIV/AIDS, and clinical features produced by bed bugs, Mexican chicken bugs, assassin bugs, kissing bugs, fleas, black flies, Blandford flies, louse flies, tsetse flies, midges, and thrips are discussed. Brief account is presented of the immunogenic components of mosquito and bed bug saliva. Papular urticaria is discussed including its epidemiology, the 5 stages of skin reaction, the SCRATCH principle as an aid in diagnosis, and the recent evidence supporting participation of types I, III, and IV hypersensitivity reactions in its causation is summarized. Recent developments in the treatment of pediculosis capitis including spinosad 0.9% suspension, benzyl alcohol 5% lotion, dimethicone 4% lotion, isopropyl myristate 50% rinse, and other suffocants are discussed within the context of evidence derived from randomized controlled trials and key findings of a recent systematic review. We also touch upon a non-chemical treatment of head lice and the ineffectiveness of egg-loosening products. Knockdown resistance (kdr) as the genetic mechanism making the lice nerves insensitive to permethrin is discussed along with the surprising contrary clinical evidence from Europe about efficacy of permethrin in children with head lice carrying kdr-like gene. The review also presents a brief account of insects as vectors of diseases and ends with discussion of prevention of insect bites and some serious adverse effects of mosquito coil smoke.

Adolpho Lutz and controversies over the transmission of leprosy by mosquitoes.

During his years of study in Switzerland and Germany, Adolpho Lutz published his first articles on zoology, clinical practice, and therapeutics. In Limeira, São Paulo, he began studies on animal and human diseases caused by germs and parasites. In 1885-86, Lutz traveled to Hamburg to study the morphology of germs related to skin diseases, in conjunction with Paul Gerson Unna, one of Germany's foremost dermatologists. He proposed the inclusion of Hansen's and Koch's bacilli in a new genus. In 1889, Unna nominated his student as physician-in-chief of the Leper Settlement on Molokai Island, Hawaii. From then on, Lutz sustained the theory that the disease was transmitted by mosquitos. He conducted research to prove this theory when he was head of the Instituto Bacteriológico de São Paulo (1893-1908) and, later, after he moved to the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (1908-1940). Although this research was not successful, on commissions and at congresses in which he participated until his death in October 1940, he still held to his conviction that leprosy was transmitted by mosquitoes.

Doença de além-mar: estudos comparativos da oncocercose na América Latina e Africa / Overseas disease: comparative studies of onchocerciasis in Latin America and Africa

Objetiva investigar os aspectos históricos da introduçäo e disseminaçäo da oncocercose na América Latina, e realizar estudos comparativos sobre a história da doença nos dois continentes. A importância que adquiriu acarretou a revalorizaçäo das coleçöes de simuliídeos, cujas espécies brasileiras começaram a ser estudadas por Adolpho Lutz no início do século XX.

Doença de além-mar: estudos comparativos da oncocercose na América Latina e Africa / Overseas disease: comparative studies of onchocerciasis in Latin America and Africa

Objetiva investigar os aspectos históricos da introduçäo e disseminaçäo da oncocercose na América Latina, e realizar estudos comparativos sobre a história da doença nos dois continentes. A importância que adquiriu acarretou a revalorizaçäo das coleçöes de simuliídeos, cujas espécies brasileiras começaram a ser estudadas por Adolpho Lutz no início do século XX. (AU)

From "forest malaria" to "bromeliad malaria": a case-study of scientific controversy and malaria control.

The article analyses the evolution of knowledge and rationale of control of a special case of malaria transmission based on Bromelia-Kerteszia complex. Since bromeliaceae function as a 'host of the carrier' and were previously associated with natural forests, the elucidation of bromeliad malaria historically elicited controversies concerning the imputation of Kertesziae as transmitters as well as over control strategies directed to bromelia eradication (manual removal, herbicides and deforestation), use of insecticides and chemoprophylaxis. Established authority, disciplinary traditions, conceptual premises and contemporary criteria for validating knowledge in the field partly explain the long time gap since Adolpho Lutz announced at the beginning of the century the existence of a new mosquito and breeding site as responsible for a 'forest malaria' epidemic occurring at a high altitude. The article brings attention to how economic, political and institutional determinants played an important role in redefining studies that led both in Trinidad and Brazil to the recognition of the importance of kerteszia transmission, including urban areas, and establishing new approaches to its study, most relevant of all the concurrence of broad ecological research. The article then describes the Brazilian campaign strategies which showed significant short-term results but had to wait four decades to achieve the goal of eradication due to the peculiar characteristics of this pathogenic complex. Finally, it brings attention to the importance of encompassing social values and discourses, in this case, environmental preservation, to understanding historical trends of malaria control programs.

From "forest malaria" to "bromeliad malaria": a case-study of scientific controversy and malaria control

The article analyses the evolution of knowledge and rationale of control of a special case of malaria transmission based on Bromelia-Kerteszia complex. Since bromeliaceae function as a 'host of the carrier' and were previously associated with natural forests, the elucidation of bromeliad malaria historically elicited controversies concerning the imputation of Kerteszaie as transmitters as well as over control strategies directed to bromelia eradication (manual removal, herbicides and deforestation), use of insecticides and chemoprophylaxis. Established authority, disciplinary traditions, conceptual premises and contemporary criteria for validating knowledge in the field partly explain the long time gap since Adolpho Lutz announced as the beginning of the century the existence of a new mosquito and breeding site as responsible for a 'forest malaria' epidemic occurring at a high altitude. The article brings attention to how economic, political and institutional determinants played an important role in redefining studies that led both in Trinidad and Brazil to the recognition of the importance of kerteszia transmission, including urban areas, and establishing new approaches to its study, most relevant of all the concurrence of broad ecological research. The article then describes the Brazilian campaign strategies which showed significant short-term results but had to wait four decades to achieve the goal of eradication due to the peculiar characteristics of this pathogenic complex. Finally, it brings attention to the importance of encompassing social values and discourses, in this case, environmental preservation, to understanding historical trends of malaria control programs(AU)

Recent advances in experimental leprosy.

Within the last 15 years we have learned to identify Mycobacterium leprae, determine its viability, screen the efficacy of antileprosy drugs, and monitor the bacilli for drug sensitivity. We have evidence that subclinical infections occur frequently among contacts of patients with leprosy and that the different manifestations of leprosy reflect differences in resistance to M leprae. We are developing hypotheses about the mechanism of these differences. We have experimentally transmitted lepromatous leprosy to normal armadillos, and from these we can obtain amounts of leprosy bacilli which fully substitute for harvests from in vitro cultures. Furthermore, if susceptibility of armadillos can be determined without infecting them and if we can breed them under controlled conditions, we would have an animal model for investigating fundamental and applied areas of leprosy which otherwise are intractable. How much our knowledge has advanced is illustrated by a project of the World Health Organization which calls for the preparation of pure, specific antigens from the now available abundance of leprosy bacilli, which might become valuable as diagnostic and epidemiologic tools and as immunoprophylactic and even immunotherapeutic weapons.