Detection of encephalitis-causing viruses reveals predominance of chikungunya virus in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: Encephalitis is a severe neurological syndrome for which herpesvirus and enteroviruses are the most common etiological agents. Arboviruses, a wildly diverse group of pathogens, are also critical epidemiological agents associated with encephalitis. In Brazil, little is known about the causative agents of encephalitis. METHODS: We conducted a hospital surveillance for encephalitis between 2020 and 2022. Molecular (RT-PCR and qPCR) and serological (virus-specific IgM and viral antigens) techniques were performed in cerebrospinal fluid and serum samples obtained from study participants. RESULTS: In the 43 participants evaluated, the etiologic agent or the presence of IgM was detected in 16 (37.2%). Nine (20.9%) cases were positive for chikungunya virus (CHIKV), three (7.0%) for dengue virus, two (4.7%) for human adenovirus, one (2.3%) for varicella-zoster virus, and one (2.3%) for enterovirus. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that the CHIKV identified belongs to the East/Central/South African lineage. CONCLUSION: Herein, CHIKV is a common pathogen identified in encephalitis cases. Our results reinforce previous evidence that chikungunya represents a significant cause of encephalitis during CHIKV outbreaks and epidemics and add to existing information on the epidemiology of encephalitis in Brazil.

Biliary ascariasis and severe bacterial outcomes: Report of three cases from a paediatric hospital in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Biliary ascariasis, although uncommon, can lead to infectious complications and severe outcomes. This study reported three patients with biliary ascariasis and who were admitted to a paediatric hospital in Salvador, Brazil. CASE REPORTS: Case 1: A 1-year-old boy, with HIV, hospitalised with diarrhoea, fever, pain, and abdominal distension. He underwent an exploratory laparotomy, which showed peritonitis secondary to a perforation of the hepatic duct by ascaris. Case 2: A 3-year-old boy admitted with fever, abdominal pain and jaundice. Imaging examination was suggestive of ascaris in the intrahepatic biliary tract and a hepatic abscess. Case 3: A 7-year-old boy who was hospitalised with a history of abdominal colic, jaundice and fever, with a suggestive image of ascaris in the biliary tract and evolution to sepsis. DISCUSSION: Three cases of biliary ascariasis were reported with severe infectious complications involving peritonitis, hepatic abscess and sepsis. CONCLUSION: In endemic regions, biliary ascariasis should be considered in cases with jaundice, abdominal pain and fever, due to its morbidity and risk of complications.

Cromobacteriose em Ilhéus, Bahia: investigacão epidemiológica clínica e laboratorial / Chromobacteriosis in Ilhéus, Bahia: epidemiologic, clinical and laboratorial investigation

Em abril/2004, um grupo de pessoas realizou passeio a um sítio em cidade no baixo sul da Bahia e em seguida três adolescentes de uma mesma família apresentaram septicemia grave com óbito de dois destes. Objetivando identificar o evento, o Servico de Vigilância procedeu à investigacão epidemiológica, clínica, laboratorial e ambiental, identificando a Chromobacterium violaceum em material biológico de um dos pacientes que evoluíram para óbito e na água e solo do local do passeio. Esta é o primeira descricão desta doenca na Bahia.

Chromobacterium violaceum in siblings, Brazil.

Chromobacterium violaceum, a saprophyte bacterium found commonly in soil and water in tropical and subtropical climates, is a rare cause of severe, often fatal, human disease. We report 1 confirmed and 2 suspected cases of C. violaceum septicemia, with 2 fatalities, in siblings after recreational exposure in northeastern Brazil.

[Chromobacteriosis in Ilhéus, Bahia: epidemiologic, clinical and laboratorial investigation]. / Cromobacteriose em Ilhéus, Bahia: investigação epidemiológica clínica e laboratorial.

In April/2004, a group of people traveled to a farm in a town in the south of Bahia and afterwards, three teenagers from the same family developed symptoms of severe septicemia and two died. The Health Department carried out an epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory and environmental investigation that resulted in the identification of Chromobacterium violaceum, in biological material from one of them, water and soil. This is the first report of the disease in Bahia State.