COVID-19 epidemic in Panama.

Objective: It is necessary to establish the evolution that the pandemic has had in Panama by weeks and months and to clearly establish the existence of surges or peaks, according to cases and deaths and the relationship with age groups. Methodology: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all confirmed COVID-19 cases reported by the Ministry of Health of Panama during the first 3 years of the epidemic (March 9, 2020, March 11, 2023). All cases were obtained from information provided by the Ministry of Health. We obtained daily information of the population at the national level reported as new cases, deaths, admission to hospitals, admission to intensive care units and by age groups. The information is classified by epidemiological week and by month from the diagnosis of the first case until March 2023. Results: During the three years of the study, 1,032,316 cases of COVID-19 were registered in the Republic of Panama, and the number of deaths reported was 8,621, for a fatality rate of 0.83 % throughout that period. The number of deaths decreased over the 3 years of the pandemic; however, similar to the cases, there were periods of surges (peaks) per year in June/July and in December/January. The lethality progressively increased according to the age of the affected patients. During the first year, the lethality in those under 20 years of age was 0.05 %, and in those over 80 years old, it was 17.54 %. This pattern was maintained during the second year; however, there was a large decrease in all age groups. Conclusion: the highest lethality rate in Panama occurred in the first year of the pandemic, with a great decrease in the third year; the impact of lethality is proportional to the age of the individual, with a high possibility of death in those over 80 years of age. During each pandemic year, there are two peaks (surges of new cases and deaths) per year, which are important times to take into account to generate strategies aimed at reducing the impact.

Complicaciones de pacientes con la COVID-19 y su relación con la evolución y la letalidad / Complications of COVID-19 patients and its relation with the evolution and lethality

Introducción: La infección por el virus SARS-CoV-2 se ha convertido en una pandemia que ha ocasionado gran número de complicaciones, con evolución fatal en muchos casos. Objetivo: Identificar las complicaciones en los pacientes con la COVID-19 y su relación con la evolución y la letalidad. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo en 74 pacientes con diagnóstico confirmado de la COVID-19, en el periodo desde marzo hasta mayo de 2020. Se incluyeron las variables edad (agrupada en: menos de 18 años, de 18 a 60 años y más de 60 años), sexo, antecedentes patológicos personales, complicaciones y estado al egreso. Se calcularon las frecuencias, porcentajes y la tasa de letalidad. Resultados: El 52, 6 por ciento de los pacientes fueron del sexo masculino; no hubo complicaciones en menos de 18 años, el 15,7 por ciento de entre 18 y 60 años sí las tuvo y el 61,5 por ciento de los mayores de 60; la neumonía grave fue la más frecuente con el 37,5 por ciento. Solo 2 pacientes con complicaciones evolucionaron de forma desfavorable; no hubo diferencias aparentes entre la presencia de antecedentes patológicos y la aparición de complicaciones. Conclusiones: El número de complicaciones es bajo y la evolución favorable, independientemente de estas y los antecedentes patológicos personales; la tasa de letalidad fue baja(AU)

Introduction: The infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has become a pandemic that has caused a large number of complications, with fatal evolution in many cases. Objective: To identify complications in patients with COVID-19 and their relationship with evolution and fatality. Methods: An observational, descriptive study was carried out in 74 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, in the period from March to May 2020. Age variables were included (grouped in: less than 18 years, 18 to 60 years and more than 60 years), sex, personal pathological history, complications and status at discharge. The frequencies, percentages and the fatality rate were calculated. Results: 52.6 percent of the patients were male; there were no complications in less than 18 years, 15.7 percent of those between 18 and 60 years had them and 61.5 of those over 60; severe pneumonia was the most frequent with 37.5 percent. Only 2 patients with complications evolved unfavorably; there were no apparent differences between the presence of a medical history and the appearance of complications. Conclusions: The number of complications is low and the evolution is favorable, regardless of these and the personal pathological antecedents; the fatality rate was low(AU)

Ultraviolet-C inactivation and hydrophobicity of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus velezensis spores isolated from extended shelf-life milk.

Bacterial spores are important in food processing due to their ubiquity, resistance to high temperature and chemical inactivation. This work aims to study the effect of ultraviolet C (UVC) on the spores of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus velezensis at a molecular and individual level to guide in deciding on the right parameters that must be applied during the processing of liquid foods. The spores were treated with UVC using phosphate buffer saline (PBS) as a suspension medium and their lethality rate was determined for each sample. Purified spore samples of B. velezensis and B. subtilis were treated under one pass in a UVC reactor to inactivate the spores. The resistance pattern of the spores to UVC treatment was determined using dipicolinic acid (Ca-DPA) band of spectral analysis obtained from Raman spectroscopy. Flow cytometry analysis was also done to determine the effect of the UVC treatment on the spore samples at the molecular level. Samples were processed for SEM and the percentage spore surface hydrophobicity was also determined using the Microbial Adhesion to Hydrocarbon (MATH) assay to predict the adhesion strength to a stainless-steel surface. The result shows the maximum lethality rate to be 6.5 for B. subtilis strain SRCM103689 (B47) and highest percentage hydrophobicity was 54.9% from the sample B. velezensis strain LPL-K103 (B44). The difference in surface hydrophobicity for all isolates was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Flow cytometry analysis of UVC treated spore suspensions clarifies them further into sub-populations unaccounted for by plate counting on growth media. The Raman spectroscopy identified B4002 as the isolate possessing the highest concentration of Ca-DPA. The study justifies the critical role of Ca-DPA in spore resistance and the possible sub-populations after UVC treatment that may affect product shelf-life and safety. UVC shows a promising application in the inactivation of resistant spores though there is a need to understand the effects at the molecular level to design the best parameters during processing.

Population-Predicted MHC Class II Epitope Presentation of SARS-CoV-2 Structural Proteins Correlates to the Case Fatality Rates of COVID-19 in Different Countries.

We observed substantial differences in predicted Major Histocompatibility Complex II (MHCII) epitope presentation of SARS-CoV-2 proteins for different populations but only minor differences in predicted MHCI epitope presentation. A comparison of this predicted epitope MHC-coverage revealed for the early phase of infection spread (till day 15 after reaching 128 observed infection cases) highly significant negative correlations with the case fatality rate. Specifically, this was observed in different populations for MHC class II presentation of the viral spike protein (p-value: 0.0733 for linear regression), the envelope protein (p-value: 0.023), and the membrane protein (p-value: 0.00053), indicating that the high case fatality rates of COVID-19 observed in some countries seem to be related with poor MHC class II presentation and hence weak adaptive immune response against these viral envelope proteins. Our results highlight the general importance of the SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins in immunological control in early infection spread looking at a global census in various countries and taking case fatality rate into account. Other factors such as health system and control measures become more important after the early spread. Our study should encourage further studies on MHCII alleles as potential risk factors in COVID-19 including assessment of local populations and specific allele distributions.

Ecological study of gastric cancer in Brazil: geographic and time trend analysis.

AIM: To investigate the geographic distributions and time trends of gastric cancer (GC) incidence and mortality in Brazil. METHODS: An ecological study of the DATASUS registry was conducted by identifying hospitalizations for GC between January 2005 and December 2010. The data included information on the gender, age, and town of residence at the time of hospital admission and death. RESULTS: The GC rates, adjusted according to available hospital beds, decreased from 13.8 per 100000 in 2005 to 12.7 per 100000 in 2010. The GC rates decreased more among the younger age groups, in which the male-to-female difference also decreased in comparison to the older age groups. Although the lethality rates tended to increase with age, young patients were proportionally more affected. The spatial GC distribution showed that the rates were higher in the south and southeast. However, while the rates decreased in the central-west and south, they increased in the northern regions. A geographic analysis showed higher rates of GC in more urbanized areas, with a coast-to-inland gradient. Geographically, GC lethality overlapped greatly with the hospital admission rates. CONCLUSION: The results of this study support the hypothesis of a critical role for environmental factors in GC pathogenesis. The declining rates in young patients, particularly males, suggest a relatively recent decrease in the exposure to risk factors associated with GC. The spatial distribution of GC indicates an ongoing dynamic change within the Brazilian environment.

Retort pouch processing of Chettinad style goat meat curry - a heritage meat product.

Chettinad style goat meat curry, a heritage meat product, was thermal processed in retort pouches having 4 layer configurations. Physical properties of retort pouches indicated that they are suitable for processing. Pouches filled with 150 g of goat meat and 100 g of curry medium were retorted to a F O value of 12.1 min. Retort cooked products were tested for sterility and quality characteristics. Retorting decreased the product pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and shear force values. Retort processed products had significantly lower L*, a*, b* and chroma values. Product was superior in all sensory attributes. It is concluded that Chettinad style goat meat product retorted to a F O value of 12.1 min, had acceptable sensory quality characteristics.

Infecciones por Streptococcus agalactiae en un servicio de neonatología abierto / Infections due to Streptococcus agalactiae at an open neonatology service

El objetivo del presente estudio fue conocer las características clínicas y epidemiológicas de las infecciones por estreptococo del grupo B en recién nacidos egresados de los hospitales maternos. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, que incluyó a recién nacidos consecutivos con infecciones por Streptococcus agalactiae, ingresados en el Servicio de Neonatología del Hospital Pediátrico Universitario Juan M Márquez entre febrero de 1992 y diciembre del 2007. Se procesaron y analizaron distintas variables clínicas y epidemiológicas, con cálculo de tasas de incidencia y letalidad, así como relación entre variables categóricas. Hubo 76 recién nacidos con infección por Streptococcus agalactiae, lo cual constituyó una tasa promedio anual de 1,9 x 100 ingresos. Predominaron las infecciones de inicio tardío y las adquiridas en la comunidad (89,5 por ciento y 93,4 por ciento, respectivamente). La meningitis fue la forma clínica más frecuente, seguida de la bacteriemia aislada. Hubo 56 de 76 recién nacidos con bacteriemia (73,7 por ciento). El Streptococcus agalactiae tuvo elevada sensibilidad ante la penicilina, la eritromicina, la vancomicina, la cefotaxima y el cloranfenicol. Hubo 7 fallecidos (9,2 por ciento) y todos fueron pacientes con infección del sistema nervioso central. Streptococcus agalactiae es un agente causal de infecciones que afectan al recién nacido, tanto en la comunidad como en el medio hospitalario. Estas infecciones pueden ser letales en algunos pacientes con infección del sistema nervioso central con bacteriemia o sin ella, aún manteniendo un patrón de elevada susceptibilidad a los antibióticos betalactámicos.

The objective of the present study was to know the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the infections caused by group B Streptococcus in newborns discharged from maternal hospitals. A descriptive study that included consecutive infants with infections due to Streptococcus agalactiae admitted in the Neonatology Service of ½Juan M. Mßrquez¼ University Pediatric Hospital from February 1992 to December 2007 was conducted. Different clinical and epidemiological variables were processed and analyzed, with calculation of incidence and lethality rates and relation among the categoric variables. There were 76 newborns with infection due to Streptococcus agalactiae for an average annual rate of 1,9 x 100 admissions. It was observed a predominance of late onset infections and of those acquired in the community (89,5 percent y 93,4 percent, respectively). Meningitis was the most common clinical form followed by isolated bacteriemia. 56 of the 76 newborn infants had bacteriemia (73,7 percent). Streptococcus agalactiae showed a high sensitivity to penicillin, erythromycine, vancomycin, cefotaxime and cloranphenicol. There were 7 deaths (9,2 percent). All of them had infection of the CNS. Streptococcus agalactiae is an agent that causes infections affecting the newborn infant, both in the community and in the hospital. These infections may be lethal in some patients with infection of the CNS with o without bacteriemia, even when they maintain a pattern of elevated susceptibility to betalactamic antibiotics.