Zosteriform cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania ( Viannia ) panamensis and Leishmania ( Viannia ) braziliensis: report of three cases.

In Colombia, zosteriform leishmaniasis is a little-known and infrequent clinical variant of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Its clinical features include one or more plaques made up of papules and pseudo-vesicles, which conform to a lineal pattern, as well as satellite lesions that affect one or more dermatomes, without crossing the median line. We present three zosteriform cutaneous leishmaniasis cases in which Leishmania panamensis and Leishmania braziliensis were identified as the infective species. In light of the fact that the disease occurs infrequently, diagnosis was reached by taking into account epidemiological and clinical suspicion.

Zosteriform cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania ( Viannia ) panamensis and Leishmania ( Viannia ) braziliensis: Report of three cases / Leishmaniasis cutánea zosteriforme causada por Leishmania ( Viannia) panamensis y Leishmania ( Viannia ) braziliensis: reporte de tres casos

In Colombia, zosteriform leishmaniasis is a little-known and infrequent clinical variant of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Its clinical features include one or more plaques made up of papules and pseudo-vesicles, which conform to a lineal pattern, as well as satellite lesions that affect one or more dermatomes, without crossing the median line. We present three zosteriform cutaneous leishmaniasis cases in which Leishmania panamensis and Leishmania braziliensis were identified as the infective species. In light of the fact that the disease occurs infrequently, diagnosis was reached by taking into account epidemiological and clinical suspicion.

La leishmaniasis zosteriforme es una variante clínica de la leishmaniasis cutánea, infrecuente y poco conocida en Colombia. Clínicamente se caracteriza por una o varias placas conformadas por pápulas y pseudovesículas que siguen un patrón lineal, y por lesiones satelitales que comprometen uno o varios dermatomas sin sobrepasar la línea media. Se presentan tres casos de leishmaniasis cutánea zosteriforme en los que se identificaron Leishmania panamensis y Leishmania braziliensis como especies infectantes. La sospecha epidemiológica derivada de la procedencia de los pacientes, así como la sospecha clínica a partir del reconocimiento de una presentación infrecuente de la enfermedad, permitieron hacer el diagnóstico.

Vianna and the discovery of Leishmania braziliensis: the role of Brazilian parasitologists in the identification of Bauru's ulcer as American leishmaniasis.

The description of a new species of Leishmania spp. and the comprehensive study of a yet incompletely understood disease, mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, was a significant accomplishment of the then emerging Brazilian medical and public health science in the early decades of the 20th century. Gaspar Vianna and a group of academic-minded physicians in São Paulo brought forth a task still largely ignored, the complete description of a new nosological entity, in the process forming the core of a parasitological school that would bridge the 20th century with important contributions to medical science and public health. This article analyses the conditions surrounding this group in São Paulo and the major landmarks of their contributions.

[Endoparasite prevalence in truck farmers and in the vegetables of Feira do Produtor de Maringá, Paraná]. / Prevalência de enteroparasitas em horticultores e hortaliças da Feira do Produtor de Maringá, Paraná.

Few studies have assessed the contamination of vegetables at Brazilian production sites. From April 1996 to December of 1997, the sanitary conditions of raw consumed vegetables sold in the Feira do Produtor de Maringá were investigated. We based the analyses on the contamination of vegetables, of the producers (stool samples and material under the fingernails) and of the water used for irrigation. It was observed that 16.6% of 144 samples of five different types of vegetables were contaminated with intestinal parasites. Forty three of 163 individuals (26%) were infected with one or more parasites. Only three of the 49 samples of material under the fingernails analyzed were positive for intestinal parasites. Analysis of samples of the water used for vegetable irrigation showed that the water did not satisfy bacteriological standards of potability. We conclude that in the investigated area the contamination of vegetables occurred during the production phase and that a sanitary education campaign directed at the producers is needed.

[Epidemiologic setting of the agricultural use of sewage: Valle del Mezquital, Mexico]. / Escenario epidemiológico del uso agrícola del agua residual: el Valle del Mezquital, México.

Wastewater from Mexico City is used to irrigate over 85,000 hectares mainly of fodder and cereal crops in the Mezquital Valley. A cross-sectional study method is being used to test the impact of exposure to raw wastewater and wastewater from storage reservoirs on diarrheal disease and parasitic infections in farmworkers and their families. The study population in the rainy season survey included 1,900 households: 680 households where the farmworker is exposed to untreated wastewater (exposed group), 520 households exposed to reservoir water (semiexposed group), and 700 households where the farmworker practices rain-fed agriculture (control group). Preliminary analysis of the data from the rainy season study (dry season study in progress) has been carried out. Current information indicates that the risk of Ascaris lumbricoides infection is much higher in the exposed group than in the control group (95% CL = 2.9-10.8). According to the procedures employed Entamoeba histolytica infection was more frequent among subjects aged 5 to 14 years from households exposed to raw wastewater, than among subjects of the same ages belonging to the control group (95% CL = 1.07-1.72). When diarrheal disease rates were analyzed, children under 5 years from exposed households had a significantly higher prevalence than controls (95% CL = 1.03-1.64). The final results of this study are expected to aid decisions within the National Wastewater Reuse Programme in Mexico.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[The health problems associated with irrigation with wastewater in Mexico]. / Problemas de salud asociados al riego agrícola con agua residual en México.

Over 85,000 hectares in the Mezquital Valley of central Mexico are irrigated with wastewater. The main crops are fodder and cereal crops. A two cross-sectional survey was carried out to test the impact of exposure to raw wastewater and from storage of that wastewater in reservoirs. The main outcomes were diarrhoeal disease and parasitic infections in farmworkers and their families. The total study population in the dry season included 2,049 households. The study population was classified in households where the farmworker is exposed to untreated wastewater (exposed group), households exposed to reservoir water (semi-exposed group), and households where the farmworker practices rain-fed agriculture (control group). Preliminary analysis of the data has been carried out. Current information indicates that the risk of Ascaris lumbricoides infection is much higher in the exposed group than in the control group (95% CL = 4.0-67.3 and 4.7-78.8). According to the procedures employed, exposed children from exposed households were at higher risks of diarrhoeal disease than controls (95% CL = 1.03-2.03). The final results of this study are expected to aid decisions within the reuse programmes in developing countries.

[Toxoplasmosis in agriculture workers exposed to the risk of contamination]. / Toxoplasmosis en manipuladores expuestos a riesgo de contaminación.

Five-hundred-and-eighty-eight cattle and agricultural workers were surveyed. One-hundred-and-fifty of them were randomly selected, and they underwent leukograms and absolute eosinophil counts for enabling the study of their hematologic state. A 55% positivity rate was obtained among patients studied through the toxoplasmin intradermoreaction technique from Czechoslovakia. Historical and morphologic aspects, biological characteristics, evolutive cycle, pathologic characteristics, clinical manifestations, as well as the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii are reviewed.