Robust gammadelta+ T cell expansion in infants immunized at birth with BCG vaccine.

Cell-mediated immune responses to BCG vaccine were evaluated in 7-month-old infants vaccinated with intradermal combined BCG and Hepatitis B or intradermal BCG and intramuscular Hepatitis B at birth. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from both groups showed CD4(+), CD8(+) and remarkable gammadelta(+) T cell BCG-specific proliferation, without significant differences. Also, IL-10, IL-12, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha concentrations in culture supernatants, measured by ELISA, were similar. The results suggested that the combined BCG and Hepatitis B vaccine was as immunogenic as BCG separated from Hepatitis B vaccine.

[Growth analysis of 566 children from the fourteen day care centers of Paulínia (São Paulo, Brazil), with ages ranging from 3 months to 3 years]. / Análise do perfil de crescimento de 566 crianças com idade entre 3 meses e 3 anos matriculadas nas 14 creches municipais de Paulínia (SP).

To study the growth of 566 children (273 males and 293 females) from fourteen day care centers of Paulínia (São Paulo, Brazil), with ages ranging from 3 months to 3 years, admitted from March 1st to May 31st, 1993, the authors analyzed the z-score distribution of height for age and weight for height in relation to age group, per capita family income, social class levels, mothers education level and child birth weight. The Kruskal-Wallis test and the Multiple Comparison test were used in the statistical analysis. The children with less than 24 months or with birth weight less than 3000 g as the children with mothers education level less than four years, presented left deviated distribution in the height for age z-score. The weight for height score was less satisfactory in the group with per capita income less than one salary, in the group with birth weight less than 3000 g, and in the group with ages superior to 18 months.Therefore, institutional actions concerning the children and their parents are recommended in order to attenuate these factors.

Susceptibility to beta-lactam agents of Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 4, serotype O3 isolated in various parts of the world.

Forty-eight human isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica of biotype 4, serotype O3 from various parts of the world were examined for susceptibility to 13 beta-lactam agents. The intracellular beta-lactamases of each of the 48 strains were examined. Isolates from Europe, Asia and Brazil (phage type VIII) or South Africa and Hungary (phage type IXa) produced both enzyme A and enzyme B, whereas isolates from New Zealand and Australia (phage type IXb) lacked the cephalosporinase enzyme B. Among the seven strains isolated in Canada belonging to phage type IXb, three strains expressed only enzyme A (group I) whereas the other four strains produced both enzymes A and B (group II). The high susceptibility to the combination of amoxycillin and clavulanate observed in one subtype was explained by the absence of the cephalosporinase enzyme B. A simple disk diffusion test with this antibiotic combination was shown to be effective in the detection of enzyme B in Y. enterocolitica 4/O3.

Survey of the irp2 gene among Yersinia pestis strains isolated during several plague outbreaks in northeast Brazil.

The irp2 gene codes for a 190 kDa protein (HMWP2) synthesized when highly pathogenic Yersinia are grown under conditions of iron starvation. In this work, the presence of irp2 in strains of Y. pestis isolated from different hosts during several plague outbreaks in the foci of Northeast Brazil was studied. For this purpose, 53 strains were spotted onto nylon filters and their DNA was hybridized with the A13 probe which is a 1 kb fragment of the irp2 coding sequence. All strains except two hybridized with the probe. However, when the initial stock culture of these two strains were analyzed, they both proved to be positive with the A13 probe, indicating that the locus was lost after subculture in vitro but was always present in vivo. To examine the degree of conservation of the chromosomal fragment carrying irp2 among Brazilian strains, the hybridization profiles of 15 strains from different outbreaks, different hosts and different foci were compared. The hybridization profiles of these strains were all identical when their DNA was digested with either EcoRI, EcoRV or AvaII, indicating that the restriction sites surrounding the irp2 locus are very well conserved among Northeast Brazilian strains of Y. pestis. Altogether, these results suggest that the irp2 chromosomal region should be of prime importance for the bacteria during their multiplication in the host.

Programa integrado de educaçäo e saúde escolar (PIESE): relato de uma experiência / Integrated program of education and school health (PIESE): report of an experience

Os autores têm como objetivo relatar a experiência desenvolvida no Centro de Saúde Escola de Paulínia - UNICAMP, com o Programa Integrado de Educaçäo e Saúde Escolar (PIESE), que desde 1983 vem atendendo todas as escolas de 1§ grau do município desenvolvendo atividades de Atençäo Médica, Saúde Bucal e Educaçäo em Saúde realizadas por uma equipe multiprofissional do serviço