Evaluation of a new method of oral health education in children with cleft lip and palate.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of an oral health educational programme in children with cleft lip and palate. METHODS: The sample comprised 38 children with cleft lip and palate: Group 1-dental prophylaxis; Group 2-education and motivation instructions in oral health and plaque control. Children were evaluated during six appointments, at 30-day intervals. The Patient Hygiene Performance (PHP) index was used to assess plaque control. To evaluate the knowledge on oral health a questionnaire was used. Baseline and 6-month PHP scores were compared through Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests. The questionnaire scores were analysed through t test and paired-t test. RESULTS: Baseline PHP indexes between Groups exhibited no statistically significant differences, while the 6-month PHP indices between Groups showed statistically differences (p < 0.001). Group 2 showed statistically significant differences between baseline and 6-month PHP index (p < 0.001). The comparison of Groups questionnaire scores showed no statistically significant differences neither at baseline nor after 6 months. In Group 1, the level of knowledge between baseline and 6-month periods did not show statistically differences, while Group 2 did. CONCLUSIONS: The oral health educational programme improved the plaque control of children with cleft lip and palate.

Postnatal Identification of Zika Virus Peptides from Saliva.

We explored the potential to diagnose Zika virus (ZIKV) infection by analyzing peptides in saliva during a convalescent phase of infection, long after resolution of acute disease. A 25-y-old woman clinically diagnosed with Zika fever in the first trimester was enrolled with her dizygotic twins for a 3-mo postnatal sample of saliva (9-mo after maternal infection). The female baby (A) had microcephaly while the male baby (B) was born healthy. Peptidomic analysis was completed by mass spectrometry (MS/MS), and ZIKV peptides were identified using the National Institutes of Health Zika Virus Resource database, then aligned and mapped to the ZIKV polyprotein to determine proteome coverage and phylogenetic studies. A total of 423 (mother), 607 (baby A), and 183 (baby B) unique ZIKV peptides were identified in saliva by MS/MS, providing a coverage of 67%, 84%, and 45%, respectively, of the entire ZIKV polyprotein (>3,400 amino acids). All peptides were aligned to other flaviviruses that are circulating in Brazil (dengue and yellow fever) to discard false-positive matches. Nine peptides identified were highly conserved to dengue virus. Alignment of a contiguous peptide sequence for mother/babies with the 74 ZIKV sequences suggested that the virus may have entered the oral cavity through the salivary glands, leading to an infection that persists into the postnatal period (vertical transmission). Furthermore, we identified 9 sequence variations that were unique to the baby with microcephaly (not found in the mother or the twin). This sequence information could provide a template for future neuropathogenic studies. A much larger sample size is required to determine whether sequence variation in the envelope protein significantly associates with microcephaly. Finally, from a public health perspective, it will be important to determine whether viral replication is still taking place after birth and whether the virus can be transmitted through salivary contact.