Mycobacterium tuberculosis Genotypes and Drug Susceptibility Test Results from Timor-Leste: A Pilot Study.

Tuberculosis (TB) is prevalent and a major public health problem in Timor-Leste. The government of Timor-Leste is prioritising the surveillance of TB and drug-susceptibility testing (DST) to understand the burden of TB and TB drug resistance in the country. Moreover, little is known about the origin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in Timor-Leste. This study reports MTB DST and sequencing for Timor-Leste. A pilot study was carried out in which a convenience sample of TB isolates from mucopurulent sputum collected from presumptive TB patients in the capital Dili between July and December 2016 was tested for phenotypic and genotypic evidence of drug resistance. Standard MTB culture was performed at the Timor-Leste National Health Laboratory (NHL). The MTB isolates were sent to the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) in Australia for DST and sequencing. Overall, 36 MTB isolates were detected at the NHL; 20 isolates were recovered during sub-culturing at VIDRL. All 20 isolates were susceptible to rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol, with no genotypic markers of resistance identified. On sequencing, lineage 4 was the most common. The results of this study provide a small snapshot of MTB diversity and resistance in an under-sampled region with very high TB incidence. Future investment in whole-genome sequencing capacity in Timor-Leste will make it possible to undertake further, more representative analyses that may be used to evaluate transmission dynamics and epidemiology of genotypic markers of resistance.

Migration of "bioabsorbable" screws in ACL repair. How much do we know? A systematic review.

PURPOSE: Although bioabsorbable screws promise to degrade within months up to several years after implantation, often this does not happen. In fact, other problems such as screw breakage, tunnel enlargement, allergic or foreign body reactions, cyst or abscess formation, and delayed migration of "biodegradable" screws have been reported. This study aims to provide relevant basic science knowledge and recent insights concerning "biomaterials" currently used in fixation devices for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair. A systematic review on the topic of screw "migration" is provided. METHODS: A PubMed search combining all the key terms was done looking for complications related to late migration of "bioabsorbable" screws used in ACL reconstruction without inferior time limitation up to January 2012. Only clinical reports were included. Reference lists of reports were checked to detect others not identified by the original search. A pre-publication search was performed to identify the most recent relevant articles. RESULTS: A total of ten articles referred to migration of "bioabsorbable" interference screws. Most cases reported on poly-L-lactic acid-based screws. Migration was noticed between 3 and 22 months postoperatively. It was noticed both in the tibia and the femur and with the application of several types of graft. CONCLUSION: Migration is a possible complication of "bioabsorbable" interference screws. The information related to all clinical implications of the so-called "biodegradable screws" remains scarce and probably suffers from the phenomenon of publication bias. The complexity of possible reactions occurring in the human body is difficult to reproduce under controlled laboratory conditions.

Prevalência de anticorpos anti-neospora caninum (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) em bovinos leiteiros de propriedades rurais em três microrregiões no estado do Maranhão / Prevalence of anti-neospora caninum (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) antibodies in dairy cattle in rural properties of three microrregions of Maranhão, Brazil

Objetivou-se, no presente estudo, pesquisar a prevalência de anticorpos anti-Neospora caninum em 812 amostras de soros sangüíneos de bovinos leiteiros procedentes de propriedades rurais de sete municípios das microrregiões de Itapecuru-Mirim, Médio Mearim e Presidente Dutra, estado do Maranhão, Brasil. Para o cálculo do tamanho da amostra, considerou-se um soroprevalência de 34,7 por cento para N. caninum, com erro máximo de 9,5 por cento e intervalo de confiança de 95 por cento. Para a detecção da presença de anticorpos da classe IgG, utilizou-se a técnica de Imunofluorescência Indireta (IFI), com ponto de corte 1:200, usando como antígeno, taquizoítos da cepa NC-1, mantida em cultura celular no Laboratório de Diagnóstico das Parasitoses dos Animais da Escola de Medicina Veterinária da UFBA. Do total de amostras analisadas, encontrou-se uma prevalência de 50,74 por cento. Os títulos variaram de 1:200 a 1:6400, assim distribuídos: 108 (26,21 por cento) amostras de soro apresentaram título de 1:200; 132 (32,04 por cento) 1:400; 94 (22,81 por cento) 1:800; 46 (11,16 por cento) 1:1600; 23 (5,58 por cento) 1:3200 e nove (2,18 por cento) com títulos de 1:6400. Dentre as microrregiões, a Itapecuru-Mirim apresentou o menor percentual de animais soropositivos (20,69 por cento) e Presidente Dutra o maior (47,66 por cento). Com relação à variável sexo, observou-se maior prevalência de sororreagentes nas fêmeas (46,80 por cento) do que nos machos (52,46 por cento). Não se verificou diferença significativa (P>0,05) para as variáveis microrregiões, sexo e idade. Conclui-se que os bovinos leiteiros das regiões estudadas estão expostos à infecção por N. caninum.

The objective in the present study was to research the prevalence of anti-Neospora caninum in 812 samples of blood serum of dairy cattle from farms of seven municipalities of microrregions of Itapecuru-Mirim, Middle Mearim and President Dutra, state of Maranhão, Brazil. For the calculation of sample size, it was considered a seroprevalence of 34.7 percent for N. caninum, with a maximum error of 9.5 percent and a confidence interval of 95 percent. To detect antibodies, it was used the technique of Indirect Immunofluorescence (IFI), with the cut-off of 1:200, using as antigen, tachyzoites strain NC-1, maintained in cell culture in the Laboratory of Diagnosis of Parasitism of the Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. Of the total samples, it was obtained a prevalence of 50.74 percent. The titles ranged from 1:200 to 1:6400, distributed as follows: 108 (26.21 percent) serum samples showed title of 1:200; 132 (32.04 percent) 1:400; 94 (22.81 percent) 1:800; 46 (11.16 percent) of 1:1600; 23 (5.58 percent) of 1:3200 and nine (2.18 percent) with titers of 1:6400. Among the microrregiões the Itapecuru-Mirim showed the lowest percentage of animals seropositive (20.69 percent) and President Dutra the largest (47.66 percent). It was observed higher prevalence of seropositives in females (46.80 percent) than in males (52.46 percent). There was no significant difference (P> 0.05) for the microrregions variables, sex and age. Concluded that the dairy cattle of the regions studied are exposed to infection by N. caninum.