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Abstractß S -Globin haplotypes were studied in 80 (160 ß S chromosomes) sickle cell disease patients from Salvador, Brazil, a city with a large population of African origin resulting from the slave trade from Western Africa, mainly from the Bay of Benin. Hematological and hemoglobin analyses were carried out by standard methods. The ß S -haplotypes were determined by PCR and dot-blot techniques.

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Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a major neglected disease, potentially fatal, whose control is still impaired by inefficient and/or expensive treatment and diagnostic methods. The most promising approach for VL diagnosis uses serological assays with recombinant proteins, since they are more efficient and easier to perform. Tests developed for the human form of the disease, however, have not been shown to be efficient for its diagnosis in the canine host, the major reservoir for the American VL. Methodology/Principal findings Here, we describe a systematic approach aimed at the production of a new chimeric protein potentially able to be used for both human and canine VL diagnosis and based both on in silico gene design and experimental data. Starting from the previous identification of Leishmania infantum recombinant antigens efficient for the diagnosis of either human or canine VL, three of the best performing antigens were selected (Lci2, Lci3 and Lci12). After a preliminary evaluation validating the chimeric approach, DNA fragments encoding predicted antigenic regions from each protein, enriched with repeats, were joined in various combinations to generate a total of seventeen chimeric genes optimized for prokaryotic expression. These were assessed for optimal expression and purification yield, with four chimeric proteins being efficiently produced. Their diagnostic potential was then evaluated through ELISA assays with sera from VL afflicted humans and dogs. After two rounds of gene design, the results showed high levels of sensitivity for the best chimeric protein, named Q5, in humans (82%) and dogs (100%) with 100% specificity in comparison with healthy a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111

Sandflies are insects of public health interest due to their role as vectors of parasites of the genus Leishmania, as well as other pathogens. Psychodopygus carrerai carrerai is considered an important sylvatic vector of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis in Amazonia. In this study, sandflies were collected in a forested area in the Xapuri municipality, in the State of Acre (Northern Brazil). Two Ps. carrerai carrerai females were found parasitized with a larval form of a filarial worm, one in the labium of the proboscis, the other after the head was squashed, suggesting they were infective larvae. Sandflies were identified through morphological characters as well as amplification and sequencing of the cytochrome oxidase gene (COI). This was the first sequence obtained for Ps. carrerai carrerai for this marker. The obtained nematodes were also characterized through direct sequencing of a fragment of COI and 12S genes, both mitochondrial, and ITS1, a nuclear marker. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the filarial nematodes belong to a species without sequences for these markers in the database, part of family Onchocercidade and closely related to genus Onchocerca (12S tree). Although sandfly infection with nematodes including members of the Onchocercidae has been reported in the Old World, this is the first report of sandfly infection by a member of the Onchocercidae family in the New World, to the best of our knowledge. Considering that the phylogenetic relationships and location in the insect, it can be expected that this is a parasite of mammals and the transmission cycle should be clarified.

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Background The elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) from Brazil by 2020 was not accomplished; however, this goal can be achieved in the upcoming years with the assistance of specific strategies. The surveillance of LF can be performed using molecular xenomonitoring (MX), a noninvasive method used to infer the presence of the parasite in the human population. Herein, São Luís (state of Maranhão) was the first city to be investigated to identify whether LF transmission in Brazil has been interrupted and if there were any new incursions. Methodology/Principal findings Mosquitoes were collected by aspiration at 901 points distributed among 11 neighborhoods in São Luís with records of patients with microfilaremia. Pools of engorged or gravid Culex quinquefasciatus females were evaluated by WbCx duplex PCR with endogenous control for mosquitoes and target for W. bancrofti for determining the vector infection rate. Among the 10,428 collected mosquitoes, the most abundant species were C. quinquefasciatus (85%) and Aedes aegypti (12%). Significantly larger numbers of mosquitoes were collected from the neighborhoods of Areinha and Coreia (p<0.05). MX performed using PCR validated 705 pools of engorged or gravid females, fifteen of which were positive for Wuchereria bancrofti in two neighborhoods. Conclusions The high density of engorged C. quinquefasciatus females per home, inadequate sanitation, and detection of W. bancrofti-infected mosquitoes in the city of São Luís represent a warning of the possible upsurge of LF, a disease that is still neglected; this underscores the need for the ostensive monitoring of LF in Brazil.