Side effects of antimalarial drug can overlap with malaria symptoms. We evaluated 50 patients with vivax malaria in Mâncio Lima, Acre, treated with chloroquine and primaquine. Patients were evaluated for the presence of 21 symptoms before and after treatment and for reported side effects of these drugs after treatment was started. The most frequent symptoms before medication were headache, fever, chills, sweating, arthralgia, back pain, and weakness, which were present in between 40% and 76% of respondents. The treatment reduced the occurrence of these symptoms and reduced the lack of appetite, but gastrointestinal symptoms and choluria increased in frequency. There were no reports of pale stools before medication, but 12% reported the occurrence of this symptom after treatment started. Other symptoms such as blurred vision (54%), pruritus (22%), paresthesia (6%), insomnia (46%), and “stings” into the skin (22%) were reported after chloroquine was taken. The antimalarial drugs used to treat P. vivax malaria reduce much of the systemic and algic symptoms but cause mainly gastrointestinal side effects that may lead to lack of adherence to drug treatment. It is important to guide the patient for the appearance and the transience of such side effects in order to avoid abandoning treatment.

The aim of this survey was to determine the frequency of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in goats and sheep slaughtered in different slaughterhouses in the State of Paraiba, in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil. Blood samples were collected from 500 goats and 500 sheep randomly selected. To verify the presence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), using 24 serovars as antigens, was used. From the 1,000 animals analyzed, 82 (8.2%; 95% CI = 7.0%-10.5%) were sero-reactive being 26/500 (5.2%; 95% CI = 3.5%-7.5%) in goats and 56/500 (11.2%; 95% CI = 8.7%-14.2%) in sheep. The most frequent serovars were Hardjobovis (14.6%) and Autumnalis (13.4%). In goats, the most frequent serovar was the Hardjobovis, and in sheep the Ballum, with frequencies of 19.2% and 17.9%, respectively. There was a significant difference in the frequency of positive animals among slaughterhouses, both for goats (p = 0.035) and for sheep (p = 0.004), with the county of Alhandra presenting the highest frequency of seropositive animals for both species. It is concluded that sheep and goats from the semiarid region of the Northeastern Brazil may have become adapted to the serovars Hardjobovis e Autumnalis, as well as wild rodents may be involved in the transmission of the disease. It is possible that the climatic conditions influenced in the transmissibility of the leptospirosis, especially in the Mata Paraibana mesoregion, however it was not considered as being sufficient to justify the low frequency of seropositive animals. In this way, it is possible to suggest the hypothesis that the rusticity of the small ruminants in the studied region contributed to the low sero-reactivity verified. Key words: Adaptability. Goats. Leptospirosis. Sheep. Rusticity. ResumoO objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a frequência de anticorpos anti-Leptospira spp. em caprinos e ovinos abatidos em diferentes matadouros no Estado da Paraíba, região semiárida do Nordeste brasileiro. Foi coletado sangue de 500 caprinos e 500 ovinos aleatoriamente selecionados. Para verificar a presença de anticorpos anti-Leptospira spp. empregou-se o teste soroaglutinação microscópica (SAM), utilizando-se 24 sorovares como antígenos. Dos 1.000 animais analisados 82 (8,2%; IC 95%= 7,0%-10,5%) foram sororreagentes, sendo 26/500 (5,2%; IC 95% =3,5%-7,5%) em caprinos e 56/500 (11,2%; IC 95% 8,7%-14,2%) em ovinos. Os sorovares mais frequentes foram Hardjobovis (14,6%) e Autumnalis (13,4%). Na espécie caprina, o sorovar mais frequente foi o Hardjobovis, e na espécie ovina o Ballum, com frequências de 19,2% e 17,9%, respectivamente. Houve diferença significativa na frequência de positivos entre os matadouros, tanto para caprinos (p = 0,035) quanto para ovinos (p = 0,004), com o município de Alhandra apresentando a maior frequência de soropositivos para ambas as espécies. Concluiu-se que ovinos e caprinos da região semiárida do Nordeste podem estar adaptados aos sorovares Hardjobovis e Autumnalis, bem como roedores silvestres estarem envolv...

The adaptation of the animals, either temperate or tropical climate, is mainly related to physiology and its adaptation to the environment. When subjected to different air temperature and air humidity from the usual, these animals found in heat stress difficulty reproduction and production. The endocrine system is one of those responsible for controlling the stress response, and rapid and appropriate growth is one of the elements of greatest economic importance toward meat production, and more producers want to improve, to accelerate the production rate and decreasing production costs. Thus, the aim of this review was to evaluate, through research papers found in the literature, the influence of heat stress on the hormones of growth and reproduction in ruminants. It was observed that even in studies that do not consider the productive performance of the animals, the influence of these parameters is significant in the ambience and the degree of adaptation of the same. However, more research should be conducted in order to evaluate the production of animals of different species under the conditions of different regions, as well as search for alternatives to achieve the best animal production levels, either by finding the best way of introducing exotic breeds, or the possibility of bringing more comfort to the animals in their various productive and reproductive stages.

Leptospirosis in native mixed-breed sheep slaughtered in a semiarid region of Brazil.

O presente trabalho apresenta um estudo da blindagem de um laboratório, localizado no

Este estudo avaliou as mudanças ambientais da paisagem urbana de um município com alta incidência de malária na Amazônia brasileira (Mâncio Lima, Acre) e sua relação com a doença, com o objetivo de prover evidências de que a transmissão do Plasmódio é causada pelo modo como os seres humanos interagem com o meio-ambiente. Foram efetuados três estudos populacionais consecutivos, entre 2012 e 2013, com 1260 indivíduos, com identificação do plasmódio por microscopia e técnicas moleculares. Casos de malária foram analisados mediante um questionário clinico. O estudo entomológico envolveu 8 inquéritos transversais com coleta de formas imaturas em 90 corpos d’água, bem como avaliação espacial desses dados. Os resultados mostraram que a transmissão de malária na área deveu-se em grande parte a criação de tanques de piscicultura, que elevaram em cerca de 10 vezes a produtividade de imaturos de Anopheles darlingi, e à grande mobilidade da população, que se desloca para áreas de maior transmissão (como área ribeirinha e rural) e retorna infectada para a área urbana. Foram identificados casos de portadores assintomáticos do Plasmódio, embora em pequena quantidade. Os fatores associados a ausência de sintomas (infecção assintomática) foram o sexo e o tempo da última malária. Em pacientes sintomáticos, a frequência dos sintomas se relacionou com idade, número de malárias previas e parasitemia. A concentração geográfica dos casos deveu-se em parte a características socioeconômicas agregadas no espaço, em conjunto com fatores ambientais como presença do vetor, visto que o uso infrequente de mosquiteiro associou-se com a incidência maior de malária.

No abstract

Most of the information about leptospirosis was obtained from experimental infections with rodents, which in spite of being relevant, do not provide all the answers about the disease in animals and human beings, given the variability of interactions which exist between the agent and the different hosts. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to verify the pathogenesis of the infection in native breeds of sheep of Brazil challenged with a strain of the serogroup Pomona.  A total of 10 sheep were divided into two groups with five animals according to the breed. In each group four sheep were challenged by intraperitoneal route with a strain of the serogroup Pomona and one was used as control. Sheep were monitored for 60 days, with collection of blood for serologic diagnosis, as well as vaginal fluid and urine for microbiological and molecular analyses. After this period the animals were submitted to euthanasia and necropsy, with collection of tissues for microbiological, molecular and histopathologic diagnosis. All the challenged sheep presented anti-Leptospira antibodies. Crossbred sheep presented a lower concentration of titers and the antibodies were detected for a shorter period of time when compared to the Santa Inês sheep, with statistical difference in the concentration of the titers on the days 15 (p<0.05), 45 (p<0.05) and 60 (p<0.05) post-infection. There was no significant difference between the groups when comparing the positivity rates of the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) (p>0.05). Eight positive reactions in the urine and vaginal fluid PCR were detected in both groups, being four (50%) in urine and four (50%) in the vaginal fluid, however without statistical difference (p>0.05). In both groups there was a greater proportion of PCR positive samples in kidneys (71.4%) in relation to uterus (28.6%), however without significant difference (p>0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups when comparing the positivity rates of the PCR (p>0.05). The isolation of leptospires from the urine and kidney of a crossbred sheep was possible. Therefore, it is possible that the native sheep, especially the crossbred, may have a relation of resistance with strains of the serogroup Pomona. However the intensity and duration of this relation need to be elucidated and longer-lasting investigations of natural and experimental infections are necessary in order to determine the epidemiological nature of this relation.