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ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the prevalence of Candida albicans and non-albicans yeast species isolated from oral samples of children with AIDS and of children exposed and not exposed to HIVduring pregnancy and served by the public health system in a county located in the interior of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Methods Saliva samples from 50 children aged between 2 and 12 years treated by SUS (group I = control group, group II = group exposed to HIV without seroconversion, and group III = AIDS carriers) were collected, seeded in Sabouraud dextrose agar with chloramphenicol, and fungal cultures were grown at 35 ± 2° C for 24 hours. Three isolated colonies were randomly selected from each individual plaque for identification using the API20 AUX Biomerieux® method. ResultsThe most frequent fungal species in samples from children not exposed to HIV, exposed to HIV, and AIDS carriers was Candida albicans (48.80%, 25.64%, and 58.13%, respectively). Species of Candida non-albicans were also isolated from all groups studied. ConclusionsDespite the higher prevalence of Candida albicans in these groups, non-albicans species represented a significant percentage of Candida isolates.

IntroductionUntil the first two weeks of October 2019, 1.489,457 probable dengue cases have been reported in Brazil, with an incidence rate of 708.8 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. Still in 2019, in the same period, 123.407 probable cases of chikungunya were reported, with 15 deaths confirmed by clinical and epidemiological criteria. Regarding Zika, in that period, 10.441 probable cases were recorded, been the northeast region with the highest number of notifications, followed by the midwest one. It is well known that current policies to control the vectors of those arboviruses are not effective. Studies for use of light-activated photosensitizers as an alternative to conventional insecticides for sustainable control of mosquitoes vector such as Aedes (dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, zika), Anopheles (malaria), Culex (yellow fever) can already be found showing advantages over conventional insecticides (efficacy, safety, non-mutagenicity and fast degradation).ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), mediated by curcumin and blue LED (460nm) in mortality of wild mosquitoes larvae of genus Aedes and also to verify, through confocal microscopy, how the photosensitizer internalizes in larvae organism. In addition to evaluating the action of PDT on the larvae with Raman spectroscopy and histological technique.Materials and methodsOvitraps were placed in the city of Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, and the larvae collected in stages L2 and L3 were fed for 24 hours with curcumin in concentrations of 10, 20 and 50% mixed with fish feed and then subjected to irradiation with blue LED for 2h (22mW / cm2 and 158.4 J / cm2). The larvae were placed in a container with dechlorinated water and mortality was monitored for 24 and 48 hours. Control groups in which only the larvae were exposed to blue LED for 2 hours and in which the larvae were only fed with fish feed mixed with curcumin (10, 20 and 50%) were included in the study, in addition to the group without treatment. All experiments were repeated after a 2-month interval to confirm the results, totaling 240 tests (tests 1 and 2, n = 15) between groups PDT 10%, PDT 20%, PDT 50%, curcumin 10%, curcumin 20%, curcumin 50%, blue LED and untreated group. The larvae belonging to the PDT 20% group, 20% curcumin, blue LED and control were submitted to histological slides, confocal microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Larvae mortality rates were compared between groups using univariate descriptive analysis.ResultsAll PDT groups showed larvicidal activity, with the PDT group 20% showing the highest larval mortality in the shortest time. The images from confocal microscopy by laser scanning showed that curcumin was distributed throughout the digestive system of larvae and the analysis by Raman microspectroscopy have shown patterns of alteration and cell death, corroborated by histological sections.ConclusionIt was concluded that PDT in all concentrations was effective in larval mortality, with PDT 20% having the best activity with mortality of 100% in 24 hours.

Objective: Identify yeast species isolated from unexposed, exposed and HIV-carrier children, and verify the effectiveness of low power laser photodynamic therapy (PDT) on the yeasts species belonging to the Candida genus. Methods: Fifty children assisted by the Public Health Program of the city of Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, were selected and divided into three groups: unexposed to HIV, exposed to HIV during pregnancy, and HIV-carrier. Saliva samples were collected in a disposable sterile universal container and were plated to Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with 0.1 mg/mL chloramphenicol. The plates were incubated at 37°C for 48 h. Three strains of each patient were identified by using an API 20 C AUX system. The strains were submitted to photodynamic therapy (PDT) with a 660 nm low power laser and methylene blue dye at different times of irradiation (90, 180 and 282 sec.). Results: The results showed that the most prevalent species was Candida albicans followed by Candida famata (second most prevalent in unexposed to HIV and HIV carriers)) and Candida parapsilosis (second most prevalent in exposed to HIV group). The CFU/mL of Candida spp. decreased significantly (p<0,05) in all groups treated with PDT compared to the controls. Photodynamic therapy treatments at different exposure times (e.g., PS+L90+, PS+L180+, PS+L282+) revealed that the exposure time of 282 sec. gave the highest reduction of the mean logarithmic CFU/mL. Conclusion: Candida albicans was the most prevalent Candida species in these three groups and Candida non-albicans species, when combined, amounted to a significant percentage of Candida isolates. Photodynamic therapy was effective in inactivating the Candida spp. isolated from the oral cavity of children not exposed to HIV, exposed to HIV and HIV-carriers, with the best photodynamic therapy irradiation time being 282 sec.