Human rotavirus strains belonging to genotype G9 or P[9] were detected in a collection of stool specimens from children with diarrhea in two cities of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between March 1997 and December 1999. G9 strains were first detected in April 1997 and remained prevalent until the end of the study, at a frequency of 15.9% (n ‫؍‬ 157). A high percentage of VP7 nucleotide (99.0 to 99.5%) and deduced amino acid identity (98.6 to 99.1%) was found between three randomly selected Brazilian G9 strains and the American G9 strain US1205. A novel G9:P[4] genotype combination was detected in addition to G9:P[8] and G9:P[6], demonstrating that this G genotype may undergo constant genetic reassortment in nature. The P[9] rotavirus strains constituted 10.2%, the majority of which were detected between April and July 1997. The RNA electrophoretic migration pattern of the G3:P[9] strains resembled that of AU-1 virus (G3:P3[9]), suggesting a genetic similarity between the Brazilian G3:P[9] strains and the Japanese virus, which is similar to a feline rotavirus genetically.Rotaviruses are the major etiologic agents of infantile diarrhea worldwide (15). Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that rotavirus serotypes G1, G2, G3, and G4 are the mostcommon types associated with disease globally, and therefore they are the targets for vaccine development (13,15). Recently, unusual rotavirus serotypes and genotypes have been described in association with diarrhea in various parts of the world. These include serotype G5 in Brazil (9, 17); G8 in Malawi (5), Kenya (21), South Africa (34), the United Kingdom (34), Nigeria (1), and Australia (24); and G9 in India (27), the United Sates (28), Bangladesh (36), Malawi (5), the United Kingdom, (4), Australia (25), France (2), and Ireland (22). The P specificity of a rotavirus is usually more conservative than its G specificity; P1A[8] is the most common serotype detected worldwide, followed by P1B[4] and P2A[6] (13). A rotavirus strain belonging to serotype P3 [9] was first identified in Japan and was demonstrated to be closely related to feline rotavirus strains genetically (20,35). The P[9] rotavirus strains have been detected more often in Japan (14, 37) than in other parts of the world such as Venezuela (32), Italy (32), Malaysia (29), Brazil (17), Israel (31), South Africa (33), Guinea-Bissau (7), and the United States (12). The P [9] isolates are most commonly associated with either G1 (K8-like) or G3 (AU-1-like) serotypes, except for one isolate from Guinea-Bissau which bears a G4 specificity (7).One hundred fifty-seven (23%; n ϭ 678) rotavirus-positive stool samples from children under 5 years of age with acute diarrhea (32 inpatients and 646 outpatients) were collected between March 1997 and December 1999, at four centers in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and one center in the neighboring city of Niterói in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The five centers are located in areas of distinct levels of sanitation and socioeconomic backgrounds. The presence of rotavir...

Characterization of 49 rotavirus-positive stool specimens from children with diarrhea in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1996 and 1997 revealed a great diversity of rotavirus G types. Conventional types G1 and G3 accounted for 27 and 12% of the infections, respectively, whereas 60% of the infections were caused by unconventional types G5 (25%), G10 (16%), and G8 (4%) and mixed G types (16%).

Streptococcus agalactiae [β-haemolytic group B streptococci (GBS)] is a component of human intestinal and genitourinary microflora. This species is frequently related to illness in newborns, causing life-threatening diseases such as meningitis and bacteremia and is associated with complications during pregnancy and the post-partum period. GBS colonisation of the maternal genital tract has been considered the most important risk factor for neonatal disease development (Schuchat & Wenger 1994). GBS is also responsible for infections in older infants and non-pregnant adults, especially the elderly or those with any underlying medical conditions. Clinical manifestations include urinary tract infections, skin or soft tissue infections, osteomyelitis and bacteremia (Sendi et al. 2008). Points of concern include the increasing frequency of infections outside the perinatal period and a higher proportion of mortality in adults compared to the neonatal group (Phares et al. 2008).GBS has been continuously susceptible to penicillin and other β-lactams. However, resistance to antimicrobials used as alternative therapy, especially macrolides, lincosamides and fluoroquinolones has been documented in different countries (Duarte et al. 2005, Tazi et al. 2008, Pinheiro et al. 2009). One of the most common macrolide resistance mechanisms in streptococci is ribosomal modification by methylases, which are encoded by the erm genes. These enzymes also confer inducible or constitutive resistance to lincosamides and streptogramin B, which characterises macrolide-lincosamidestreptogramin B (MLS B ) phenotypes. Another common mechanism is drug efflux by a membrane-bound protein encoded by the mef gene, which is associated with the M phenotype (de Azavedo et al. 2001). Resistance to fluoroquinolones in GBS was first described in 2003 and is associated with point mutations in gyrA and parC genes (Kawamura et al. 2003).Despite the clinical impact of GBS infections and increasing resistance rates to some antimicrobials, there are a limited number of studies reporting antimicrobial resistance profiles among GBS strains circulating in Brazil, even from asymptomatic colonisation or clinical infection. In this study, 100 strains of S. agalactiae, isolated from genitourinary tract specimens from non-pregnant individuals during January 2008-August 2009 in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility and the presence of macrolide resistance genes. The genetic diversity of erythromycin resistant isolates was evaluated using randomly amplified polymorphic-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). SUBJECTS, MATERIALS AND METHODSStrains -One hundred S. agalactiae isolates from genitourinary tract specimens processed in a clinical laboratory in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro during January 2008-August 2009 were included this study. The specimens [vaginal secretions (n = 49), urine (n = 30), sperm (n = 17) and other secretions (n = 4)] were obtained from non-pregnant individuals (73 females and 27 males, with ...