Faecal samples from 218 diarrheic dairy calves in 65 dairy herds, selected by convenience, were screened for the presence of rotavirus, coronavirus, Cryptosporidium spp., F5+ Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Animals surveyed were from 1 to 30 days old. Cryptosporidium and rotavirus were the most commonly detected agents (52.3% and 42.7% of the samples positive, respectively). F5+ E. coli was detected in the faeces of 11.9% of the calves and bovine coronavirus was detected in the faeces of 7.3% of the calves. Salmonella spp. was only found in the faeces of two calves (0.9%). Mixed infections with two or more agents occurred in 28% of the calves. Concurrent infection of rotavirus and Cryptosporidium was found in 21.6% of the calves. Two tests were used for the detection of rotavirus (a commercial ELISA and PAGE), F5+ E. coli (ELISA and bacterial culture) and Cryptosporidium (ELISA and microscopy). The validity of the commercial ELISA for the detection of rotavirus, F5+ E. coli and Cryptosporidium in faeces from diarrheic calves was evaluated using PAGE, bacterial culture and microscopy as gold standard, respectively. The ELISA showed a very low sensitivity (28.6%) for the detection of F5+ E. coli compared to bacterial culture.

Campylobacter is an important cause of foodborne gastroenteritis. We determined the occurrence of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, using culture-based methods and PCRs targeting virulence-associated genes (VAGs) among children aged ¡14 years who were treated for diarrhoea at emergency rooms in northeastern Brazil. Genomic DNA was extracted directly from stool samples collected from 366 children. A questionnaire was also applied to qualify the clinical conditions presented by each child at the time of admission. C. jejuni and C. coli were detected in 16.4 % (60/366) and 1.4 % (5/366) of the diarrhoeal samples, respectively, by PCR, a much higher proportion than that detected by conventional methods. C. jejuni VAGs were detected in the following proportions of hipO-positive samples: ciaB, 95 % (57/60); dnaJ, 86.7 % (52/60); racR, 98.3 % (59/60); flaA, 80 % (48/60); pldA, 45 % (27/60); cdtABC, 95 % (57/60); and pVir 0 % (0/ 60). Particular symptoms, such as blood in faeces, vomiting, fever, and/or abdominal pain, were not associated with detection of C. jejuni nor were they associated with any particular VAG or combination of VAGs (P.0.05). C. jejuni and its VAGs were detected in a substantial proportion of the children admitted. Further efforts shall be directed towards elucidating whether these genetic factors or their expressed proteins play a role in Campylobacter pathogenesis. INTRODUCTIONThe genus Campylobacter, a group of thermotolerant, microaerophilic, Gram-negative bacteria, includes a number of pathogens that primarily cause gastrointestinal disease in humans, particularly Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. Campylobacter-associated gastroenteritis is thought to occur through zoonotic transmission, being acquired from exposure to tainted food and/or contaminated drinking water (Sherman et al., 2010). Campylobacter infection frequently presents as self-limiting acute enteritis with diarrhoea, malaise, fever and abdominal pain, sometimes with vomiting and the presence of blood in faeces (Allos, 2001); disruption of epithelial cells and inflammation of the intestinal mucosa are hallmark features of severe cases (Beltinger et al., 2008). C. jejuni and C. coli cause significant morbidity worldwide, especially in children (Amieva, 2005;Tam et al., 2003;Wang et al., 2008; Fernández et al., 2008).Adherence and colonization are crucial steps in the pathogenesis of C. jejuni. Flagella have a major role in invasion; markedly reduced internalization in vitro has been reported with flaA 2 C. jejuni mutants (Wassenaar, 1997). The genes racR and dnaJ are determinants for C. jejuni colonization and are presumably expressed in response to conditions encountered in the intestinal microenviroment, such as differences in temperature between environmental reservoirs and human intestines (Konkel et al., 1998; Brás et al., 1999 antigen B protein, which confers invasive properties, as shown by C. jejuni ciaB null mutants which display a significant reduction in internalization (Konkel et al., 1999). Also, ...

OBJECTIVE:This work aimed to evaluate and correlate symptoms, biochemical blood test results and single nucleotide polymorphisms for lactose intolerance diagnosis.METHOD:A cross-sectional study was conducted in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, with a total of 119 patients, 54 of whom were lactose intolerant. Clinical evaluation and biochemical blood tests were conducted after lactose ingestion and blood samples were collected for genotyping evaluation. In particular, the single nucleotide polymorphisms C>T-13910 and G>A-22018 were analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism/polymerase chain reaction and validated by DNA sequencing.RESULTS:Lactose-intolerant patients presented with more symptoms of flatulence (81.4%), bloating (68.5%), borborygmus (59.3%) and diarrhea (46.3%) compared with non-lactose-intolerant patients (p<0.05). We observed a significant association between the presence of the alleles T-13910 and A-22018 and the lactose-tolerant phenotype (p<0.05). After evaluation of the biochemical blood test results for lactose, we found that the most effective cutoff for glucose levels obtained for lactose malabsorbers was <15 mg/dL, presenting an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve greater than 80.3%, with satisfactory values for sensitivity and specificity.CONCLUSIONS:These data corroborate the association of these single nucleotide polymorphisms (C>T-13910 and G>A-22018) with lactose tolerance in this population and suggest clinical management for patients with lactose intolerance that considers single nucleotide polymorphism detection and a change in the biochemical blood test cutoff from <25 mg/dL to <15 mg/dL.

BackgroundIn the last decade, there has been a revolution in chronic myeloid leukemia treatment with the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors with imatinib mesylate becoming the frontline therapy. ObjectiveTo evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of imatinib mesylate in treating chronic myeloid leukemia patients and to identify factors related to therapeutic efficacy. MethodsThis retrospective study was based on information obtained from patients' records in the Hematology Service of Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio of the Universidade Federal do Ceará (HUWC / UFC). All patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia that took imatinib mesylate for a minimum of 12 months in the period from January 2001 to January 2011 were included. From a population of 160 patients, 100 were eligible for analysis. ResultsThe study population consisted of 100 patients who were mostly male (51%) with ages ranging between 21 and 40 years (42%), from the countryside (59%), in the chronic phase (95%), with high-risk prognostic factors (40%); the prognosis of high risk was not associated with complete hematologic response or complete cytogenetic response, but correlated to complete molecular response or major molecular response. Reticulin condensation was associated with complete hematologic response and complete cytogenetic response. It was found that 53% of patients had greater than 90% adherence to treatment. The high adherence was correlated to attaining complete cytogenetic response in less than 12 months. Moreover,20% of patients had good response. ConclusionSignificant changes are indispensable in the monitoring of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. Thus, the multidisciplinary team is important as it provides access to the full treatment and not just to medications.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify the reasons for failure in adherence to imatinib mesylate treatment in chronic myeloid leukemia. MethodsA retrospective review was performed of 100 non-electronic records of patients with Ph+ chronic myeloid leukemia treated with imatinib mesylate. The study period was from January 2001 to January2011. Data were analyzed by Chi-Square and Correspondence analysis using the Statistical Analysis System software package. ResultsAt the beginning of treatment 41% of patients were in advanced stages of the disease. The unavailability of the drug (44.8%) and myelotoxicity (25.7%) were the most frequent reasons for interruption. The adherence rate was < 90% in 47% of the cases. The low adherence influenced the cytogenetic response (p-value = 0.020) and molecular response (p-value = 0.001). Very high adherence (> 95%) induced complete cytogenetic response, major cytogenetic response and major molecular response. ConclusionThe population of this study obtained lower-than-expected therapeutic responses compared to other studies.