As compared with a liberal transfusion strategy, a restrictive strategy significantly improved outcomes in patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding. (Funded by Fundació Investigació Sant Pau; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00414713.).

In our geographic area, almost 70% of donors who are anti-HCV positive by ELISA are confirmed to be positive by RIBA-2; most of these donors appear to be chronic carriers of HCV and have substantial liver disease.

Routine screening of blood donors for anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been implemented in most developed countries. However, the independent efficacy of such screening has not been established in a controlled, prospective study. We tracked 478 patients transfused with anti-HCV-negative blood by first-generation enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) between July 1989 and May 1990 and compared the incidence of transfusion-associated hepatitis and HCV infections with that found among 280 patients transfused with blood unscreened for anti-HCV during the immediately preceding year. Of the 280 patients who had received transfusions before donors were screened for anti-HCV, 27 (9.6%) developed posttransfusion hepatitis and 1 additional patient seroconverted to anti-HCV without evidence of hepatitis, for a risk of posttransfusion HCV infection of 10.7% (28 of 262 recipients seronegative for anti-HCV before transfusion). Of the 478 patients transfused after July 1989 with blood screened for anti-HCV, only 9 (1.9%) developed posttransfusion hepatitis for a risk reduction of 80%. Seven of the 9 residual cases of hepatitis were caused by HCV (7 of 456 recipients seronegative before transfusion or 1.5%) for a risk reduction of transfusion-associated HCV infection of 86%. In retrospect, an anti-HCV positive donor was detected by second-generation immunoassay in 4 (57%) of the 7 HCV cases from the study cohort and in 19 of the 23 (83%) cases from whom all donor samples were available for testing in the historical cohort. No additional infectious donors were detected by third-generation immunoassay or serum HCV-RNA by polymerase chain reaction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Salmonellosis ranks among the major diseases of commercial poultry, and its presence in poultry flocks is responsible for economic losses and risks related to public health. Vaccines are an important tool within integrated programmes to control salmonellosis. The purpose of this study was to assess cross-protection provided by the Poulvac® ST vaccine in the control of Salmonella Heidelberg in experimentally challenged 3-and 21-day-old birds. Eighty birds were identified and separated into four treatments (T1: vaccinated and challenged at 3 days of age, T2: unvaccinated and challenged at 3 days of age, T3: vaccinated and challenged at 21 days of age, and T4: unvaccinated and challenged at 21 days of age). The inoculum was produced from a Brazilian field strain of SH. At the end of the experiment, caecum and liver/ spleen samples were collected for quantitative and qualitative analysis of SH, respectively. Analysis of the liver/spleen showed that Poulvac® ST significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the percentage of SH positivity in the group challenged at 3 days of age, while in the group challenged at 21 days this difference was almost considered significant (P = 0.1818). On the other hand, there was no statistically significant difference in SH count in the caecum (CFU/g) in the group challenged at 3 days, but for the group challenged at 21 days the SH counts were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower in the vaccinated group when compared to the positive control.ARTICLE HISTORY

Foodborne Salmonella infections in humans, which results from the consumption of contaminated poultry meat and eggs, are a major public health concern. Vaccination of animals against Salmonella is one strategy to prevent these infections and reduce the risks to public health. Live attenuated Salmonella enterica vaccines can confer protection against salmonellosis by inducing both cell-mediated and mucosal immune responses. This study assessed a live, attenuated Salmonella enterica Typhimurium (ST) vaccine in broiler chickens against a heterologous challenge with Salmonella Heidelberg (SH) by evaluating bacterial quantification, immune cells infiltration, and cytokine gene expression in the cecum. The treatments were: T1, non-vaccinated, non-challenged; T2, non-vaccinated, SH-challenged; T3, ST-vaccinated and SH-challenged. At 28 days of age, the ST-vaccinated group had significantly recovered reduction of SH in the crop (P<0,01) and cecum (P = 0,021) compared to the non-vaccinated SH-challenged group, with no significant changes (P˃0,05) in macrophages, T CD4+, or T CD8+ cells dynamics during the same period. Aerosol vaccination on the first day promoted greater interleukin-12 expression in the liver (P<0,05) and interleukin-10 expression and T CD8+ cells in the ileum 16 hours after housing. After prime-boosted oral immunization on the 13th day, the vaccinated group had greater expression of macrophages and T CD4+ cells in the liver (P<0,05) than the control group. Two doses of a live ST-attenuated vaccine promoted a partial cross-protective effect against SH strain UFPR1 challenge in broilers.

RESUMO.-Objetivou-se com o presente estudo comparar o efeito de diferentes sorovares de Salmonella na resposta imune local da mucosa do intestino de frangos de corte. Aos sete dias de idade, as aves foram desafiadas com os sorovares S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, S. Senftenberg, S. Mbandaka e S. Minnesota. Foi observado que todos os sorovares testados foram capazes de colonizar o intestino das aves sendo possível o isolamento de Salmonella em suabes de cloaca, 48 h após inoculação. De maneira geral, as aves do grupo controle negativo, que não foram desafiados apresentaram quantidade significativamente menor de células imunológicas na mucosa intestinal do que as aves desafiadas. Porém, verificou--se que os sorovares de Salmonella, utilizados neste estudo, apresentaram diferentes efeitos sobre a dinâmica celular da mucosa do íleo e ceco e afetaram de modo diferente o ganho de peso e ganho médio diário das aves demonstrando distintos graus de patogenicidade. Os sorovares Enteritidis e Typhimurium apresentaram um efeito mais intenso tanto no desempenho quanto na mobilização de células imunoló-gicas na mucosa intestinal de frangos de corte. The study was designed to compare the effect of different Salmonella serovars in immune response across the count of CD8+ cells, CD4+ cells, goblet cells and macrophages in the gut mucosa of broilers. During the experimental inoculation at 7 day-old were used Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica sorovars Enteritidis, Typhimurium, Senftenberg, Mbandaka and Minnesota. It was observed that all serovars tested were capable of contaminating the poultry being possible counts of Salmonella in cloacal swabs, 48 h after inoculation and into the crop and cecum, at 14 and 20 day-old. Serovars tested had different effects on broiler performance assessed at 20 days. In the mucosa of the ileum and cecum of broilers, it was observed that some of the serotypes increased CD8 + cells, CD4 + cells, goblet cells and macrophages compared to the negative control group both at 14 and at 20 day-old. S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium are the serovars that showed the more intense effect in live performance and in the immune system of birds showing pathogenic characteristic; generally the broilers of the negative control showed significantly less immune cells on the intestinal mucosa than broilers inoculated experimentally. However, it was found that the Salmonella serovars used in this study had different effects on the cellular dynamics of the mucosa of the ileum and cecum and differently affect weight gain and average daily gain of poultry showing different levels of pathogenicity. Avaliação da resposta imunológica da mucosa intestinal

Within the 92 households included in the study, the prevalence of Leishmania infection in individuals detected by positive serology was 91/197 (46.2%; 95% CI: 0.3937-0.5316) and by LST was 29/114 (25.4%; 95% CI: 0.1834-0.3414). Reactivity to both antigens was detected in 64/197 individuals (32.5%; 95% CI: 0.2634-0.3931). Among 89 individuals diagnosed with leishmaniasis, we found acute VL in one (1%), subclinical VL in 20 (22.5%), and asymptomatic Leishmania infection in 68 (76.4%) subjects. Use of repellents and bed nets showed no significant protection (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.01, p = 1.0). Interestingly, individuals residing in houses with a sand backyard had significant protection against Leishmania infection (PR = 1.24, p = 0.049) compared to those with a different type or no backyard. Moreover, the presence of cat or dog at home was also not a risk factor (dog: PR = 1.14, 95% CI: 0.80-1.64; and cat: PR = 1.19, 95% CI: 0.78-1.81). We conclude that in newly discovered areas of transmission of L. infantum infection with sylvatic reservoirs, periodic surveys may be helpful in identifying risk factors for infection and optimizing prevention guidelines.

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