No abstract

By means of epidemiological and clinical-laboratorial approaches was consolidated an update of polycystic echinococcosis in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, period from 1962 to 2003, including unpublished cases and those already published. In that way, they were identified 40 cases of the disease in referred period, understanding cases coming from the States of Pará and Amapá, Brazil. The width of the ages went from 10 to 72 years and 47.5% belonged to the masculine sex. The liver was the attacked organ (82.5% of the cases). The Echinococcus vogeli (Rausch and Bernstein, 1972), comes as the main agent involved. Starting from the recognition of the importance and of the implications of the handling of the echinococcosis for the tropical area, it is believed that should happen an improvement of the diagnosis, appropriate treatment and of a better registration of the disease.

Soroprevalence for Hepatitis C virus is reported as 2.12% in Northern Brazil, with about 50% of the patients exhibiting a sustained virological response (SVR). Aiming to associate polymorphisms in Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptors (KIR) with chronic hepatitis C and therapy responses we investigated 125 chronic patients and 345 controls. Additionally, 48 ancestry markers were genotyped to control for population stratification. The frequency of the KIR2DL2 and KIR2DL2+HLA-CAsp80 gene and ligand was higher in chronic infected patients than in controls (p < 0.0009, OR = 3.4; p = 0.001, OR = 3.45). In fact, KIR2DL3 is a weaker inhibitor of NK activity than KIR2DL2, which could explain the association of KIR2DL2 with chronic infection. Moreover, KIR2DS2 and KIR2DS2+HLA-CAsp80 (p < 0.0001, OR = 2.51; p = 0.0084, OR = 2.62) and KIR2DS3 (p < 0.0001; OR = 2.57) were associated with chronic infection, independently from KIR2DL2. No differences in ancestry composition were observed between control and patients, even with respect to therapy response groups. The allelic profile KIR2DL2/KIR2DS2/KIR2DS3 was associated with the chronic hepatitis C (p < 0.0001; OR = 3). Furthermore, the patients also showed a higher mean number of activating genes and a lower frequency of the homozygous AA profile, which is likely secondary to the association with non-AA and/or activating genes. In addition, the KIR2DS5 allele was associated with SVR (p = 0.0261; OR = 0.184).The ancestry analysis of samples ruled out any effects of population substructuring and did not evidence interethnic differences in therapy response, as suggested in previous studies.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection presents itself with a variety of clinical manifestations. The present work aims to describe the prevalence of HBV genotypes and the occurrence of precore mutation A-1896 in a population group of the Eastern Amazon region of Brazil and to correlate them with the clinical presentation of chronic HBV infection. 51 HBsAg carriers (HBV-DNA positive) were selected and divided into three groups: A (14 asymptomatic subjects), B (20 HBeAg positive symptomatic patients) and C (17 HBeAg negative symptomatic patients). Using an automa ed DNA sequencer ABI model 377 by sequencing for determined of genotypes and precore mutation. The results showed that the genotype A was the most commonly found (81.1%, 89.5% and 93.7% in groups A, B and C, respectively) and precore mutation A-1896 was described in 11.5% (3/26) of group A subjects. Genotype A of HBV was the most prevalent (89.1%) and low occurrence of precore mutation A-1896, both not associate with the worst outcome of the chronic infection of HBV.

Objetivo: descrever os aspectos epidemiológicos de pacientes co-infectados atendidos em um serviço de referência para hepatopatias, na cidade de Belém-PA. Método: realizou-se um estudo transversal de prevalência, utilizandose um protocolo de pesquisa contendo informações referentes à identificação e fatores de risco de 31 pacientes com sorologias positivas para o HIV e o HCV. Resultados: dez indivíduos (32,3%) receberam transfusão sangüínea; 20 (64,5%) eram heterossexuais; 18 (58,1%) referiram dois a cinco parceiros sexuais; 29 (93,6%) referiram uso eventual ou não-uso de preservativos; 14 (45,2%) referiram uso de drogas ilícitas injetáveis e todos os pacientes relataram dois ou mais diferentes fatores de risco. Conclusão: encontrado associação de fatores de risco, não sendo possível identificar um único fator responsável pela co-infecção.