Background: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmitted from person to person mainly by sexual intercourse or through vertical transmission during pregnancy. Female sex workers (FSWs) are exposed especially to syphilis infection, and besides all the efforts to control the spread of STIs, syphilis prevalence is still rising, mainly occurring in low-income countries. This study aimed to investigate the syphilis prevalence, demographic characteristics and sexual habits among FSWs in the Amazon region of Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out including 184 FSWs from 3 countryside cities of the state of Pará, Amazon region of Brazil. A venereal disease research laboratory test and an indirect immunoenzyme assay to test antibodies against Treponema pallidum were used for screening syphilis infection, while sexual habits and demographic data information were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed comparing groups with/without syphilis. Poisson regression models were used to estimate the reasons of prevalence (RP). Results: The overall prevalence of syphilis was 14.1% (95% CI = 9.8-17.8). FSWs had between 15 and 56 years of age, most were unmarried (65.7%), had attended less than 8 years of formal education (64.1%), had between 10 and 20 partners per week (64.1%), and reported no previous history of STIs (76.1%) and regular use of condom (52.7%). Low level of education attending up to the primary school (RP adjusted = 3.8; 95% CI = 1.4-9.2) and high frequency of anal sex during the past year (RP adjusted = 9.3; 95% CI = 3.5-28.7) were associated with a higher prevalence of syphilis. Conclusions: A high prevalence of syphilis among FSWs in the Brazilian Amazon region was identified, showing that syphilis is more likely to be transmitted in FSW working in low-income areas, which is attributed to the low level of education. Anal intercourse was found as a risk factor associated with syphilis. Health programs focused on risk populations appear as a rational way to control syphilis spread, which is a rising problem in Brazil and in other several countries.
The dental pulp is a sterile highly vascularized tissue and has been commonly used as a biological material to detect the genome of infectious agents that reach the dental tissue. Indeed, the pulp is also used to reveal past and ancient infections in the field of paleomicrobiology. The present study aimed to detect the presence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a small community (approximately 400 inhabitants) in the Amazon region of Brazil (Nossa Senhora do Perpetuo Socorro, Vizeu, Para, Brazil) and standardize a technique for the detection of the virus in the dental pulp. Serum samples were collected from 48 patients whose teeth were clinically recommended for surgical extraction. The group comprised an equal number of males and females, mostly agriculture workers and housewives, respectively. The majority (64.6%) received less than one minimum wage and were ill educated (less than four years of school years). An enzyme immune assay was used to detect antibodies to HCV and the 9 (18.8%) positive samples were submitted to nucleic acid extraction in the blood (using the EXTRAzol) and the pulp (QIAamp DNA Micro Kit e kit RNeasy Plus Micro). The pulp was removed using a modified protocol without the use of liquid nitrogen. Nucleic acid was found in 8 of the dental pulp, but in 7 of the blood samples. Sequencing of one of the samples showed the presence of genotype 1. Conclusions: A novel simplified methodology for the extraction and amplification of HCV nucleic acid was successful to detect the presence of persistent infections of the virus within the dental pulp tissue. The protocol may be helpful to detect past and ancient infections and to better understand the natural history of HCV.
Cryptococcus neoformans is an important cause of morbidity in HIV-infected patients worldwide. In the northern region of Brazil, the prevalence of this infection is poorly known due to a lack of systematic investigations. This study aimed to determine the occurrence of cryptococcosis by detecting antigenaemia in HIV-infected patients in the State of Para, Brazil. A latex Cryptococcus antigen detection kit was used to test 418 serum samples from HIV-infected patients seen at two Infectious Disease Specialized Units in the State of Para. The C. neoformans antigenaemia prevalence was 2.6%, and titres reached 1:8. The cases occurred mainly in asymptomatic females, and 45% presented CD4(+) T lymphocyte counts of fewer than 200 cells/mm(3). These results show the importance of early C. neoformans antigenaemia detection to prevent fungal disease.
Os autores desta obra: 1. Atestam não possuir qualquer interesse comercial que constitua um conflito de interesses em relação ao artigo científico publicado; 2.Declaram que participaram ativamente da construção dos respectivos manuscritos, preferencialmente na: a) Concepção do estudo, e/ou aquisição de dados, e/ou análise e interpretação de dados; b) Elaboração do artigo ou revisão com vistas a tornar o material intelectualmente relevante; c) Aprovação final do manuscrito para submissão.; 3. Certificam que os artigos científicos publicados estão completamente isentos de dados e/ou resultados fraudulentos; 4. Confirmam a citação e a referência correta de todos os dados e de interpretações de dados de outras pesquisas; 5.Reconhecem terem informado todas as fontes de financiamento recebidas para a consecução da pesquisa; 6. Autorizam a edição da obra, que incluem os registros de ficha catalográfica, ISBN, DOI e demais indexadores, projeto visual e criação de capa, diagramação de miolo, assim como lançamento e divulgação da mesma conforme critérios da Atena Editora. DECLARAÇÃO DA EDITORA A Atena Editora declara, para os devidos fins de direito, que: 1. A presente publicação constitui apenas transferência temporária dos direitos autorais, direito sobre a publicação, inclusive não constitui responsabilidade solidária na criação dos manuscritos publicados, nos termos previstos na Lei sobre direitos autorais (Lei 9610/98), no art. 184 do Código Penal e no art. 927 do Código Civil; 2. Autoriza e incentiva os autores a assinarem contratos com repositórios institucionais, com fins exclusivos de divulgação da obra, desde que com o devido reconhecimento de autoria e edição e sem qualquer finalidade comercial; 3. Todos os e-book são open access, desta forma não os comercializa em seu site, sites parceiros, plataformas de ecommerce, ou qualquer outro meio virtual ou físico, portanto, está isenta de repasses de direitos autorais aos autores; 4. Todos os membros do conselho editorial são doutores e vinculados a instituições de ensino superior públicas, conforme recomendação da CAPES para obtenção do Qualis livro; 5. Não cede, comercializa ou autoriza a utilização dos nomes e e-mails dos autores, bem como nenhum outro dado dos mesmos, para qualquer finalidade que não o escopo da divulgação desta obra.Ecologia: Entre a ciência e a ideologia de uma época Capítulo 1
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