Mansonella ozzardi infections are common in the riverside
communities along the Solimões, Negro and Purus Rivers in the state of Amazonas (AM).
However, little is known about the presence of this parasite in communities located
in regions bordering AM and the state of Acre. The prevalence rate of M.
ozzardi infections was determined in blood samples from volunteers
according to the Knott method. A total of 355 volunteers from six riverine
communities were enrolled in the study and 65 (18.3%) were found to be infected with
M. ozzardi. As expected, most of the infections (25%) occurred in
individuals involved in agriculture, cattle rearing and fishing and an age/sex group
analysis revealed that the prevalence increased beginning in the 40-50-years-of-age
group and reached 33% in both sexes in individuals over 50 years of age. Based on the
described symptomatology, articular pain and headache were found to be significantly
higher among infected individuals (56 and 65% prevalence, respectively, p < 0.05).
Sera from volunteers were subjected to ELISA using a cocktail of recombinant proteins
from Onchocerca volvulus to evaluate the specificity of the test in
an endemic M. ozzardi region. No cross-reactions between M.
ozzardi-infected individuals and recombinant O. volvulus
proteins were detected, thus providing information on the secure use of this
particular cocktail in areas where these parasites are sympatric.
In the present study, we used sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to compare polypeptides of trypanosomes isolated by hemoculture of squirrel monkeys displaying Trypanosoma saimirii blood trypomastigotes, with other trypanosomes that infect primates to evaluate the validity of T. saimirii. The polypeptide profiles of trypanosomes isolated directly from squirrel monkeys or after their passage in mice were identical to those of 3 standard strains of T. rangeli, but they were distinct from those of T. cruzi, T. conorhini, and T. minasense. These results strengthen previous morphological and biological findings by Rodhain on trypanosomes of the squirrel monkey and lead to the conclusion that T. saimirii is indeed a junior synonym of T. rangeli.
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