Abstract. American trypanosomiasis is an emerging zoonosis in the Brazilian Amazon. Studies on benznidazole (BZ) chemotherapy with Trypanosoma cruzi from this region have great relevance, given the different discrete typing units (DTUs) that infect humans in the Amazon and other regions of Brazil. We performed a parasitological, histopathological, and molecular analysis of mice inoculated with strains of T. cruzi I, II, and IV that were BZ-treated during the acute phase of infection. Groups of Swiss mice were inoculated; 13 received oral BZ, whereas the other 13 comprised the untreated controls. Unlike parasitemia, the infectivity and mortality did not vary among the DTUs. Trypanosoma cruzi DNA was detected in all tissues analyzed and the proportion of organs parasitized varied with the parasite DTU. The BZ treatment reduced the most parasitological parameters, tissue parasitism and the inflammatory processes at all infection stages and for all DTUs. However, the number of significant reductions varied according to the DTU and infection phase.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of orally administered Cymbopogon citratus, Zingiber officinale and Syzygium aromaticum essential oils (EOs) in mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. Methods: Three experiments were conducted with 48 Swiss mice each. The animals were inoculated with 2 x 10 6 metacyclic trypomastigotes of T. Cruzi Y-strain and allocated into the following groups (N = 12): 1) untreated control; 2) treated with benznidazole (BZ); 3) treated with EO 100 mg/kg; and 4) treated with EO 250 mg/kg. The groups were evaluated by fresh blood test, blood culture, conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR), real-time PCR and cure rate (CR). Results: All the animals were completely infected with T. cruzi. Treatment with C. citratus and Z. officinale EOs altered some of the parameters derived from the parasitemia curve, but CRs did not differ from BZ. Treatment with S. Aromaticum EO, on the other hand, not only altered all the parameters derived from the parasitemia curve, similar to BZ, but at the dose of 100 mg/kg, CR was also significantly higher than BZ. Conclusion: The results indicate that the essential oils tested, especially S. aromaticum, exhibited anti-Trypanosoma cruzi effect and therefore should be investigated for the treatment of Chagas disease.

Introduction: Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, is widely distributed in nature, circulating between triatomine bugs and sylvatic mammals, and has large genetic diversity. Both the vector species and the genetic lineages of T. cruzi present a varied geographical distribution. This study aimed to verify the influence of sympatry in the interaction of T. cruzi with triatomines. Methods: The behavior of the strains PR2256 (T. cruzi II) and AM14 (T. cruzi IV) was studied in Triatoma sordida (TS) and Rhodnius robustus (RR). Eleven fifth-stage nymphs were fed by artificial xenodiagnosis with 5.6 × 10 3 blood trypomastigotes/0.1mL of each T. cruzi strain. Every 20 days, their excreta were examined for up to 100 days, and every 30 days, the intestinal content was examined for up to 120 days, by parasitological (fresh examination and differential count with Giemsa-stained smears) and molecular (PCR) methods. Rates of infectivity, metacyclogenesis and mortality, and mean number of parasites per insect and of excreted parasites were determined. Results: Sympatric groups RR+AM14 and TS+PR2256 showed higher values of the four parameters, except for mortality rate, which was higher (27.3%) in the TS+AM14 group. General infectivity was 72.7%, which was mainly proven by PCR, showing the following decreasing order: RR+AM14 (100%), TS+PR2256 (81.8%), RR+PR2256 (72.7%) and TS+AM14 (36.4%). Conclusions: Our working hypothesis was confirmed once higher infectivity and vector capacity (flagellate production and elimination of infective metacyclic forms) were recorded in the groups that contained sympatric T. cruzi lineages and triatomine species.

The beef consumption by Brazilian population has increased in recent years. However, the processing of this product can facilitate its contamination by microorganisms and trigger outbreaks of food infections. Based on the previous information, the present study aimed to evaluate the hygienic sanitary quality of ground beef marketed in 20 butcheries in the city of Sarandi, PR. Samples of 50 grams of the product were collected in each establishment. Then, the presence of total and thermotolerant coliforms was evaluated by Most Probable Number technique and Salmonella spp. by the growth in a specific medium. The presence of thermotolerant coliform was observed in all sample analyzed, but in none of them had growth of Salmonella spp. The presence of Escherichia coli in foods indicate a failure in the hygienic sanitary procedures, emphasizing the importance of implementing tools that promote improvement in the good hygiene practices, to reduce the contamination index of these products and to increase the quality of customer's life.Keywords: microbiological analysis; bacteria; ground beef RESUMO:O consumo de carne bovina pela população brasileira tem aumentado nos últimos anos. No entanto, o processamento deste produto pode favorecer a sua contaminação por microrganismos e desencadear surtos de infecção alimentar. Baseado nestas informações, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a qualidade higiênico-sanitária da carne moída comercializada em 20 açougues da cidade de Sarandi, PR. Foram coletadas amostras de 50 gramas do produto em cada estabelecimento. Em seguida foi verificada a presença de coliformes totais e termotolerantes pela Técnica do Número Mais Provável e de Salmonella spp. por crescimento em meio específico. Foi observada a presença de coliformes termotolerantes em todas as amostras analisadas; porém, em nenhuma delas houve o crescimento de Salmonella spp. A presença de Escherichia coli no alimento indica falha nos procedimentos higiênico-sanitários, ressaltando a importância de implementar medidas que promovam melhoria nas boas práticas de higiene, a fim de reduzir os índices de contaminação destes produtos e aumentar a qualidade de vida do consumidor.Palavras-chave: análise microbiológica; bactérias; carne moída

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Aproximadamente 250 milhões de mulheres são fumantes em todo o mundo. Estes indivíduos continuam o uso do fumígeno inclusive durante a gravidez podendo ocasionar graves consequências às suas proles. Diante disso, no presente trabalho objetivou-se realizar uma revisão de literatura sobre os efeitos transgeracionais do tabagismo materno durante a gestação e amamentação, usando como banco de dados o Lilacs, Pubmed e Scielo. Foi possível observar que o tabagismo materno durante a gestação pode levar a alterações fisiológicas, biológicas e hábitos alimentares nas diferentes fases do desenvolvimento do indivíduo ocasionando danos irreversíveis aos mesmos devido às programações cardiometabólicas durante as etapas cruciais do seu desenvolvimento.

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