Seeking the identification ofA. cantonensis has already been found in Southeast Asia, South Pacific, Africa, India, Caribbean, Australia, North America (Pien & Pien 1999), Jamaica (Lindo et al. 2002) and Haiti (Raccurt et al. 2003).Eosinophilic meningitis is a rare clinical entity that is defined by the presence of 10 or more eosinophils/ ml in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or a CSF eosinophilia of at least 10% of the total CSF leukocyte count (Kuberski 1979). The most common cause is invasion of the central nervous system by helminthic parasites, inciting an inflammatory response that eventually kills the parasites. Clinical manifestations, which develop in humans at two to 35 days after larvae ingestion, may include headache, nuchal rigidity and visual disturbances (Koo et al. 1988). Cerebral angiostrongyliasis usually has an incubation period of about two weeks, although it may vary from 12 to 28 days (Dooley & Neafie 1976). Paresthesias of the extremities, trunk or face, are the most distinctive neurological findings and can persist for weeks to months after the other symptoms are resolved. Occasionally, infective larvae can migrate to the eye, causing retinal detachment or intraocular hemorrhage, but most patients recover completely (Alicata 1962, Sawanyawisuth et al. 2007. In Brazil, a clinical case of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis that resulted in death ten days after ingestion of three Achatina fulica snails was reported in a regional meeting in 2006 (AVS Moll, G Zanini and C Graeff-Teixeira, unpublished observations).In January 2007, two male individuals aged 21 and 39 years were admitted to the local hospital of Cariacica, state of Espírito Santo (ES), Brazil, with eosinophilic meningitis and history of ingestion of raw terrestrial slugs. By that time, a male child aged one year and eight months from the city of Vila Velha, ES, had also been admitted to the hospital with similar symptoms.A number of 270 mollusc specimens and feces from Rattus norvergicus were collected with a grasping tool, in peridomiciliary areas of the patients' houses by health agents of the Central Laboratory of the ES (LACEN-ES). The materials were sent to the Laboratory of Intestinal Helminthiasis of Instituto René Rachou-Fiocruz for mollusc morphological identification and molecular characterization of nematode larvae. The gastropods were identified as: Sarasinula marginata (Semper, 1885) (Veronicellidae), 45 specimens, Subulina octona (Bruguière, 1792) (Subulinidae), 157 specimens, A. fulica (Bowdich, 1822) (Achatinidae), 45 specimens, and Bradybaena similaris (Férussac, 1821) (Bradybaenidae), 23 specimens.

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BackgroundHookworms survive for several years (5 to 7 years) in the host lumen, inducing a robust but largely ineffective immune response. Among the most striking aspects of the immune response to hookworm (as with many other helminths) is the ablation of parasite-specific T cell proliferative response (hyporesponsiveness). While the role of the adaptive immune response in human helminth infection has been well investigated, the role of the innate immune responses (e.g., dendritic cells and eosinophils) has received less attention and remains to be clearly elucidated.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe report on the differentiation/maturation of host dendritic cells in vitro and the eosinophil activation/function associated with human hookworm infection. Mature DCs (mDCs) from Necator americanus (Necator)–infected individuals showed an impaired differentiation process compared to the mDCs of non-infected individuals, as evidenced by the differential expression of CD11c and CD14. These same hookworm-infected individuals also presented significantly down-regulated expression of CD86, CD1a, HLA-ABC, and HLA-DR. The lower expression of co-stimulatory and antigen presentation molecules by hookworm-infected–derived mDCs was further evidenced by their reduced ability to induce cell proliferation. We also showed that this alternative DC differentiation is partially induced by excreted-secreted hookworm products. Conversely, eosinophils from the same individuals showed a highly activated status, with an upregulation of major cell surface markers. Antigen-pulsed eosinophils from N. americanus–infected individuals induced significant cell proliferation of autologous PBMCs, when compared to non-infected individuals.ConclusionChronic N. americanus infection alters the host's innate immune response, resulting in a possible modulation of the maturation process of DCs, a functional change that may diminish their ability for antigen presentation and thus contribute to the ablation of the parasite-specific T cell proliferative response. Interestingly, a concomitant upregulation of the major cell surface markers of eosinophils was observed in hookworm-infected individuals, indicative of antigen-specific immune responses, especially antigen presentation. We showed that in addition to the postulated role of the eosinophils as effector cells against helminth infection, activated cells may also be recruited to sites of inflammation and contribute to the immune response acting as antigen presenting cells.

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The isotypic patterns of antibodies against Schistosoma mansoni antigenic preparations from eggs (SEA), adult worms (SWAP) and cercariae (CERC) have been studied in sera from two groups of individuals living in an area endemic for S. mansoni. One of the groups was comprised of individuals diagnosed as having S. mansoni infections based on their patency, i.e. those passing eggs in their faeces (patent infections, PI). The other group has been consider 'putatively resistant' due to their residence in an endemic area, their documented exposure to positive transmission sites, and their repeated negativity upon stool examinations (endemic normals, EN). There are strong specific responses of IgG1, IgG4 and IgM, particularly to SEA and CERC, by both groups. The reactivities of all isotypes were lower to SWAP. The responses of IgG4, IgM and IgE anti-CERC in EN and PI are higher than those found in normal individuals from outside endemic areas. In general, EN individuals express a relative higher level of anti-STEG IgE as compared to IgG4. On the other hand the pool of sera from PI showed the opposite pattern of higher IgG4 as compared to IgE. Several correlations are seen between isotypic responses to SEA, SWAP and CERC based on comparisons to the anti-SWAP IgE responses of the individuals in the two groups. These comparisons indicate the presence of distinct immunologic differences between individuals in the PI and the EN groups.

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Fasciolosis is a disease of importance for both veterinary and public health. For the first time, georeferenced prevalence data of Fasciola hepatica in bovines were collected and mapped for the Brazilian territory and data availability was discussed. Bovine fasciolosis in Brazil is monitored on a Federal, State and Municipal level, and to improve monitoring it is essential to combine the data collected on these three levels into one dataset. Data were collected for 1032 municipalities where livers were condemned by the Federal Inspection Service (MAPA/SIF) because of the presence of F. hepatica. The information was distributed over 11 states: Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The highest prevalence of fasciolosis was observed in the southern states, with disease clusters along the coast of Paraná and Santa Catarina and in Rio Grande do Sul. Also, temporal variation of the prevalence was observed. The observed prevalence and the kriged prevalence maps presented in this paper can assist both animal and human health workers in estimating the risk of infection in their state or municipality.

O objetivo desse trabalho foi determinar a prevalência das parasitoses em escolares de Bambuí, através de exames coprológicos (direto e Kato-Katz) e reavaliar os criadouros de moluscos descritos no município. Dos 2.901 escolares examinados, 20,1% estavam parasitados, sendo que Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba coli, Ascaris lumbricoides e ancilostomídeos foram os parasitas mais freqüentes, com prevalências de 6,2%, 6,2%, 4,8% e 1,4%, respectivamente. Os ancilostomídeos foram significativamente mais freqüentes na zona rural e nos alunos com mais de 14 anos, enquanto a prevalência da E. coli foi maior na zona urbana e a G. lamblia mais freqüente na faixa etária de 0-6 anos. Somente três crianças eliminavam ovos de Schistosoma mansoni. O único hospedeiro intermediário encontrado foi a Biomphalaria glabrata e nenhuma delas estava eliminando cercárias de S. mansoni . Comparando-se estes dados a de levantamentos realizados anteriormente no município, observou-se uma queda na prevalência de todos os parasitas. Algumas hipóteses para tentar explicar esta queda são discutidas tais como: processo intenso de urbanização e a melhoria das condições sócio-sanitárias do município.