Naturally acquired acute leptospirosis in monkeys is uncommon. This study reports an outbreak of severe leptospirosis among 52 capuchin (Cebus) monkeys that had been rescued from homes and housed in a wildlife rehabilitation center in Colombia in 2007. Case confirmation consisted of Leptospira isolation followed by a polymerase chain reaction targeting the LipL32 gene. The attack and mortality rates were 71% and 27%, respectively. Sixteen cases were confirmed. Necropsy revealed diffuse jaundice and pulmonary hemorrhage. Multi-locus sequence typing identified the agent to be Leptospira interrogans sequence type 17, indicating rats as the source of infection. An environmental survey confirmed rodent infestation as the cause of the outbreak. The extent of Leptospira transmission between humans and monkeys is unknown. Improper husbandry of non-human primates could create new reservoirs and transmission routes for Leptospira threatening conservation efforts and public health.

Real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) relies on a housekeeping or normalizer gene whose expression remains constant throughout the experiment. RT-qPCR is commonly used for characterization of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies validating the expression stability of the genes used as normalizers during hBMSCs differentiation. This work aimed to study the stability of the housekeeping genes b-actin, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and ribosomal protein L13A (RPL13A) during the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. Their stability was evaluated via RT-qPCR in 14 and 20 day differentiation assays to the osteogenic lineage. Different normalization strategies were evaluated to quantify the osteogenic markers collagen type I, bone sialoprotein and osteonectin. Cell differentiation was confirmed via alizarin red staining. The results demonstrated up-regulation of b-actin with maximum fold changes (MFC) of 4.38. GAPDH and RPL13A were not regulated by osteogenic media after 14 days and presented average fold changes lower than 2 in 20 day cultures. RPL13A (MFC \ 2) had a greater stability when normalizing as a function of culture time compared with GAPDH (MFC B 2.2), which resulted in expression patterns of the osteogenic markers more consistent with the observed differentiation process. The results suggest that b-actin regulation could be associated with the morphological changes characteristic of hBMSCs osteogenic differentiation, and provide evidence for the superior performance of RPL13A as a normalizer gene in osteogenic differentiation studies of hBMSCs. This work highlights the importance of validating the normalizer genes used for stem cells characterization via RT-qPCR.

Abstract. Leptospirosis is a widely distributed zoonosis, and rats are its most common source of infection. Our goal was to determine the frequency for Leptospira infection in rodents in a farmers market in the city of Medellin. We performed a descriptive transversal study sampling 254 rodents. Rodents were bled and killed, and kidneys samples were taken. Supernatants of macerated kidneys were cultured on Fletcher medium. Microagglutination tests (MATs) with 11 serovars were also carried out in rat serum, and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specific for pathogenic species was used to test each bacterial culture. All animals were identified as Rattus norvegicus ; 25% and 20% were positive by MAT and culture, respectively. PCR tests of 12 isolates were positive for pathogenic serovars, and 4 of them were confirmed as L. interrogans by sequencing. These data show the role of this natural carrier and shedder of pathogenic leptospires in the epidemiology of urban leptospirosis in Colombia.

Biomédica 2013;33(Supl.1):99-107 Etiología del síndrome febril no palúdico en Urabá Contribución de los autores:Esteban Arroyave: trabajo de laboratorio, redacción del manuscrito. Andrés Felipe Londoño: recolección de las muestras, pruebas serológicas virales, discusión y redacción del manuscrito. Juan Carlos Quintero: análisis estadístico y pruebas de inmunofluorescencia para Rickettsia. Piedad Agudelo-Flórez: diseño del estudio, análisis de la información y revisión del manuscrito. Margarita Arboleda: análisis de la información, contribución con la discusión y revisión del manuscrito. Francisco J. Díaz: diseño del estudio, análisis de la información y revisión del manuscrito. Juan D. Rodas: planeación del trabajo, obtención de recursos para el estudio, análisis de la información y corrección final del manuscrito. ARTÍCULO ORIGINAL

X-CGD patients from Latin America showed a high degree of molecular heterogeneity, including two novel mutations. Their clinical characteristics included early onset of infections and eventual obstructive granulomas. A47-CGD represented 50% of the reported cases, a higher prevalence than reported in other series.

Leptospirosis es una zoonosis de gran incidencia en regiones tropicales. Su prevalencia es desconocida en la región del Urabá colombiano. Entre marzo y octubre del año 2000 se realizó un estudio descriptivo de corte para determinar la seroprevalencia de anticuerpos contra Leptospira spp. y describir algunos factores de riesgo en nueve municipios del Urabá. La población incluida fue de 582 personas a las cuales se les tomó una muestra de sangre y se le aplicó una encuesta sobre factores de riesgo. La detección de anticuerpos contra Leptospira spp. fue realizada por inmunofluorescencia indirecta y por microaglutinación. La seroprevalencia general en la zona fue 12,5% (IC95%: 10,01-15,5). No hubo diferencias en cuanto al sexo, raza, oficio, edad, años de residencia en la zona y características de la vivienda. L. interrogans serovar Grippotyphosa fue la especie más prevalente, identificándose en 53 de los seropositivos. En 38 seropositivos los títulos detectados fueron iguales o mayores a 1:400. En conclusión, existe alta prevalencia de anticuerpos contra Leptospira spp. Es necesario orientar las medidas de control para disminuir el riesgo de exposición ambiental a leptospirosis por parte de los habitantes de la zona.

This report builds on recent serological evidence for the presence of hantavirus in northern Colombia by providing sequence-specific and phylogenetic data of hantavirus infections in wild rodents. From August 2007 to August 2008, 354 rodent specimens representing four families were collected in the northwestern Antioquia region of Colombia. Antibodies reactive to Sin Nombre virus and Maciel virus antigens by IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were found in 15 of 109 (14%) Cherries cane rats (Zygodontomys cherriei), the only sigmodontinae rodents captured. Lung tissue samples from 11 of the 15 seropositive rodents were RT-polymerase chain reaction positive for hantavirus RNA, using primers for the S and M genome segments. Eight of these amplicons were sequenced and phylogenetic analyses indicated RNA of a hantavirus closely related to Calabazo virus, previously found in Panama. This is the first report of the genetic characterization of a hantavirus in rodents in Colombia.

Abstract. Samples were collected from 128 symptomatic humans, 83 dogs, 49 mice, and 20 rats (Rattus rattus: 16; Rattus norvegicus: 4) in neighborhoods where human leptospirosis have been reported within the principal sea-port city of Colombia. Seroprevalences were assessed against 19 pathogenic, 1 intermediate pathogenic, and 1 saprophytic Leptospira serogroups. Pathogenic Leptospira were confirmed using conventional Leptospira-specific polymerase chain-reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis was used for serovar identification. Seroprevalences of 20.4%, 12.5%, 25.0%, 22.9%, and 12.4% were obtained against one to seven different serogroups in mice, R. rattus, R. norvegicus, dogs, and humans, respectively. The DNA was confirmed to be from pathogenic Leptospira by detecting the lipL32 gene in 12.5%, 3.7%, and 0.03% of the R. rattus, dog, and human samples, respectively. The first genetically typed Colombian isolate was obtained from a rat and identified as Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae/Copenhageni.