American visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a vector-borne disease transmitted by some species of phlebotomine sandflies from the genus Lutzomyia. This neglected tropical zoonosis shows increasing urbanization process, since the end of the 1980s. After the emergence of foci of the disease in urban areas, VL has assumed an important role in public health. Although VL is widely prevalent in several parts of the world, diagnosing the illness is still difficult. We present a case of a 12-year-old girl with a history of recurrent fever, anorexia, cachexia, chronic fatigue, weight loss, left palpebral unilateral edema, persistent cough and pancytopenia. A diagnosis of VL was performed using a reference immunochromatographic rapid test. Identification of the infecting protozoan was directly obtained by PCR of bone marrow. The patient responded favorably to treatment using liposomal amphotericin B. This is the first report of human visceral leishmaniasis in the city of Lavras in the South of Minas Gerais State. This first report of VL highlighted the need of maintenance of permanent surveillance and control programs in the city of Lavras, including the active search of sandflies, human and canine cases. The current situation of Lavras should also be taken as an alert to other near cities where favorable eco-epidemiological conditions may exist.
The captures were undertaken by the teams from the Vigilância Ambiental and from the Laboratório de Biologia Parasitária of the Universidade Federal de Lavras (BIOPAR/UFLA), in October 2013. The entomological survey was performed during three consecutive nights for 12h per night (6:00pm to 6:00am). Eight HP light traps were installed being four in a small property equipped with a chicken
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a series of challenges to the academic community. Social distancing measures imposed the interruption of face-to-face activities besides the implementation of remote work and online classes. For safe and gradual return, the monitoring of individuals, quick detection of infection, contact tracing, and isolation of those infected became essential. In this sense, we developed strategies to face the pandemic at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) - Brazil. A Telemedicine Program (TeleCovid) and the assemblage of a laboratory for SARS-CoV-2 molecular diagnosis (LabCovid) were essential measures for monitoring, preventing, and controlling outbreaks at the university. TeleCovid works with a team of students who guide and answer questions regarding COVID-19 and, when necessary, make the referral for online consultation with medical professionals. In the suspicion of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the doctor refers the patient for testing at LabCovid. LabCovid performs the sample collection using nasal swabs, followed by processing samples by the RT-qPCR method. We have placed all positive patients in isolation and tested their contacts. This approach meant that positive cases were identified early, thus avoiding outbreaks in different environments in face-to-face activities.Keyword: Covid-19; university, RT-qPCR
As leishmanioses são doenças negligenciadas de grande importância em saúde pública. Esta doença, causada por parasitos do gênero Leishmania e transmitidos por insetos vetores pode se manifestar sob as formas visceral, cutânea e muco-cutânea. A leishmaniose visceral ganhou importante destaque na abordagem da “Saúde Única” em função da interface humana, veterinária e ambiental. Neste contexto, a detecção de novas áreas com ocorrência de casos autóctones de LV canina é o marco para iniciar a investigação, vigilância e monitoramento epidemiológico. O município de Lavras era considerado área silenciosa e não vulnerável para leishmaniose visceral canina até o ano de 2013. Diante da necessidade de confirmação da infecção canina, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi confirmar a ocorrência de casos autóctones de LV canina no município de Lavras – MG, com técnicas parasitológicas, sorológicas e moleculares. A partir da Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em tempo real – qPCR, foi analisada a carga parasitária de amostras de baço e medula óssea de nove cães naturalmente infectados, sabidamente positivos para LVC nos testes DPP® e EIE LVC Bio-Manguinhos®. Foram observadas quatro amostras positivas para Leishmania infantum em medula óssea, e cinco amostras positivas de baço. Não houve diferença significativa para os valores de carga parasitária entre os dois tipos de tecido analisados. A confirmação da infecção por L. infantum em cães realizada neste estudo é a primeira na macrorregião de Lavras - sul do estado de Minas Gerais, e serve de alerta para implementação das ações de vigilância e controle, no sentido de evitar a dispersão da doença e a ocorrência de casos humanos.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.