Ecology and epidemiology

Abstract

Introduction: Most studies of endemic and outbreak blastomycosis have involved rural areas, and case homesites have been associated with waterways and sand soils. Objectives: To compare environmental and homesite features associated with blastomycosis in the cities of Eagle River (ER pop. 2000) [n=25] and Milwaukee County (MK pop. 940,000) [n=45], Wisconsin. Methods: Comparison of homesites of mandatory State-reported cases of human blastomycosis. Controls for ER were 57 random number selected geographically overlapping households; and four nearest same-street addresses were controls for ER and MK. Power analysis guided number of controls. ARC-GIS was used to geocode addresses and to observe geographic features of homesites. Cluster analysis was performed with CrimeStatII. Each case and control property was directly observed. Categorical data was analyzed using Yates corrected chi-square or Fisher's exact test; continuous variables by Mann-Whitney test. Results: Cases averaged 354 m to waterways in ER and 1067 m in MK. No MK homesites were on sand soils compared to 24/25 for ER. One case cluster was seen on Milwaukee's North side (2 zip codes) where the estimated annual incidence was 2.8/100,000 compared to 0.96/100,000 for all MK County (versus 74/100,000 for ER). In both cities, homesite features of lot size/type, approximate home age, garage, driveway, foundation, and forestation did not differ from controls. In ER, porches were more common among case houses ( Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a deep mycosis with chronic evolution and granulomatous pattern caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. It is the most prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin América, especially in Brazil, with the highest number of cases. The patients are mainly rural workers, between 30-60 years old. Little is known about the ecology of P. brasiliensis, although much progress has been achieved in studies on the pathogenesis and diagnosis of PCM. The aim of this work was evaluate P. brasiliensis infection in C. apella monkeys. A total of 39 serum samples were collected from monkeys captureded in the region of Porto Rico, Paraná. The samples were analyzed by ELISA, using gp43 as antigen and protein-A-peroxidase as conjugate. The seropositivity was 64,1 %. This result suggests that C. apella monkeys play a role in the P. brasiliensis ecology. The paracoccidiodoycosis (PCM) is the most prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin América, specially in Brazil, that shows the higher number of cases. It is caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, that grows in the filament form at room temperature and in yeast form at 37ºC or in the host. The PCM can be classified in PCMinfection and PCM-disease. The first one occurs in individuals of both sexes, healthy, that live or lived in endemic areas and not developed the disease; the latter affect mainly male rural workers, between 30-60 years old. Besides the armadillos, the participation of other animal species in the eco-epidemiology of PCM is unclear. The aim of thi...