Cosavirus infection in persons with and without gastroenteritis, Brazil.

To determine possible cosavirus association with clinical disease, we used real-time reverse transcription PCR to test children and HIV-positive adults in Brazil with and without gastroenteritis. Thirteen (3.6%) of 359 children with gastroenteritis tested positive, as did 69 (33.

Rates of and reasons for failure of commercial human immunodeficiency virus type 1 viral load assays in Brazil.

We examined failures of commercial human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) viral load assays of 1,195 plasma samples from Brazilian patients. Assay failure was assumed for samples in which the virus was undetectable by commercial assay but which tested positive by real-time reverse transcription-PCR of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) region or if the viral load differed by >2 log10 from that determined by LTR assay. Failure rates for Bayer Versant bDNA 3.

Risk of tuberculosis among household contacts in Salvador, Bahia.

Unlabelled: Tuberculosis is one of the most important infectious diseases in the world. Only 68% of the estimated new tuberculosis (TB) cases in Brazil are diagnosed. Our aim was to determine the risk of infection among household contacts.

Efficacy and safety of Efavirenz in HIV patients on Rifampin for tuberculosis.

Forty-nine AIDS patients, most of who were antiretroviral therapy (ARV) naive, with active tuberculosis, were treated with Rifampin 600 mg, Isoniazid 400 mg and Pirazinamide 2 g daily. They also received ARV, consisting of Efavirenz (600 mg/day) plus 2 NRTIs. All patients were prospectively followed for at least 24 months.

Use of Rhu-GM-CSF in pulmonary tuberculosis patients: results of a randomized clinical trial.

It has been postulated that deficient or incomplete clinical and/or microbiological response to tuberculosis treatment is associated with cell-mediated immunological dysfunction involving monocytes and macrophages. A phase 2 safety trial was conducted by treating patients with either recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhu-GM-CSF) or a placebo, both in combination with anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy. Thirty-one patients with documented pulmonary tuberculosis were treated with rifampin/isoniazid for six months, plus pyrazinamide for the first two months.

Evaluation of DPPD, a single recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein as an alternative antigen for the Mantoux test.

Although the tuberculin test has aided in the diagnosis of tuberculosis for more than 85 years, its interpretation is difficult particularly because sensitization with non-tuberculous mycobacteria leads to false positive tests. Using the guinea pig model of tuberculosis, we have recently described a recombinant antigen (DPPD) that could circumvent this problem. The DPPD gene is unique to the M.

Cladophialophora bantiana (Previously Cladosporium trichoides): First Report of a Case in Brazil.

Cladophialophora bantiana (Cladosporium trichoides) is a black fungus recorded rarely as a cause of brain abscess. Only 21 cases have been reported in the literature world-wide. We describe the first case seen in Brazil.

Use of Standard Therapy for Tuberculosis is Associated with Increased Adverse Reactions in Patients with HIV.

Hepatitis due to anti-tuberculosis therapy is an infrequent, but potentially devastating event. In HIV positive patients with tuberculosis (TB), the consequences are likely to be even greater, as they frequently require other hepatotoxic medications. The object of our study was to determine the frequency of toxic hepatitis during therapy for TB.

Aedes aegypti Surveillance and Correlation with the Occurrence of Dengue Fever in Bahia, Brazil.

Due to the high frequency of dengue fever cases and the presumed association of such an epidemic with an increase in the population of the mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, we examined the records of the Ministry of Health in the state of Bahia, Brazil, regarding the monitoring of domestic mosquito larvae in municipalities throughout the state. The "House Index" number for larvae in domestic water reservoirs was determined for each municipality based on annual surveys from 1990 to 1994, and in 1996. In 1996, 69% of the municipalites surveyed in Bahia were positive, and 30% had indices above 5%.

Co-Infection of Tuberculosis and HIV/HTLV Retroviruses: Frequency and Prognosis Among Patients Admitted in a Brazilian Hospital.

During 2 1/2 year period,378 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis and admitted to a general hospital for care of the poor in Salvador, Bahia, were tested serologically for HIV-1, HTLV-I, and HTLV-II. The patients' mean age was 41.8 (range 14-89); they were hospitalized for a mean of 62 +/- 43 days; 70% were being treated for the first time; most of the remainder were being retreated after non-compliance with previously recommended anti-tuberculosis medication and a few required second-line therapy for relapsed disease.