Publications by authors named "Darcita Rovaris"

Article Synopsis
  • Oropouche virus (OROV) is an arbovirus that has spread beyond its usual Amazon basin habitat, with a significant outbreak occurring in the Brazilian Amazon during 2023-24, leading to cases in other Latin American countries.
  • A genomic and epidemiological study from January 2023 to July 2024 showed a higher incidence of OROV in smaller municipalities, and a correlation between agricultural area sizes, particularly banana and cassava plantations, and the number of OROV cases.
  • Phylogenetic analysis indicated multiple exportation events of a new reassortant lineage of OROV from Amazon regions to other parts of Brazil occurred between January and March 2024.
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The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC) Gamma in Amazonas during early 2021 fueled a second large COVID-19 epidemic wave and raised concern about the potential role of reinfections. Very few cases of reinfection associated with the VOC Gamma have been reported to date, and their potential impact on clinical, immunological, and virological parameters remains largely unexplored. Here we describe 25 cases of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in Brazil.

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Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2 genome surveillance in Santa Catarina, Brazil, tracked 55 strains and four variants (Alpha, Delta, Gamma, and Omicron) from May 2021 to April 2022, highlighting significant shifts in variant prevalence.* -
  • The study recorded low case numbers in May 2021, but there was a spike in deaths associated with the Gamma variant, followed by a surge in cases and dominance of the Omicron variant between December 2021 and February 2022.* -
  • Healthcare workers (HCW) showed similar variant profiles to the general population but experienced a faster transition from Delta to Omicron, underscoring their role in monitoring COVID-19 trends.*
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Article Synopsis
  • * A study analyzed the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and identified 23 variants, with Gamma being the most prevalent during the second wave of infections.
  • * The research provided the first evidence of regional variations in the transmission of the virus, emphasizing the need for ongoing monitoring of variants and their effects on public health.
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Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2 has infected nearly 200 million people globally by July 2021, with varying viral lineages influencing the pandemic's progression.
  • Coinfection of individuals with different SARS-CoV-2 lineages could change how COVID-19 develops and lead to new viral variants, but has been hard to study due to low lineage diversity and limited data.
  • A study analyzed Brazilian samples over a year and revealed 9 cases of coinfection (about 0.61% of those sampled), indicating this is rare but suggests even more could exist that are difficult to detect due to similarities among lineages.
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One of the most remarkable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOC) features is the significant number of mutations they acquired. However, the specific factors that drove the emergence of such variants since the second half of 2020 are not fully resolved. In this study, we describe a new SARS-CoV-2 P.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis has a complex cell wall containing mycolic acids (MA), which play an important role in pathogenesis, virulence, and survival by protecting the cell against harsh environments. Studies have shown that genes encoding enzymes involved in MA synthesis are essential to mycobacterial functionality. Here, we used whole-genome sequencing to evaluate mutations in genes related to MA metabolism in M.

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Mutations at both the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the amino (N)-terminal domain (NTD) of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Spike (S) glycoprotein can alter its antigenicity and promote immune escape. We identified that SARS-CoV-2 lineages circulating in Brazil with mutations of concern in the RBD independently acquired convergent deletions and insertions in the NTD of the S protein, which altered the NTD antigenic-supersite and other predicted epitopes at this region. Importantly, we detected the community transmission of different P.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the pathogen responsible for tuberculosis (TB) poses as the major cause of death among infectious diseases. The knowledge about the molecular diversity of M.

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Monocyte counts are increased during human tuberculosis (TB) but it has not been determined whether () directly regulates myeloid commitment. We demonstrated that exposure to directs primary human CD34 cells to differentiate into monocytes/macrophages. In vitro myeloid conversion did not require type I or type II IFN signaling.

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The Tuberculosis (TB) notification rates are 5 to 81 times higher in prisons worldwide when compared to the general population. The state of Santa Catarina (SC) has few epidemiological data regarding TB in prisons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the molecular epidemiology of circulating strains in prisons of SC.

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Proinflammatory cytokines are critical mediators that control Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) growth during active tuberculosis (ATB). To further inhibit bacterial proliferation in diseased individuals, drug inhibitors of cell wall synthesis such as isoniazid (INH) are employed. However, whether INH presents an indirect effect on bacterial growth by regulating host cytokines during ATB is not well known.

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Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is useful for understanding disease transmission dynamics, and to establish strategic measures for TB control and prevention. The aim of this study was to analyze clinical, epidemiological and molecular characteristics of MTBC clinical isolates from Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. During one-year period, 406 clinical isolates of MTBC were collected from Central Laboratory of Public Health and typed by spoligotyping.

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Drug resistance is a global threat and one of the main contributing factors to tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks. The goal of this study was to analyse the molecular profile of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in the state of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. Fifty-three MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates were analysed by spoligotyping and a partial region of the rpoB gene, which is associated with rifampicin resistance (RMP-R), was sequenced.

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The identification of mycobacteria is essential because tuberculosis (TB) and mycobacteriosis are clinically indistinguishable and require different therapeutic regimens. The traditional phenotypic method is time consuming and may last up to 60 days. Indeed, rapid, affordable, specific and easy-to-perform identification methods are needed.

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