Publications by authors named "Jose F Gil"

Background: Aedes aegypti (L.) is the main vector of dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and chikungunya viruses in many parts of the world, impacting millions of people worldwide each year. Insecticide-based interventions have been effective in controlling Aedes mosquito populations for several years, but in recent times, resistance to these compounds has developed, posing a global threat to the control of this mosquito.

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In plants, exoribonuclease-resistant RNAs (xrRNAs) are produced by many viruses. Whereas xrRNAs contribute to the pathogenicity of these viruses, the role of xrRNAs in the virus infectious cycle remains elusive. Here, we show that xrRNAs produced by a benyvirus (a multipartite RNA virus with four genomic segments) in plants are involved in the formation of monocistronic coat protein (CP)-encoding chimeric RNAs.

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  • * A retrospective analysis of 3,573 laboratory-confirmed ATL cases in Oran from 1985 to 2019 revealed that 92.5% were cutaneous, with a median evolution time of 30 days, while 7.5% were mucosal with a median time of 7 months.
  • * The study highlighted that males were affected more frequently (3:1 ratio), with the majority of cases presenting as single cutaneous lesions on exposed
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  • Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) has high mortality rates and is significantly prevalent in Northwestern Argentina, due to multiple rodent species acting as virus reservoirs.
  • The study aimed to create a risk map for HPS transmission using ecological niche models (ENM) and analyze the impact of climatic and environmental variables on the infection risk in the region.
  • Results showed that a majority of HPS cases occurred in high-risk areas, with temperature, rainfall, and vegetation being key factors; also, 18% of the local population is at risk, especially near deforested areas.
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  • The study aims to compare left ventricular remodeling in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) versus those with trileaflet aortic valve (TAV) suffering from chronic aortic regurgitation (AR).
  • Researchers analyzed 210 patients and found that BAV patients were generally younger and had milder AR compared to TAV patients, even though both groups had similar heart function overall.
  • Key findings indicated that at mild AR levels, BAV patients showed larger left ventricular volumes, but this difference diminished at higher AR levels, revealing that demographic factors like age and weight are more significant than valve type in relation to heart size.
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The aim of this work was to describe the tick community associated to domestic mammals in rural areas from the Yungas lower montane forest of Argentina. The circulation of tick-borne pathogens was also analyzed. Samples of ticks parasitizing cattle, horses, sheep and dogs were carried out in different seasons, and questing ticks were collected from vegetation and analyzed to detect the presence of Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, Borrelia and Babesia by a battery of different PCRs.

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Recent works have demonstrated a significant reduction in cholesterol levels and increased oxidative stress in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The cause of this alteration is not well known. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate their possible association during the evolution of COVID-19.

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Arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti pose a threat to global public health. Because there are no vaccines or drugs available, the prevention of these diseases in Argentina is based on integrated vector control. In this work, the spatiotemporal dynamics of the vector distribution was analyzed by monitoring oviposition.

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Background: The WHO has established a control strategy for Strongyloides stercoralis in school-aged children as well as targets and to maintain control programs for Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworms. For an efficient development of control programs, it is necessary to know the target countries around the world, as well as the areas within each country where efforts should be focused. Therefore, maps that provide information on the areas at risk for soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections on a national and sub-national scale would allow for a better allocation of resources.

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  • The study investigated the effects of long-term use of RAAS inhibitors on hypertensive patients hospitalized with COVID-19, finding that nearly 74% of these patients were using such medications prior to hospitalization.
  • Results showed that hypertensive patients had a higher mortality rate; however, those on RAAS inhibitors had a lower risk of death, and the use of these medications appeared to provide a protective benefit.
  • The overall conclusion is that RAAS inhibitors may be beneficial for hypertensive COVID-19 patients, and continued use during hospitalization likely does not worsen outcomes, supported by a separate meta-analysis.
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Tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) is caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by the sandfly species, insects belonging to the order Diptera, family Psychodidae. Historically, the most endemic area of TL in Argentina has been the northern region. The aim of this work was to analyze the presence and temporal variation of TL cases reported between 1985 and 2019 in Colonia Santa Rosa locality, northern Argentina.

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Introduction And Objective: the SARS-CoV-2 infection ranges from asymptomatic to critical forms and several prognostic factors have been described. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in acute situations where it is linked with more complications and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic information of AF in this population.

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Leishmaniases are neglected tropical diseases caused by Leishmania spp. parasites transmitted by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies. In Argentina, the most endemic area of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) has been Orán department, Province of Salta, where Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis prevails and Nyssomyia neivai is considered as its vector, although there is no accurate and sufficient information in this regard.

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  • * Out of 849 patients, nearly half were hypertensive; those on RAAS inhibitors before and during hospitalization had lower mortality rates than those not on these medications.
  • * The analysis suggests that RAAS inhibitors may provide protective benefits for hypertensive COVID-19 patients, indicating that continuing these medications during treatment may not worsen outcomes.
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Deterioration is sometimes unexpected in SARS-CoV2 infection. The aim of our study is to establish laboratory predictors of mortality in COVID-19 disease which can help to identify high risk patients. All patients admitted to hospital due to Covid-19 disease were included.

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  • - The study evaluated the impact of heart disease (HD) and cardiovascular medications on COVID-19 hospitalized patients, revealing that those with HD had higher mortality rates compared to those without (35.4% vs. 18.2%).
  • - Among 859 patients, diabetes was particularly linked to increased risk of death, while common cardiovascular medications did not worsen patient outcomes; however, statins were associated with lower mortality rates.
  • - The occurrence of cardiovascular events during hospitalization was linked to worse overall outcomes, with a mortality rate of 31.8% in patients who experienced such events compared to 19.3% in those who did not.
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  • The study investigates the link between atrial fibrillation (AF) and outcomes in patients hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, finding that 10% of patients developed AF.
  • Patients with AF were older, had more pre-existing health issues, and faced a higher risk of acute respiratory failure and in-hospital mortality compared to those without AF.
  • However, while AF is associated with higher mortality rates, it is not considered an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality; other factors like age and kidney function play a more significant role.
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Virus research has advanced significantly since the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), the characterization of its infection mechanisms and the factors that determine their pathogenicity. However, most viral research has focused on pathogenic viruses to humans, animals and plants, which represent only a small fraction in the virosphere. As a result, the role of most viral genes, and the mechanisms of coevolution between mutualistic viruses, their host and their environment, beyond pathogenicity, remain poorly understood.

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Chrysanthemum virus B encodes a multifunctional p12 protein that acts as a transcriptional activator in the nucleus and as a suppressor of RNA silencing in the cytoplasm. Here, we investigated the impact of p12 on accumulation of major classes of small RNAs (sRNAs). The results show dramatic changes in the sRNA profiles characterised by an overall reduction in sRNA accumulation, changes in the pattern of size distribution of canonical siRNAs and in the ratio between sense and antisense strands, lower abundance of siRNAs with a U residue at the 5'-terminus, and changes in the expression of certain miRNAs, most of which were downregulated.

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Leishmaniases are vector-borne diseases that in the Americas are distributed from southern United States to northern Argentina. The vectors for this disease are small dipterans known as sand flies that are usually identified morphologically by observing structures with taxonomic value; but it is time-consuming, laborious, and requires entomological expertise. Then, this work was aimed at identifying sand flies with molecular techniques, using the morphological identification as a reference technique, in an endemic area of American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL) located in northern Argentina.

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The discovery and characterization of novel parasite antigens to improve the diagnosis of by serological methods and for accurate and rapid follow-up of treatment efficiency are still needed. TcTASV is a -specific multigene family, whose products are expressed on the parasite stages present in the vertebrate host. In a previous work, a mix of antigens from subfamilies TcTASV-A and TcTASV-C (Mix A + C) was sensitive and specific to identify dogs with active infection of high epidemiological relevance.

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Background: Some sand flies are of medical importance because they are vectors of Leishmania parasites that are responsible for leishmaniasis. The aim of this study was to make a retrospective epidemiological analysis of tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL), to identify Leishmania spp. from patient isolates and to describe the diversity of sand flies from a border area between Bolivia and Argentina.

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Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic in Salta province, which belongs to the northwest of Argentina. spp. DNA from Giemsa-stained slides of up to 12 years in storage of patients from Salta was characterized through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).

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The sand fly fauna in Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentina, a locality where cutaneous leishmaniasis cases occur, was surveyed with zones of higher abundance of sand flies correlated to vegetation cover estimated through normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Sand flies were collected with 10 CDC traps during six nights, from December 2009 to January 2010. A map was built of expected sand flies abundance in which levels of NDVI were categorized.

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