Preclinical evaluation of three polyspecific antivenoms against the venom of Echis ocellatus: Neutralization of toxic activities and antivenomics.

Snakebite envenoming has a heavy burden in the public health in sub-Saharan Africa. The viperid species Echis ocellatus (carpet viper or saw-scaled viper) is the medically most important snake in the savannahs of western sub-Saharan Africa. Several antivenoms are being distributed and used in this region for the treatment of envenomings by E.

Evaluation of the preclinical efficacy of four antivenoms, distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, to neutralize the venom of the carpet viper, Echis ocellatus, from Mali, Cameroon, and Nigeria.

Snakebite envenoming causes a heavy toll in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of mortality and sequelae. In the West African savannah, the viperid Echis ocellatus is responsible for the vast majority of bites. In the last decades, several new antivenoms have been introduced for the treatment of these envenomings, although the assessment of their preclinical efficacy against the venom of E.

Blastocystis subtypes detected in humans and animals from Colombia.

Blastocystis is a common enteric protist colonizing probably more than 1 billion people along with a large variety of non-human hosts. This protist has been linked to symptoms and diseases such as abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, flatulence and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Remarkable genetic diversity has been observed, leading to the subdivision of the genus into multiple subtypes (ST), some of which are exclusively found in non-human hosts.

Temporal variation of Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units in asymptomatic Chagas disease patients.

Chagas disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is a public health problem in Latin America. This parasite displays a high genetic diversity evidenced in six Discrete Typing Units (DTUs) namely TcI-TcVI. The aim of this study was to observe the temporal variation of the DTUs in asymptomatic patients at three different times (10 days interval).

Congenital and oral transmission of American trypanosomiasis: an overview of physiopathogenic aspects.

Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is a pathology affecting about 8-11 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America, more than 300 000 persons in the United States as well as an indeterminate number of people in other non-endemic countries such as USA, Spain, Canada and Switzerland. The aetiological agent is Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan transmitted by multiple routes; among them, congenital route emerges as one of the most important mechanisms of spreading Chagas disease worldwide even in non-endemic countries and the oral route as the responsible of multiple outbreaks of acute Chagas disease in regions where the vectorial route has been interrupted. The aim of this review is to illustrate the recent research and advances in host-pathogen interaction making a model of how the virulence factors of the parasite would interact with the physiology and immune system components of the placental barrier and gastrointestinal tract in order to establish a response against T.

Characteristics of hepatitis B virus genotype G coinfected with genotype H in chimeric mice carrying human hepatocytes.

Accumulated evidence indicated that hepatitis B virus genotype G (HBV/G) is present exclusively in coinfection with other HBV genotypes. In Mexico, HBV/G from 6 men who had sex with men were coinfected with HBV/H. Phylogenetically complete genomes of the 6 Mexican HBV/G strains were closely related to previous ones from the US/Europe.

Routes of infection and clinical outcome of Mexican women reactive to anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies.

Background: Risk factors for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection influence both the frequency and the progression of the liver disease. Routes of transmission and severity of the liver damage may differ by gender. We aimed to describe the risk factors for HCV infection and for the severity of the liver disease among women seroreactive to anti-HCV antibodies.

Performance of the serologic and molecular screening of blood donations for the hepatitis B and C viruses in a Mexican Transfusion Center.

Nucleic acid-amplification testing (NAT) is not routinely practiced in blood banks from most low-income countries. We did an exploratory comparison of the performance of the standard immunoassay-based screening tests for the hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses with that of NAT, in blood donors. From January 1999 to March 2005, 94,806 blood donors were screened for anti-HCV antibodies and for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).

Prediction of the hepatitis C viremia using immunoassay data and clinical expertise.

Detection of anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) antibodies may yield a high frequency of false-positive results in people at low risk. To date, no clinical rule had been developed to predict viremia in HCV-seropositive patients. Therefore, we aimed to generate a prediction rule on the basis of clinical and serologic data, which can be used in outpatient care.