High Incidence of Congenital Syphilis after Implementation of the Brazilian Ministry of Health Ordinances Related to Maternal Diagnostics.

The increasing rates of maternal and congenital syphilis (CS) infections are public health concerns and need further investigation in order to provide better assistance in epidemiological surveillance and new strategies for the assistance and prevention of CS. In December 2011, the Brazilian Ministry of Health (BMH) implemented ordinance number 3.242, reinforced in 2012 by ordinance number 77, aiming to improve the quality of the syphilis diagnosis system using rapid tests.

Clinical and epidemiological features of pertussis in Salvador, Brazil, 2011-2016.

Pertussis, a severe respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis, is distributed globally. Vaccination has been crucial to annual reductions in the number of cases. However, disease reemergence has occurred over the last decade in several countries, including Brazil.

Meningococcal carriage in young adults six years after meningococcal C conjugate (MCC) vaccine catch-up campaign in Salvador, Brazil.

Meningococcal carriage studies are important to improve the knowledge of disease epidemiology as well as to support appropriate vaccination strategies. We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence and genotypic characteristics of meningococci collected from young adults in Salvador, Brazil six years after a meningococcal C conjugate vaccine catch-up campaign. From August through November 2016, oropharyngeal swabs were collected from 407 students aged 1824 years attending a private college in Salvador, Brazil.

Carriage prevalence of Neisseria meningitidis in the Americas in the 21st century: a systematic review.

Neisseria meningitidis is a bacterium that colonizes the human nasopharynx and is transmitted by respiratory droplets from asymptomatic or symptomatic carriers. Occasionally, the pathogen invades the mucosa and enters the bloodstream, causing invasive meningococcal disease, a life-threatening infection. While meningococcal colonization is the first step in the development of invasive disease, the risk factors that predict progression from asymptomatic to symptomatic status are not well-known.

Epidemiology and molecular characterization of Neisseria lactamica carried in 11-19 years old students in Salvador, Brazil.

Neisseria lactamica is a nonpathogenic commensal bacterium that is potentially associated with the development of natural immunity against N. meningitidis. However, the genetic variation present in natural populations of N.

Impact of meningococcal C conjugate vaccination programs with and without catch-up campaigns in adolescents: Lessons learned from Bahia, Brazil.

The significant increase in the incidence rates and ongoing outbreaks of serogroup C meningococcal (MenC) disease, associated with the sequence type-103 complex, motivated the incorporation of the meningococcal C conjugate (MCC) vaccine in the routine immunization program in the State of Bahia, Brazil in early 2010, targeting children younger than 5 years of age. In its capital, Salvador, the program also included a catch-up campaign for individuals 10-24 years of age. We performed an observational, ecological study, analyzing data collected from 2007 to 2015, to compare the impact of these two immunization strategies on meningococcal disease incidence and mortality rates.

Molecular characterization of Neisseria meningitidis isolates recovered from 11-19-year-old meningococcal carriers in Salvador, Brazil.

Characterization of meningococci isolated from the pharynx is essential towards understanding the dynamics of meningococcal carriage and disease. Meningococcal isolates, collected from adolescents resident in Salvador, Brazil during 2014, were characterized by multilocus sequence typing, genotyping or whole-genome sequencing. Most were nongroupable (61.

Meningococcal Carriage among Adolescents after Mass Meningococcal C Conjugate Vaccination Campaigns in Salvador, Brazil.

Neisseria meningitidis is a commensal bacterium of the human nasopharynx. In rare cases, it penetrates the mucosa, entering the blood stream and causing various forms of disease. Meningococcal conjugate vaccines can prevent invasive disease not only by direct effect in vaccinated individuals but also by herd protection, preventing acquisition of carriage, which interrupts transmission and leads to protection of unvaccinated persons.

Genetic profiles and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae non-PCV10 serotype isolates recovered from meningitis cases in Salvador, Brazil.

In 2010, the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced into the Brazilian childhood vaccination programme. Concerns have been raised that non-vaccine serotypes could increase in prevalence and reduce the benefits of vaccination; therefore, we examined non-PCV10 isolates recovered from meningitis during pre- (January 2008-May 2010) and post-vaccine (June 2010-December 2012) periods. Surveillance for pneumococcal meningitis was established at the Reference Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Salvador, Brazil.

Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae among children in an urban setting in Brazil prior to PCV10 introduction.

Information on pneumococcal carriage in the pre-vaccine period is essential to predict and assess the impact of PCV in settings where disease surveillance is particularly difficult. Therefore, we present data on pneumococcal carriage before the introduction of the 10-valent-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) in Brazil. We conducted a prospective study on a cohort of 203 children aged <5 years old, randomly selected in an urban community located in the periphery of the city of Salvador, Brazil and followed them from January/2008 to January/2009.

Temporal trends and clonal diversity of penicillin non-susceptible pneumococci from meningitis cases from 1996 to 2012, in Salvador, Brazil.

Background: Hospital-based surveillance for pneumococcal meningitis has been conducted since January 1996 in the city of Salvador, Brazil. The purpose of this study was to describe the temporal evolution of Penicillin Non-Susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PNSSP) in regards to serotype distributions and clonal diversity recovered from meningitis cases over 17 years.

Methods: Broth microdilution was used to identify pneumococcal isolates that were PNSSP (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration > 0.

Diversity of genotypes in CTX-M-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated in different hospitals in Brazil.

Objective: The present study was undertaken to characterize CTX-M ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae collected from hospitals in different cities of Brazil.

Material And Methods: Eighty-five K. pneumoniae strains isolated from hospitalized patients in six different hospitals of three cities of Brazil were analyzed.

Serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae prior to introduction of the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Brazil, 2000-2007.

This study describes the serotype distribution and antibiotic resistance patterns among 397 S. pneumoniae meningitis case isolates recovered in Salvador, Brazil, during the period of 2000-2007, before introduction of the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. The active hospital-based surveillance showed a decline in the annual incidence rates of pneumococcal meningitis during the period of study, from 1.

Prevalence of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 6C among invasive and carriage isolates in metropolitan Salvador, Brazil, from 1996 to 2007.

The newly described Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 6C accounted for 2.3% (16/709) of meningitis cases and 3.2% (3/95) of nasopharyngeal isolates from healthy individuals in Brazil.

The dispersin-encoding gene (aap) is not restricted to enteroaggregative Escherichia coli.

The presence of the enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) virulence genes aatA, aap, and aggR was assayed in strains of different diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes and nonpathogenic E. coli.

Burden of group A streptococcal meningitis in Salvador, Brazil: report of 11 years of population-based surveillance.

Background: Over recent decades, a resurgence of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) infections has been observed; GAS remains a rare cause of pyogenic meningitis. We report herein population-based findings of long-term surveillance for GAS meningitis in Salvador, Brazil, and estimate the overall burden of invasive GAS infections.

Methods: From February 1996 to February 2007 we conducted active surveillance for GAS meningitis in the state reference hospital for infectious diseases in Salvador, Brazil.

Brazilian propolis: correlation between chemical composition and antimicrobial activity.

The chemical composition of ethanol extracts from samples of Brazilian propolis (EEPs) determined by HPLC and their activity against Trypanosoma cruzi, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebisiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans, Sporothrix schenckii and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis were determined. Based on the predominant botanical origin in the region of samples' collection, the 10 extracts were separated into three groups: A (B. dracunculifolia + Auraucaria spp), B (B.

Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli categories among the traditional enteropathogenic E. coli O serogroups--a review.

The so called enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) O serogroups include typical and atypical EPEC, enterohaemorrragic E. coli, enterotoxigenic E. coli, and enteroaggregative E.

Prevalence of virulence-associated genes in clinical and environmental Vibrio cholerae strains isolated in Brazil between 1991 and 1999.

Genes located on the CTX element and the Vibrio cholerae pathogenicity island (VPI) were investigated in 297 clinical V. cholerae O1 and 76 environmental O1 and non-O1 isolates from Brazil between 1991 and 1999. RAPD analysis suggested that serogroup O1 strains regardless of clinical or environmental source were clonal while non-O1 strains showed greater diversity.

Primary fecal culture used as template for PCR detection of diarrheagenic E. coli virulence factors.

The PCR technique applied to primary fecal cultures (PFC-PCR) was compared to the usual method employing isolated colonies (IC-PCR) in order to assess its sensitivity in the detection of virulence markers of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in fecal samples obtained from children with diarrhea. Among the 149 samples analysed, PFC-PCR detected 81(54.4%) samples presenting one or two virulence markers, while IC-PCR detected only 59 (39.