Publications by authors named "Leila Sabrina Ullmann"

Article Synopsis
  • The discovery of mimivirus in 2003 sparked global interest in exploring giant viruses, yet their diversity and distribution remain largely unknown.
  • A study conducted from 2012 to 2022 focused on isolating amoebal viruses from various Brazilian biomes using Acanthamoeba castellanii, processing 881 samples.
  • The research identified 67 amoebal viruses across all sample types and biomes, including several significant types like mimiviruses and marseilleviruses, showcasing the biodiversity of giant viruses in Brazil.
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Article Synopsis
  • Sporotrichosis is a skin infection caused by the Sporothrix fungus, particularly S. brasiliensis and S. schenckii in Brazil.
  • The first cases in humans and animals were identified in 2016 in the cities of Corumbá and Ladário, and now the first feline cases have been reported in Campo Grande by the Zoonoses Control Service.
  • The study included four cats with typical symptoms, and two samples were confirmed to have S. brasiliensis, emphasizing the need for better disease surveillance in areas where sporotrichosis is not commonly found.
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Unlabelled: Marseilleviruses (MsV) are a group of viruses that compose the Marseilleviridae family within the Nucleocytoviricota phylum. They have been found in different samples, mainly in freshwater. MsV are classically organized into five phylogenetic lineages (A/B/C/D/E), but the current taxonomy does not fully represent all the diversity of the MsV lineages.

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New representatives of the phylum have been rapidly described in the last decade. Despite this, not all viruses of this phylum are allocated to recognized taxonomic families, as is the case for orpheovirus, pithovirus, and cedratvirus, which form the proposed family Pithoviridae. In this study, we performed comprehensive comparative genomic analyses of 8 pithovirus-like isolates, aiming to understand their common traits and evolutionary history.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigated the prevalence of hemoplasma, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) among cats in a university campus shelter and free-roaming cats in Brazil, using blood samples analyzed via quantitative PCR.
  • - Out of 45 cats tested, 6 (13.3%) were positive for hemoplasma, with all positive cases found in free-roaming cats, who also exhibited lower packed cell volumes; gender did not significantly influence hemoplasma infection rates.
  • - The research revealed that despite a seemingly healthy cat population in terms of food availability, a significant number of free-roaming cats were still affected by flea infestations and hemoplasma infections.
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Bovine leptospirosis causes economic losses and raises public health concerns. It is possible that there are peculiarities in the epidemiology of leptospirosis in regions with a semiarid climate, such as the Caatinga biome in Brazil, where the climate is hot and dry, and the etiological agent require alternative routes of transmission. This study aimed to close knowledge gaps to the diagnosis and epidemiology of spp.

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The objective of this study was to report the occurrence of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in dairy goats, via description of their clinical presentation, histopathological findings, and molecular identification of the infectious agent. Screening was performed using IS900 real-time PCR (qPCR) in milk samples from 179 properties in the semiarid of Northeast region of Brazil. Pooled milk samples from all lactating goats from processing plants were submitted to molecular diagnosis.

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Among the most intriguing structural features in the known virosphere are mimivirus surface fibrils, proteinaceous filaments approximately 150 nm long, covering the mimivirus capsid surface. Fibrils are important to promote particle adhesion to host cells, triggering phagocytosis and cell infection. However, although mimiviruses are one of the most abundant viral entities in a plethora of biomes worldwide, there has been no comparative analysis on fibril organization and abundance among distinct mimivirus isolates.

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Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent of Chagas disease, a neglected and frequently occurring zoonosis in Central and South American countries. Wild mammals and domestic dogs are the main reservoirs of the parasite in the wild and domestic cycles, respectively. The vectors have a wide variety of food sources that can influence transmission cycles.

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Background And Aim: Molecular approaches to diagnose respiratory viruses have provided an opportunity for early and subclinical pathogen detection, particularly in samples from the upper respiratory tract. This study aimed to investigate the presence of herpesviruses, particularly equid herpesvirus (EHV)-2 and EHV-5, in samples from the lower respiratory tract of healthy racehorses from Southern Brazil.

Materials And Methods: Samples from the lower respiratory tract (i.

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Studies related to the prevalence of leptospirosis in the semiarid region showed that even during long periods of drought, the disease has a remarkable frequency in herds in the region. It is a neglected disease and the extent of its effects in the Brazilian semiarid region is not known. The dynamics of this agent is well studied in the urinary tract, however, there are not many studies regarding the genital tract in female goats.

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Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) was discovered in 1947 with the virus isolation from Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) in Uganda forest, Africa. Old World Primates are involved in a sylvatic cycle of maintenance of this arbovirus, however a limited knowledge about the role of New World primates in ZIKV transmission cycles has been established.

Objective: This work aimed to investigate the presence of enzootic circulation of ZIKV in New World Primates from three Brazilian states: São Paulo, Paraíba, and Paraná.

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Leptospirosis is poorly studied in small ruminants raised in field semiarid conditions. In this study we compared serological, bacteriological and molecular diagnostic methods in ewes maintained in field Brazilian semiarid conditions. Blood, vaginal fluid and urine samples were collected from 60 Morada Nova ewes raised in a semi-intensive system in the Brazilian semiarid.

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Background: The emergence of the Brazilian variant of concern, Gamma lineage (P.1), impacted the epidemiological profile of COVID-19 cases due to its higher transmissibility rate and immune evasion ability.

Methods: We sequenced 305 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genomes and performed phylogenetic analyses to identify introduction events and the circulating lineages.

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Mimiviruses are giant viruses of amoeba that can be found in association with virophages. These satellite-like viruses are dependent on the mimivirus viral factory to replicate. Mimiviruses can also be associated with linear DNA molecules called transpovirons.

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Visceral leishmaniasis is a parasitic zoonosis that mainly affects poorest and most vulnerable populations, and domestic dogs are considered to be the main source of infection to the vector and therefore humans. However, several studies have investigated the role of other vertebrate hosts in the disease cycle. In this context, the aim of the present study was to conduct a survey of Leishmania infantum infection in donkeys and mules living in a semiarid region of Brazil.

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COVID-19 has posed a worldwide public health challenge affecting millions of people in different countries. Rapid and efficient detection of SARS-CoV-2 is essential for pandemic control. Reverse Transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) of nasopharyngeal swabs is the gold standard method for the virus detection, but the high demand for tests has substantially increased the costs and reduced the availability of reagents, including genetic material purification kits.

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This study focused on the epidemiological characterization and spatial distribution of bat shelters concerning livestock animal rabies in Paraná State, southern Brazil. A spatiotemporal cluster analysis was performed based on rabies-positive cases and the shelters. A total of 1742 suspect rabies cases submitted for diagnosis from 2011 to 2017 were analyzed; 481 (27.

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The emergence of several SARS-CoV-2 lineages presenting adaptive mutations is a matter of concern worldwide due to their potential ability to increase transmission and/or evade the immune response. While performing epidemiological and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in samples from Porto Ferreira-São Paulo-Brazil, we identified sequences classified by pangolin as B.1.

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Soil is the principal habitat and reservoir of fungi that act on ecological processes vital for life on Earth. Understanding soil fungal community structures and the patterns of species distribution is crucial, considering climatic change and the increasing anthropic impacts affecting nature. We evaluated the soil fungal diversity in southeastern Brazil, in a transitional region that harbors patches of distinct biomes and ecoregions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Homeless individuals are highly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, with a notable 140% increase in such cases in Brazil from 2012 to 2020, prompting a study on their seroprevalence.
  • The study, conducted in a São Paulo daytime shelter between June and August 2018, tested 116 volunteers for syphilis, hepatitis C, and HIV, revealing a 25% prevalence of syphilis antibodies, along with lower rates for HCV and HIV.
  • Key risk factors for syphilis included prior living in another city and becoming homeless due to family disputes, while issues like limited access to treatment and testing may have exacerbated the syphilis epidemic during that period.
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Haemotropic mycoplasmas (haemoplasmas) are small pleomorphic bacteria infecting erythrocytes of several mammalian species, including human beings. No study to date has focused on the risk of bacteria exposure in hunting activities, particularly in natural environments of highly tick-infested areas. Accordingly, the present study aimed to assess haemoplasma occurrence in the complex encompassing wild boars, hunting dogs and hunters of Brazil.

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Seroprevalence of has been extensively studied in a variety of different human populations. However, no study has focused on homeless populations. Accordingly, the present study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of anti- antibodies and the risk factors associated in homeless persons from homeless shelter of São Paulo city, southeastern Brazil.

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Even in the adverse environmental conditions of the semiarid region, leptospires can survive and spread by alternative routes of transmission, such as sexual in ewes, however, there is no data on rams. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the use of serological, molecular and microbial tools applied to diagnosis of Leptospira sp. Infection in rams maintained in semiarid conditions.

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Leptospirosis has been investigated in several species of wild animals. The white-eared opossum (Didelphis albiventris) is a mammal common in the brazilian semi-arid, so, this study aimed to investigate its role in the occurrence of the leptospirosis in the region Northeast of Brazil. 12 animals were used, from which samples were collected for the attempt of isolation, molecular detection and serological examination.

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