Seroprevalence, Prevalence, and Genomic Surveillance: Monitoring the Initial Phases of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Betim, Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need for epidemiological monitoring using diverse strategies. We conducted a project combining prevalence, seroprevalence, and genomic surveillance approaches to describe the initial pandemic stages in Betim City, Brazil. We collected 3239 subjects in a population-based age-, sex- and neighborhood-stratified, household, prospective; cross-sectional study divided into three surveys 21 days apart sampling the same geographical area.

Systematic review of host genetic association with Covid-19 prognosis and susceptibility: What have we learned in 2020?

Biomarker identification may provide strategic opportunities to understand disease pathophysiology, predict outcomes, improve human health, and reduce healthcare costs. The highly heterogeneous Covid-19 clinical manifestation suggests a complex interaction of several different human, viral and environmental factors. Here, we systematically reviewed genetic association studies evaluating Covid-19 severity or susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection following PRISMA recommendations.

New features on the survival of human-infective Trypanosoma rangeli in a murine model: Parasite accumulation is observed in lymphoid organs.

Trypanosoma rangeli is a non-pathogenic protozoan parasite that infects mammals, including humans, in Chagas disease-endemic areas of South and Central America. The parasite is transmitted to a mammalian host when an infected triatomine injects metacyclic trypomastigotes into the host's skin during a bloodmeal. Infected mammals behave as parasite reservoirs for several months and despite intensive research, some major aspects of T.

Colonization of Rhodnius prolixus gut by Trypanosoma cruzi involves an extensive parasite killing.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, is ingested by triatomines during their bloodmeal on an infected mammal. Aiming to investigate the development and differentiation of T. cruzi inside the intestinal tract of Rhodnius prolixus at the beginning of infection we fed insects with cultured epimastigotes and blood trypomastigotes from infected mice to determine the amount of recovered parasites after ingestion.

Revisiting Trypanosoma rangeli Transmission Involving Susceptible and Non-Susceptible Hosts.

Trypanosoma rangeli infects several triatomine and mammal species in South America. Its transmission is known to occur when a healthy insect feeds on an infected mammal or when an infected insect bites a healthy mammal. In the present study we evaluated the classic way of T.

Trypanosomes Modify the Behavior of Their Insect Hosts: Effects on Locomotion and on the Expression of a Related Gene.

Background: As a result of evolution, the biology of triatomines must have been significantly adapted to accommodate trypanosome infection in a complex network of vector-vertebrate-parasite interactions. Arthropod-borne parasites have probably developed mechanisms, largely still unknown, to exploit the vector-vertebrate host interactions to ensure their transmission to suitable hosts. Triatomines exhibit a strong negative phototaxis and nocturnal activity, believed to be important for insect survival against its predators.