Evidence of Borrelia in wild and domestic mammals from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The main of the study was to evaluate the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in domestic and wild vertebrates and ectoparasites in endemic areas from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 445 serum samples were examined by ELISA, which used the Borrelia burgdorferi strain G39/40 U.S.

Spotted fever group Rickettsia in small rodents from areas of low endemicity for Brazilian spotted fever in the eastern region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

We investigated the humoral immune response against different species of Rickettsia in serum samples from small rodents collected in two areas of a silent focus for Brazilian spotted fever in the eastern region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Sera samples were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence assay using antigens from Rickettsia species of the spotted fever, ancestral, and transition groups. Titers ≥ 1:64 were considered positive.

Rickettsia in synanthropic and domestic animals and their hosts from two areas of low endemicity for Brazilian spotted fever in the eastern region of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The aim of this study was to understand the current epidemiology of rickettsial diseases in two rickettsial-endemic regions in Brazil. In the municipalities of Pingo D'Agua and Santa Cruz do Escalvado, among serum samples obtained from horses and dogs, reactivity by immunofluorescent assay against spotted fever group rickettsiae was verified. In some serum samples from opossums (Didelphis aurita) captured in Santa Cruz do Escalvado, serologic response against rickettsiae was also verified.

Rickettsial spotted fever in capoeirão village, Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The present study investigated the infection by spotted fever rickettsia in an endemic area for Brazilian spotted fever (BSF; caused by Rickettsia rickettsii) in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Human, canine and equine sera samples, and Amblyomma cajennense adult ticks collected in a rural area of Itabira City, Minas Gerais State were tested for rickettsial infection. Through Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA) we demonstrated the presence of antibodies anti-R.

[Characterization of Rickettsia spp. circulating in a silent peri-urban focus for Brazilian spotted fever in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil].

The present study was intended to characterize Rickettsia spp. circulating in arthropod vectors in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil, by PCR and to investigate the presence of antibodies against the spotted fever Rickettsiae group (SFRG) in dogs and horses. 2,610 arthropods were collected and taxonomically identified.

[Rickettsial diseases in Brazil and Portugal: occurrence, distribution and diagnosis].

The present study is an update review on the occurrence and diagnosis of rickettsial diseases in Brazil and Portugal, aiming at promoting their epidemiological surveillance in both countries. A literature review was carried out and unpublished data of laboratories and surveillance systems were presented. The results described the occurrence of rickettsial diseases and infections in Brazil and Portugal, including other new and still poorly understood rickettsial infections.

Rickettsial infection in animals and Brazilian spotted fever endemicity.

We compared the rickettsial infection status of Amblyomma cajennense ticks, humans, dogs, and horses in both Brazilian spotted fever (BSF)-endemic and -nonendemic areas in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Most of the horses and few dogs from BSF-endemic areas had serologic titers against Rickettsia rickettsii antigens. In contrast, no dogs or horses from BSF-nonendemic areas had serologic titers against R.

Human ehrlichioses in Brazil: first suspect cases.

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) rickettsiosis is the most common and recognized of the human rickettsioses in Brazil. It is difficult to establish the diagnosis of human rickettsiosis infection by routine microbiologic methods, creating a false idea that Rickettsia and Ehrlichia infections are rare and without importance. New tick-borne diseases, like human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) and human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), have been described in many countries.

Clinical and laboratorial evidence of Rickettsia felis infections in Latin America.

After the discovery and initial characterization of Rickettsia felis in 1992 by Azad and cols, and the subsequent first description of a human case of infection in 1994, there have been two communications of human rickettsiosis cases caused by Rickettsia felis in Latin America. The first one was published in 2000 by Zavala-Velazquez and cols in Mexico. In 2001 Raoult and cols described the occurrence of two human cases of Rickettsia felis rickettsiosis in Brazil.

Prevalence of antibodies to spotted fever group rickettsiae in humans and domestic animals in a Brazilian spotted fever-endemic area in the state of São Paulo, Brazil: serologic evidence for infection by Rickettsia rickettsii and another spotted fever group Rickettsia.

In serum samples obtained from all the healthy humans, horses, dogs, and donkeys present on three farms in the Pedreira Municipality, an endemic area for Brazilian spotted fever, an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) detected antibodies against Rickettsia rickettsii in 17 (77.3%) horses, 5 (31.3%) dogs (titers ranging from 64 to 4,048), and none of 4 donkeys or 50 humans.

[Talc pneumoconiosis among soapstone handicraft workers in a rural area of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil].

Talc pneumoconiosis in Brazil has received little research attention to date. The disease was investigated in Mata dos Palmitos, a district of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais State, among soapstone handicraft workers. The district has some 180 inhabitants, of whom 108 are engaged in handicrafts production, while 15 alternate handicrafts production with work in the soapstone quarries.

Fatal spotted fever rickettsiosis, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The emergence and reemergence of a serious infectious disease are often associated with a high case-fatality rate because of misdiagnosis and inappropriate or delayed treatment. The current reemergence of spotted fever rickettsiosis caused by Rickettsia rickettsii in Brazil has resulted in a high proportion of fatal cases. We describe two familial clusters of Brazilian spotted fever in the state of Minas Gerais, involving six children 9 months to 15 years of age; five died.

Spotted fever rickettsiosis in Coronel Fabriciano, Minas Gerais State.

We report cases of spotted fever rickettsiosis in Coronel Fabriciano Municipality of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The cases occurred in May and June of 2000. During this period there were two deaths among children from an area named Pedreira in a periurban area of this municipality.

Rickettsiosis of the genus Rickettsia in South America.

In South America, human cases of infection by the genus Rickettsia have been described in several countries in the last twenty years. The role of international organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA and the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA, was very important in the last twenty years for the development of surveillance systems and for the increase in notification of rickettsial diseases by the countries of South America. We hope that the next goal will be prevention and control of rickettsial diseases in the countries of South America, as well as maintaining the programs developed during the last twenty years, so that a good health system and improved social conditions will be possible.

[Emerging and reemerging rickettsiosis in an endemic area of Minas Gerais State, Brazil].

This article describes a serological survey for rickettsiosis in the county of Novo Cruzeiro, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, in 1998, testing schoolchildren and dogs. Sera included 331 samples from schoolchildren from an endemic area and 142 samples from schoolchildren from a non-endemic area in the county. All children examined were healthy and had not reported clinical symptoms of Brazilian spotted fever prior to the serological survey.

Rickettsia felis in Ctenocephalides spp. fleas, Brazil.

In June 2000, suspected cases of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) occurred in Coronel Fabriciano Municipality, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Pooled fleas collected near two fatal cases contained rickettsial DNA. The nucleotide sequence alignment of the 391-bp segment of the 17-kDa protein gene showed that the products were identical to each other and to the R.