Performance of the Health System Network in Formosa, Argentina, in the Diagnosis of Leprosy.

Leprosy is a chronic, neglected tropical infectious disease, currently endemic in Formosa, a province in northwestern Argentina. To analyze the performance, distribution, and effectiveness of the health system in leprosy diagnosis in Formosa, we estimated the trend of the number of new cases of leprosy diagnosed between 2002 and 2019 and estimated a forecast for 2022 at the primary health care centers (PHCCs) of at the first level of care (1stLC), at district hospitals (DHs) of the second level of care (2ndLC), high-complexity hospitals at the third level of care (3rdLC), and in rural and urban areas. The general trend was calculated based on the new cases detection rate (NCDR) using the autoregressive-moving average model (ARMA).

Status and forecast of leprosy in the still endemic province of Formosa in northern Argentina.

Background: The province of Formosa, Argentina, is endemic for leprosy. In the present paper, we assessed the trend (T, 2002-2016 time series) and the forecast for 2022 of new case detection rate (NCDR) and determined the spatial distribution of new cases detected (NCD) of leprosy.

Methodology/principal Findings: This is a descriptive observational study of 713 NCD of leprosy from provincial medical records between January 2002 and December 2016.

Towards leprosy elimination by 2020: forecasts of epidemiological indicators of leprosy in Corrientes, a province of northeastern Argentina that is a pioneer in leprosy elimination.

Background: Corrientes, a province of northeastern Argentina with endemic leprosy, has improved its epidemiological indicators, however, a study of the dynamics over time is lacking.

Objectives: We analysed data of 1308 leprosy patients between 1991 to 2014, and the forecast for 2020.

Methods: Descriptive statistics and stepwise Bayesian model selection were performed.

Sulfates are main targets of immune responses to cruzipain and are involved in heart damage in BALB/c immunized mice.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease contains a major cysteine proteinase, cruzipain (Cz), with an unusual carboxyl-terminal extension (C-T). We have previously reported the presence of sulfate groups in the N-linked oligosaccharide chains of this domain. In order to evaluate the immune responses to sulfated moieties on Cz, BALB/c mice were immunized with purified Cz and C-T prior and after desulfation treatment.

Cardiac myocyte hypertrophy and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression in Wistar rats infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.

Chagasic cardiomyopathy is a major life-threatening complication of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in human beings. This study focuses on the hypertrophic and hyperplastic mechanisms underlying the structural changes of the heart during experimental infection. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression, transversal diameter, nuclear area, and number of nuclei per unit volume were determined in the ventricular myocytes of T.