Promising application of the SsCBF ELISA test to monitor the therapeutic response of feline sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis from Brazilian epidemics.

Sporotrichosis zoonotic transmission by cats has obtained hyperendemic magnitude in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Atypical cases, relapses, and reinfections as well as reduced diagnostic sensitivity of conventional methods have been reported. Previously, the anti-SsCBF enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test was shown to be useful as a diagnostic tool for human sporotrichosis.

Domestic feline contribution in the transmission of Sporothrix in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil: a comparison between infected and non-infected populations.

Background: Sporotrichosis is a neglected zoonosis caused by pathogenic fungi belonging to the Sporothrix schenckii complex. In Rio de Janeiro state, this disease reached an epidemic status with over 4700 domestic felines and around 4000 humans affected since the mid-90s. The present study evaluated clinical and epidemiological aspects and also the frequency of colonization and infection by these fungi in healthy cats and among those with suspicious cutaneous lesions, inhabiting four Rio de Janeiro state distinct areas.

Cytokine gene polymorphisms are not associated with anti-PvDBP, anti-PvAMA-1 or anti-PvMSP-119 IgG antibody levels in a malaria-endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon.

Background: The immune response against Plasmodium vivax immunogenic epitopes is regulated by pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines that determine antibody levels and class switching. Cytokine gene polymorphisms may be responsible for changes in the humoral immune response against malaria. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether polymorphisms in the TNFA, IFNG and IL10 genes would alter the levels of anti-PvAMA1, PvDBP and -PvMSP-119 IgG antibodies in patients with vivax malaria.

Calicivirus and Giardia lamblia are associated with diarrhea in human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive patients from southeast Brazil.

To study enteropathogens, 100 fecal samples were collected from a Brazilian human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive population, with or without diarrhea. Giardia lamblia and calicivirus were significantly associated with diarrhea as were severe immunosuppression and the presence of at least one enteropathogen. No sample was positive for rotavirus and only one asymptomatic individual carried the astrovirus.