Plasmodium berghei: development of an irreversible experimental malaria model in Wistar rats.

A protocol to infect five-week-old Wistar rats by Plasmodium berghei which resulted in 100% mortality was developed in this work. In order to accomplish this goal, the effect of the administration of 10(7) and 10(8) parasitized erythrocytes by i.v.

Serological screening and toxoplasmosis exposure factors among pregnant women in South of Brazil.

Serological screening and evaluation of exposure factors for Toxoplasma gondii transmission were conducted in 2126 pregnant women from southern Brazil. Specific antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii were presented by 74.5% (n=1583) of the pregnant women evaluated.

[Prospective study of pregnants and babies with risk of congenital toxoplasmosis in municipal district of Rio Grande do Sul].

This study followed up 2,126 pregnant women cared for at SUS day-care clinics (Public Health Insurance System) of the northwest of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. After serological screening we performed a follow up of all pregnant women and their babies. Serologic tests included: IgG, IgM, IgA and IgG avidity levels, mice inoculation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) also placentas and umbilical materials were tested using immunoperoxidase as well as clinical evaluation.