Prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes in women of different ethnicity from rural northwestern Ecuador.

Background: In Ecuador, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women and the second most common cause of cancer-related death in women. Although HPV represents a serious public health problem worldwide, the information about its prevalence and genotypes in remote communities of Ecuador is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of HPV genotypes among ethnic minority women from two remote communities of the northwestern region of Ecuador: Afro-Ecuadorians and Chachis (Amerindian group).

Carbapenemase genes in clinical and environmental isolates of spp. from Quito, Ecuador.

Carbapenem-resistant spp. is associated with nosocomial infections in intensive care unit patients, resulting in high mortality. Although spp.

, a silent foodborne pathogen in Ecuador.

is a foodborne pathogen that can produce serious, even fatal, infections. Among other foods, it can be found in unpasteurized dairy and ready-to-eat products. Surveillance of is of great interest since sources of infection are difficult to determine due to the long incubation period, and because the symptoms of listeriosis are similar to other diseases.

Exploring the mycobiome and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with the rizosphere of the genus in the pristine Ecuadorian Amazon.

This study explored the composition of the mycobiome in the rhizosphere of seedlings in two different but neighboring forest ecosystems in the undisturbed tropical Amazon rainforest at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador. In terra firme plots, which were situated higher up and therefore typically outside of the influence of river floods, and in várzea plots, the lower part of the forest located near the riverbanks and therefore seasonally flooded, tree seedlings of the genus were randomly collected and measured, and the rhizosphere soils surrounding the root systems was collected. Members of the Fabaceae family and the genus were highly abundant in both forest ecosystems.

Molecular phylogeny of Psychodopygina (Diptera, Psychodidae) supporting morphological systematics of this group of vectors of New World tegumentary leishmaniasis.

New World sandflies are vectors of leishmaniasis, bartonellosis, and some arboviruses. A classification based on 88 morphological characters was proposed 27 years ago when the New World phlebotomines were organized into two tribes Hertigiini and Phlebotomini. The latter was structured into four subtribes (Brumptomyiina, Sergentomyiina, Lutzomyiina, and Psychodopygina) and 20 genera.

Complete Genome Sequences of Two Lytic Phages of Salmonella enterica Isolated from Wastewater in Ecuador.

Salmonella enterica is one of the most common causes of foodborne diseases. Bacteriophages provide an option to reduce the presence of Salmonella. Here, we describe the isolation of two lytic Salmonella bacteriophages.

An updated list of the Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) fauna from Ecuador.

An updated list of biting midges of the genus Culicoides inhabiting Ecuador is provided. Entomological investigations were carried out from July 2010 to May 2019 using CDC light traps in three Ecuadorian regions (Amazon basin, Andean (foothills and highlands) and Pacific Coast). A total of 12,073 Culicoides specimens from seven subgenera and nine species groups were collected.

Characterization of the gut microbiome and resistome of Galapagos marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) from uninhabited islands.

Background: Understanding the natural microbiome and resistome of wildlife from remote places is necessary to monitor the human footprint on the environment including antimicrobial use (AU). Marine iguanas are endemic species from the Galapagos Islands where they are highly affected by anthropogenic factors that can alter their microbiota as well as their abundance and diversity of antimicrobial-resistant genes (ARGs). Thus, this study aims to apply culture-independent approaches to characterize the marine iguana's gut metagenomic composition of samples collected from the uninhabited islands Rabida (n = 8) and Fernandina (Cabo Douglas, n = 30; Punta Espinoza, n = 30).

Death by massive air sac fluke (Trematoda: ) infection in a free-ranging snail kite ().

Helminths are not usually considered important pathogens for birds of prey. There is a single published report of mortality in raptors due to an air sac trematode infection. We report a well-documented death case from massive infection by an air sac trematode of the family Cyclocoelidae in a wild-caught, juvenile male Snail Kite () in Ecuador.

Detection and genotyping of Listeria monocytogenes in artisanal soft cheeses from Ecuador.

Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important bacteria associated with foodborne diseases, soft cheese being an important L. monocytogenes vehicle. In Ecuador, soft cheese is consumed in 84.

An approach to automatic classification of Culicoides species by learning the wing morphology.

Fast and accurate identification of biting midges is crucial in the study of Culicoides-borne diseases. In this work, we propose a two-stage method for automatically analyzing Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) species. First, an image preprocessing task composed of median and Wiener filters followed by equalization and morphological operations is used to improve the quality of the wing image in order to allow an adequate segmentation of particles of interest.

Genomic Epidemiology of Infantis in Ecuador: From Poultry Farms to Human Infections.

is one of the most important foodborne pathogens around the world. In the last years, . serovar Infantis has become an important emerging pathogen in many countries, often as multidrug resistant clones.

High Occurrence of Multiresistant Infantis in Retail Meat in Ecuador.

is among the most important foodborne pathogens. In Ecuador, there is limited information about non-typhoidal occurrence in raw meats, its serotype distribution, and antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we addressed this issue in 1095 retail fresh meats (chicken, pork, veal, lamb, beef, and turkey) in Quito by performing a traditional culture methodology and molecular detection.

Salmonella grows massively and aerobically in chicken faecal matter.

The use of wastewater for irrigation and animal manure as fertilizer can cause transmission of intestinal pathogens, conditions frequently observed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Here, we tested the ability of Salmonella to grow in the faecal matter. We inoculated freshly isolated Salmonella strains (from chickens) in chicken faecal matter and incubated for 1 to 12 days, under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

Isolation of Oropouche Virus from Febrile Patient, Ecuador.

We report identification of an Oropouche virus strain in a febrile patient from Ecuador by using metagenomic sequencing and real-time reverse transcription PCR. Virus was isolated from patient serum by using Vero cells. Phylogenetic analysis of the whole-genome sequence showed the virus to be similar to a strain from Peru.

Bacteria associated with human saliva are major microbial components of Ecuadorian indigenous beers (chicha).

Indigenous beers (chicha) are part of the indigenous culture in Ecuador. The fermentation process of these beers probably relies on microorganisms from fermented substrates, environment and human microbiota. We analyzed the microbiota of artisanal beers (including a type of beer produced after chewing boiled cassava) using bacterial culture and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene-based tag-encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing (bTEFAP).

Ecuador Paraiso Escondido Virus, a New Flavivirus Isolated from New World Sand Flies in Ecuador, Is the First Representative of a Novel Clade in the Genus Flavivirus.

Unlabelled: A new flavivirus, Ecuador Paraiso Escondido virus (EPEV), named after the village where it was discovered, was isolated from sand flies (Psathyromyia abonnenci, formerly Lutzomyia abonnenci) that are unique to the New World. This represents the first sand fly-borne flavivirus identified in the New World. EPEV exhibited a typical flavivirus genome organization.

Prevalence of human papillomavirus types in cervical cancerous and precancerous lesions of Ecuadorian women.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide and it is responsible for most cases of uterine cancer. In Ecuador there is limited information about HPV types (and variants) in cancerous lesions; however, identifying the type-specific HPV prevalence in cervical lesions of women living in Ecuador is important to better predict the impact of HPV prophylactic vaccination in this country. We studied the prevalence of HPV types in cervical cancerous or precancerous lesions from 164 Ecuadorian women and found that 86.

Identification of phlebotomine sand flies using one MALDI-TOF MS reference database and two mass spectrometer systems.

Background: Rapid, accurate and high-throughput identification of vector arthropods is of paramount importance in surveillance programmes that are becoming more common due to the changing geographic occurrence and extent of many arthropod-borne diseases. Protein profiling by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry fulfils these requirements for identification, and reference databases have recently been established for several vector taxa, mostly with specimens from laboratory colonies.

Methods: We established and validated a reference database containing 20 phlebotomine sand fly (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) species by using specimens from colonies or field-collections that had been stored for various periods of time.

Guanaco abundance and monitoring in Southern Patagonia: distance sampling reveals substantially greater numbers than previously reported.

Background: Guanacos () are thought to have declined in Patagonia mainly as a result of hunting and sheep ranching. Currently accepted estimates of total population size are extrapolated from densities obtained through strip transects in local studies. We used road surveys (8,141 km) and distance sampling to estimate guanaco density and population size over major environmental gradients of Santa Cruz, a large region in southern Patagonia.

Healthcare-associated respiratory tract infection and colonization in an intensive care unit caused by Burkholderia cepacia isolated in mouthwash.

Objectives: Burkholderia cepacia has been linked to healthcare-associated infections and colonization caused by contamination of alcohol-free mouthwash used in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. The purpose of our study was to establish the source of a clustering of healthcare-associated B. cepacia isolates in patients on mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU).