Claudete Aparecida Araújo Cardoso

Nasopharyngeal carriage, serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae among children from Brazil before the introduction of the 10-valent conjugate vaccine

BackgroundStreptococcus pneumoniae remains a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. Nasopharyngeal colonization plays an important role in the development and transmission of pneumococcal diseases, and infants and young children are considered to be the main reservoir of this pathogen. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rates and characteristics associated with nasopharyngeal carriage, the distribution of serotypes and the antimicrobial resistance profiles of Streptococcus pneumoniae among children in a large metropolitan area in Brazil before the introduction of the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.MethodsBetween March and June 2010, nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 242 children aged <6 years attending one day care center and the emergency room of a pediatric hospital. Pneumococcal isolates were identified by conventional methods and serotypes were determined by a sequential multiplex PCR assay and/or the Quellung reaction. The antimicrobial susceptibilities of the pneumococci were assessed by the disk diffusion method. MICs for erythromycin and penicillin were also performed. Erythromycin resistance genes were investigated by PCR.ResultsThe overall colonization rate was 49.2% and it was considerably higher among children in the day care center. Pneumococcal carriage was more common among day care attenders and cohabitants with young siblings. The most prevalent serotypes were 6B, 19F, 6A, 14, 15C and 23F, which accounted for 61.2% of the isolates. All isolates were susceptible to clindamycin, levofloxacin, rifampicin and vancomycin. The highest rate of non-susceptibility was observed for sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim (51.2%). Penicillin non-susceptible pneumococci (PNSP) accounted for 27.3% of the isolates (MICs of 0.12-4 μg/ml). Penicillin non-susceptibility was strongly associated with serotypes 14 and 23F. Hospital attendance and the presence of respiratory or general symptoms were frequently associated with PNSP carriage. The two erythromycin-resistant isolates (MICs of 2 and 4 μg/ml) belonged to serotype 6A, presented the M phenotype and harbored the mef(A/E) gene.ConclusionsCorrelations between serotypes, settings and penicillin non-susceptibility were observed. Serotypes coverage projected for the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was low (45.5%), but pointed out the potential reduction of PNSP nasopharyngeal colonization by nearly 20%.

Pregnancy in HIV vertically infected adolescents and young women: a new generation of HIV-exposed infants.

Background:Vertically infected individuals are reaching childbearing age and the new generation of HIV-exposed infants is coming to pediatric care. Methods:Chart review of pregnancies among HIV vertically infected adolescents and young women. Results:Fifteen pregnancies were reviewed. Girls had HIV diagnosis at median age 10.1 years (range 1.3–20). They started sexual life at median age 15 years (range 13–19); median age at pregnancy was 16.9 years (range 14–21.5); 36.4% had presented an AIDS-defining clinical event; have been followed for median 8.5 years (range 2.9–15.8) and had used median two antiretroviral regimens (range 0–7). Fourteen (93.3%) received antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy; median CD4 cell count during pregnancy was 394 (range 117–651) cells/μl and median viral load was 4800 copies/ml (range 50–100 000); 54% had undetectable viral load near delivery. All patients delivered by elective c-section. Median birth weight was 2650 g (range 2085–3595), median length was 47.3 cm (range 42–51) and median gestational age 38 weeks (range 37–39). All newborn received zidovudine for 6 weeks of life and none was breastfed. Fourteen (93%) infants were considered HIV-uninfected; one was lost to follow-up. Conclusions:This group of adolescents seems to have sexual behavior similar to that of HIV-uninfected. Since this is an experimented antiretroviral population, new drugs may be necessary for adequate viral suppression to avoid HIV mother-to-child transmission. Follow-up of this third generation of HIV-exposed infants needs to be addressed within HIV adolescent care.

Toxoplasma gondii antibody profile in HIV-1-infected and uninfected pregnant women and the impact on congenital toxoplasmosis diagnosis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

OBJECTIVE Compare the anti-T. gondii IgG titer between HIV-1 infected and non HIV-1 infected pregnant women and report three cases of congenital toxoplasmosis resulting from reactivation of infection during pregnancy of HIV-1 infected women. METHODS This study was conducted among 2,270 pregnant women with chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection (absence of IgM and presence of IgG), including 82 HIV-1 infected and 2,188 non-infected women. RESULTS The average anti-T. gondii IgG titer was 127 for the 2,188 non-HIV-1 infected women, and 227 for the 82 HIV-1-infected women (p = 0,007). These results suggested that higher anti-T. gondii IgG titers in HIV-1-infected pregnant women may not be indicative of an elevated risk for fetal infection. In this study three cases of congenital toxoplasmosis that resulted from infection reactivation during pregnancy of HIV-1-infected women were manifested by fetal death, symptomatic infection, and infant without symptoms, respectively. In two of these women, a ten-fold increase in IgG levels above used cutoff was observed (2,320 UI/mL and 3,613 UI/mL, respectively). In the third pregnant women anti-T. gondii IgG titers during pregnancy did not rise despite the occurrence of congenital toxoplasmosis (204; 198; 172 UI/mL). CONCLUSIONS Congenital toxoplasmosis resulting reactivation of infection during pregnancy in the studied group leads us to believe that it is a public health problem, especially in our population, in which seroprevalence of T. gondii infections is high. These findings also suggest that special attention is necessary during pregnancy, because the serologic diagnosis may not be indicative of toxoplasmosis reactivation.

Congenital toxoplasmosis infection in an infant born to an HIV-1-infected mother

We report the occurrence of congenital toxoplasmosis in an infant born to an HIV infected mother who had high anti-toxoplasma IgG and negative IgM at nine weeks of gestation. We briefly review available literature and discuss the possible mechanisms of transmission of congenital toxoplasmosis among HIV infected pregnant women.

High prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus colonization among healthy children attending public daycare centers in informal settlements in a large urban center in Brazil

BackgroundIn the past decade methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become increasingly prevalent in community settings. Attending a daycare center (DCC) is a known risk factor for colonization with MRSA. Brazil operates free, public DCCs for low-income families, some of which are located in census tracts defined by the Brazilian Census Bureau as informal settlements (aglomerados subnormais, AGSN). Physical and demographic characteristics of AGSNs suggest that S. aureus colonization prevalence would be higher, but little is known about the prevalence of MRSA in these settings.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study to assess risk factors for S. aureus and MRSA colonization among children attending DCCs located in AGSN vs non-AGSN. Nasal swabs were collected from children aged three months to six years in 23 public DCCs in Niterói, Brazil between August 2011 and October 2012.ResultsOf 500 children enrolled in the study, 240 (48%) were colonized with S. aureus and 31 (6.2%) were colonized with MRSA. Children attending DCCs in AGSNs were 2.32 times more likely to be colonized with S. aureus (95% CI: 1.32, 4.08), and 3.27 times more likely to be colonized with MRSA than children attending non-AGSN DCCs (95% CI: 1.52, 7.01), adjusted for confounding variables.ConclusionS. aureus and MRSA colonization prevalence among children attending DCCs in informal settlement census tracts was higher than previously reported in healthy pre-school children in Latin America. Our data suggest that transmission may occur more frequently in DCCs rather than at home, highlighting the importance of DCCs in AGSNs as potential MRSA reservoirs. This finding underscores the importance of local epidemiologic surveillance in vulnerable AGSN communities.

Pneumococcal carriage among children after four years of routine 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine use in Brazil: The emergence of multidrug resistant serotype 6C

BACKGROUND In 2010, the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced free of charge in Brazil as part of the public immunization program. Here we investigated the carriage prevalence, colonization risk factors, capsular types, and antimicrobial resistance among pneumococcal isolates obtained from children in Brazil four years after routine PCV10 use. METHODS Between September and December 2014, we conducted a cross-sectional study among children<6years old who attended one public and two private clinics in Niterói, RJ, Brazil to evaluate pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage. Antimicrobial susceptibility and capsular types were determined for all isolates. RESULTS Of 522 children, 118 (22.6%) were pneumococcal carriers. Being≥2years old, attending childcare center, presenting with any symptoms, having acute or chronic respiratory disease, and residing in a slum were associated with pneumococcal carriage. The most prevalent capsular types were 6C (14.5%), 15B/C (11.5%), 11A/D (9.2%), and 6A (7.6%). PCV10 serotypes represented 2.5%. All isolates were susceptible to levofloxacin, rifampicin, and vancomycin. Penicillin non-susceptible pneumococci (PNSP) comprised 39%, with penicillin and ceftriaxone MICs ranging from 0.12-8.0μg/ml and 0.012-1.0μg/ml, respectively. The 33 (28%) erythromycin-resistant isolates (MICs of 1.5 to >256μg/ml) displayed the cMLSB (72.7%) or M (27.3%) phenotypes, harboring the erm(B) and/or mef(A/E) genes. High non-susceptibility rates (>20%) to clindamycin, erythromycin, penicillin, and tetracycline were largely explained by the prevalence of multidrug resistant (MDR) serotype 6C isolates. CONCLUSIONS Effects of universal childhood PCV10 use on carriage were evident, with the near elimination of PCV10 serotypes. The emergence of MDR serotype 6C isolates, however, is a concern. Ongoing surveillance to monitor serotype 6C increase in invasive diseases is warranted.

Zika: A scourge in urban slums.

Author(s): Snyder, Robert E; Boone, Claire E; Cardoso, Claudete A Araujo; Aguiar-Alves, Fabio; Neves, Felipe PG; Riley, Lee W

Living Conditions as a Driving Factor in Persistent Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Colonization Among HIV-infected Youth.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization has been linked to HIV-related sexual and social behaviors. MRSA risk factors may be different for HIV-infected children, adolescents and young adults. We investigated the association of MRSA colonization, persistent colonization and genotypes with potential risk factors among HIV-infected youth. Methods: For this case–control study, patients 24 years of age or younger attending 2 HIV reference centers were recruited from February to August 2012 and followed for 1 year. Nasal swabs were collected at enrollment and every 3 months. MRSA clones were characterized by staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec typing, spa typing and multilocus sequence typing. We compared MRSA colonization and persistent colonization with patient demographic and clinical characteristics. Results: Among 117 participants, MRSA colonization frequency (calculated for each collection based on the number of positive cultures per patient) was 12.8% at the first collection. The average MRSA colonization frequency was 10.4%. Our results showed 11.1% were persistent carriers (subjects with more than 1 positive culture in at least 3). Crowding was the only factor associated with MRSA colonization (P = 0.018). Persistent carriers had significantly higher (4.2 times) odds of living in a crowded household (95% confidence interval—1.1–16.2). We observed high genetic diversity among MRSA isolates, with t002/ST5 and t318/ST30 being the most frequent. Conclusions: MRSA colonization among HIV-infected youth is more closely related to living in a low-income or slum community than to HIV-related clinical factors. High genetic MRSA isolate diversity in our population suggests frequent transmission.

Terapia antirretroviral em crianças e adolescentes infectados pelo HIV: o que sabemos após 30 anos de epidemia

This study aims to evaluate antiretroviral therapy in children and adolescents with AIDS. We selected 247 abstracts published from 1983 to 2013, collected from the PubMed and LILACS databases. Sixty-nine articles were selected. Attention to research in the pediatric age bracket in 30 years of the epidemic is explained by the age groups immunological characteristics, since AIDS progresses faster in children than in adults. Recent studies focus on the initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy before the onset of symptoms. Early introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy has been implemented effectively and safely in populations with limited resources, leading to significantly improved survival. The current challenge is to manage a chronic disease with acute complications. New studies should focus on population specificities and identify the individual needs of pediatric patients.Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar o uso da terapia antirretroviral combinada em criancas e adolescentes com AIDS. Foram captados 247 resumos nos portais PubMed e LILACS, publicados entre 1983 e 2013, sendo utilizados 69 artigos para as referencias bibliograficas. A atencao atribuida as pesquisas na faixa etaria pediatrica durante os trinta anos de epidemia de AIDS se justifica por caracteristicas imunologicas proprias, sendo a progressao da AIDS mais rapida em criancas que em adultos. Pesquisas recentes abordam estrategias de intervencao medicamentosa de alta potencia antes do aparecimento dos sintomas iniciais. A introducao precoce da terapia antirretroviral combinada foi implantada com eficacia e seguranca em populacoes com poucos recursos fixos, com melhora significativa da sobrevida desses pacientes. O desafio atual e lidar com uma doenca cronica com intercorrencias agudas. Novas pesquisas serao necessarias, atentando para as especificidades populacionais e particularizando as necessidades individuais dos pacientes pediatricos.

Risk factors for Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S aureus colonization among health care workers in pediatrics departments

Risk factors for Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) were evaluated for 178 health care workers from a public hospital pediatrics department in Brazil. Colonization rates were 33.1% for S aureus and 5.1% for MRSA. Risk factors for S aureus colonization differed from those for MRSA. Results suggest nurses with prolonged pediatric patient contact in inpatient units are at higher risk for MRSA colonization.