Maria Helena Simões Villas Bôas

Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from an asymptomatic dog kept in an animal shelter in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Corynebacterium ulcerans was isolated from nares of one asymptomatic dog kept in an animal shelter in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The RNA polymerase beta subunit-encoding gene was sequenced to confirm the species identity. C. ulcerans strains producing phospholipase D, but not diphtheria toxin, are able to cause severe disease in humans, such as pneumonia and granulomatous nodules in pulmonary tissues. The infection rate varies really widely by region, probably because of the variations in the reported infection rates. Dogs with unapparent C. ulcerans infections may be considered as potentially capable of infecting other animals and humans, including pet owners. Medical and veterinary staff should be aware that asymptomatic animals can carry C. ulcerans and cooperate in eliminating infections and monitoring animals also in the developing countries.

The presence of qacA/B gene in Brazilian methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

A total of 74 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated from three government hospitals in 2002 and 2003 were examined concerning the distribution of qacA/B gene, which is the determinant of resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds largely employed in hospital disinfection. By polymerase chain reaction the qacA/B gene was found in 80% of the isolates, which is a significant result considering it is the first time that qacA/B gene is being reported for Brazilian MRSA strains and it is presented at a high rate.

A profile of unintentional poisoning caused by household cleaning products, disinfectants and pesticides

Intoxicacoes nao-intencionais ocorrem principalmente na infância. No Brasil, os produtos de limpeza domestica sao as principais causas desses eventos. Para este estudo foram analisados 2.810 casos registrados nos dois centros de controle de intoxicacao do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, no periodo de janeiro de 2000 a dezembro 2002. O grupo mais vulneravel foi o de criancas de ate cinco anos de idade. Meninos de ate dez anos foram mais intoxicados do que meninas. A partir dessa faixa etaria, a distribuicao foi invertida. Os centros de controle de intoxicacao foram chamados principalmente por servicos de saude no periodo de ate duas horas apos o envenenamento. As vias de exposicao mais frequentes foram ingestao (90,4%), inalacao (4,3%), dermica (2,4%) e ocular (2%). Os produtos envolvidos foram alvejantes, derivados de petroleo, raticidas e pesticidas. As principais causas foram: produto ao alcance de criancas, estocagem em garrafas de refrigerantes, uso de alimentos com raticidas, uso incorreto do produto, e utensilios de cozinha com produtos de limpeza. O desfecho mais frequente foi cura apesar do grande numero de casos perdidos durante o seguimento. Sao necessarios programas educacionais a fim de evitar esses eventos.Unintentional poisoning occurred mainly among children. The leading cause of such poisoning in Brazil, among consumer products was household cleaning products. For this study 2810 calls made to two poison control centers in the State of Rio de Janeiro between January 2000 and December 2002 were analyzed. Children under five were the most vulnerable group. More boys under 10 suffered accidental poisoning than girls, although above this age, the distribution was inverted. The calls received by poison control centers were mainly from health services within the first two hours following poisoning. The most frequent exposure routes were ingestion (90.4%), followed by inhalation (4.3%), skin and eye contact (2.4% and 2% respectively). The products involved were bleach, petroleum derivates, rodenticides and pesticides. The main causes were products within the childrens reach, storage in soft drink bottles, food mixed with rodenticides, incorrect product use, and kitchen utensils used for measured cleaning products. The most common outcome was that the patient was cured, although a lot of cases were lost to follow-up. Education programs are necessary in order to avoid these poisonings.

Glycosphingolipids from Magnaporthe grisea cells: expression of a ceramide dihexoside presenting phytosphingosine as the long-chain base

Magnaporthe grisea is a fungal pathogen that infects rice leaves and causes rice blast, a devastating crop disease. M. grisea produces active elicitors of the hypersensitive response in rice that were previously identified as ceramide monohexosides (CMHs). Using several chromatographic approaches, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance, we identified ceramide mono- and dihexosides (CDH) in purified lipid extracts from M. grisea cells. As described by other authors, CMH consists of a ceramide moiety containing 9-methyl-4,8-sphingadienine in amidic linkage to 2-hydroxyoctadecenoic or 2-hydroxyhexadecenoic acids and a carbohydrate segment consisting of one residue of glucose. CDHs, however, contain beta-galactose (1-->4)-linked to beta-glucose as sugar units and phytosphingosine as the long-chain base, bound to a C24 alpha-hydroxylated fatty acid. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence of CDH in a fungal species and illustrates the existence of an alternative path of ceramide glycosylation in fungal cells.

Análise dos dados dos Centros de Controle de Intoxicação do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, como subsídio às ações de saúde pública

Health information systems should be sources of reliable and valid data that can be used for surveillance to reduce morbidity and mortality. Unintentional poisoning is highly relevant to public health, since it is the most frequent cause of emergency pediatric care. Information on such events is recorded in Poison Control Centers (PCCs). The current study analyzed the records on unintentional poisoning with household cleaning products in two PCCs in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2000-2002. The variables analyzed were gender, age, cause of the accident, exposure route, toxic agent, and outcome. In the 2,810 records studied, boys four years and younger were the most vulnerable group and oral ingestion was the most common exposure route. However, analysis of the data on the toxic agent, cause, and outcome showed that the data currently recorded in the PCCs are inconsistent. It is necessary to review the definitions used by the PCCs in order for the resulting data to effectively support public health measures and health surveillance policies.

Assessment of pyrogenic response of lipoteichoic acid by the monocyte activation test and the rabbit pyrogen test.

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is a non-endotoxin pyrogen of a great importance in the pathogenesis of sepsis. The Rabbit Pyrogen Test (RPT) is able to detect all types of pyrogens but involves the use of animals. The Bacterial Endotoxin Test (BET) cannot fully replace the RPT because it only detects endotoxins. The Monocyte Activation Test (MAT) is sensitive to all types of pyrogens and it is based on the same biological mechanism that is responsible for the fever reaction in humans. Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) has recommended its use for other pyrogens than endotoxin because its equivalence to RPT can be demonstrated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pyrogenic responses of the RPT and MAT that was induced by LTA. Different LTA concentrations were assayed by the MAT in parallel to the RPT. The results showed that the MAT was more sensitive than the RPT, demonstrating that the MAT detected LTA. This result may contribute to the acceptance of this test by the Brazilian regulatory agencies as a replacement for the animals used in the RPT.

Adverse reactions to cosmetic products and the Notification System in Health Surveillance: a survey

INTRODUCTION This paper is part of a study that investigates the quality of cosmetic products and evaluates the cosmetic surveillance system. OBJECTIVE This study presents the results of a research that aimed to describe the point of view of the population in terms of the prevalence of Adverse Reactions (AR) and information about the surveillance system. METHODS A structured questionnaire was applied to a random sample of 200 people from the administrative staff of the Municipal Guard of Rio de Janeiro. RESULTS 38% of the participants declared AR to some cosmetic product used in the past two years. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is an unpublished study in Brazil, which presents results regarding the estimated prevalence of AR similarly to international studies.

Comparative study with two different enrichments in the culture media used in the disinfectant efficacy assay

Recent changes in Brazilian legislation for commercial disinfectants have been published due to the recent epidemic of nosocomial infections caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) in many states of Brazil over the last 8years. One of these documents requires that all the manufacturers provide evidence of efficacy of sterilizing and disinfectant products, used for semi critical medical devices, against the Mycobacterium bovis BCG Moreau and Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii INCQS 00594 strains by using the Confirmative in vitro Test for Determining Tuberculocidal Activity of Disinfectants recommended by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. These changes have caused additional costs and increased problems for importation of enrichment products at national laboratories where disinfectant efficacy assay service is performed. Middlebrook ADC Enrichment (ADC) is provided by a unique manufacturer and used in the official protocol. The aim of the present study was to evaluate an alternative in house low-cost enrichment composed of fetal bovine serum and glucose (FBSG) with ADC for performance of disinfectant efficacy assay against mycobacteria. After obtaining the growth curves for M. abscessus ATCC 19977, M. abscessus subsp. bolletii INCQS 00594, Mycobacterium chelonae ATCC 35752, and Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 6841 by using ADC enrichment and FBSG in Kirchners and 7H9 culture media. Through statistical analysis via the Kruskal-Wallis test on the evaluation of microorganism growth rate, it was observed that there was no inhibition of RGM growth by any of the enrichments used. These results suggest that low-cost enrichment FBSG may be used as a potential substitute of ADC for composition of media for mycobacterial growth, including in disinfectant tests.