Sandra Márcia Tietz Marques

Parasitas intestinais em centros de educação infantil municipal de Lages, SC, Brasil

Two hundred chinldren from nursery schools in Lages, southern Brazil, were associated as to parasitic ibfections. The overall prevalence of helminths and protozoa was 70.5%, affecting 61.4% of male and 74.5% of female children. The most prevalent parasites were Ascaris lumbricoides (35%), Giardia lambia (14%) e Trichuris trichiura (13%).

Fasciola hepatica infection in cattle and buffaloes in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

We examined 482 livers, 377 from cattle and 105 from buffaloes slaughtered at a meat packing plant between April 1999 and November 1999, in Viamao, a town in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil. The cattle slaughtered at the meat packing plant belonged to eleven towns: Cachoeira do Sul, Cachoeirinha, Capivari do Sul, Charqueadas, Encruzilhada do Sul, Ibiraiaras, Palmares do Sul, Pantâno Grande, Rio Pardo, Tupancireta and Viamao. The buffaloes belonged to the following towns: Encruzilhada do Sul, Ibiraiaras, Parobe, Santo Antonio da Patrulha, and Uruguaiana. The occurrence rate of Fasciola hepatica was 10.34% for cattle in seven of the eleven towns included in the study (63.6%) and 20% for buffaloes in four of the five towns (80%). In terms of age, the occurrence rate was 81% for buffaloes with up to two years of life and 19% for buffaloes older than two years. The livestock from Cachoeira do Sul, Capivari do Sul, Ibiraiaras and Tupancireta were not infected with bovine fascioliasis, and the buffaloes from Uruguaiana were not infected either. The studied areas may represent important endemic regions to fasciolosis, showing that zoonotic areas should be investigated.

Capillaria hepatica in Puma concolor: First Report in Brazil

Abstract Capillaria hepatica was detected by histopathologic diagnosis in two cougars that were shot in April 2008 in Painel, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Macroscopic analysis of their livers revealed the presence of diffuse granulomas, and the histopathologic analysis indicated the presence of C. hepatica eggs, surrounded by mononuclear inflammatory cell infiltrate, small foci of necrosis, and mild-to-moderate fibrosis. This is the first report of C. hepatica in cougars (Puma concolor) in Brazil.

Ancylostoma spp. em cães de rua de Lages, Santa Catarina: variáveis epidemiológicas e coinfecção parasitária

Animal ancylostomiasis co-occurs with gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders, emaciation, and developmental delay, and may progress to cachexia and death. A total of 357 fecal samples from stray dogs captured by the Center for Zoonotic Disease Control in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil, from June 2011 to January 2012, were assessed by the Willis-Mollay method. The prevalence of positive dogs for Ancylostoma spp. eggs was 64.43% (230/357), affecting 63.16% (120/190) of females and 65.87% (110/167) of males. Animals aged 2 to 5 years showed higher parasite infection rates (77.78%), but no statistical difference was noted between age groups and sex of infected dogs. There was coinfection of Ancylostoma spp. with Trichuris vulpis and Toxocara spp. Summertime revealed a larger significant correlation with Ancylostoma spp. infection. Dogs infected by Ancylostoma spp. were detected in 44 (64.71%) out of 68 neighborhoods. Infected stray dogs are an important source of infection as they roam the streets and public squares. Zoonotic control measures are therefore crucial, mainly on the outskirts, where the number of infected dogs is larger.

Trabalho e acidentes no meio rural do Oeste Catarinense - Santa Catarina, Brasil

The aim of the present study was to check the characteristics of agricultural workers and the incidence of work-related accidents in the west of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Sixty patterned questionnaires were used, and data on sociodemographics, work, and workplace accidents were collected. The percentage of household heads aged between 41 and 60 years amounted to 60% and that of married ones totaled 68.3%, with average school attendance between 4 and 8 years; 97% were landowners, among whom 83.3% owned more than 8 hectares. The average weekly workload of 80% of agricultural workers exceeds 40 hours, with a 20% incidence of workplace accidents. These data show the variety of activities and occupational hazards and point out an urgent need for public health surveillance, since accidents involving agricultural workers usually do not appear in the official statistics and still have to be addressed by Brazilian social policies.