Animal movement and establishment of vaccinia virus Cantagalo strain in Amazon biome, Brazil

To understand the emergence of vaccinia virus Cantagalo strain in the Amazon biome of Brazil, during 2008-2010 we conducted a molecular and epidemiologic survey of poxvirus outbreaks. Data indicate that animal movement was the major cause of virus dissemination within Rondonia State, leading to the establishment and spread of this pathogen.     

Araçatuba virus: a vaccinialike virus associated with infection in humans and cattle

We describe a vaccinialike virus, Araçatuba virus, associated with a cowpoxlike outbreak in a dairy herd and a related case of human infection. Diagnosis was based on virus growth characteristics, electron microscopy, and molecular biology techniques. Molecular characterization of the virus was done by using polymerase chain reaction amplification, cloning, and DNA sequencing of conserved orthopoxvirus genes such as the vaccinia growth factor (VGF), thymidine kinase (TK), and hemagglutinin. We used VGF-homologous and TK gene nucleotide sequences to construct a phylogenetic tree for comparison with other poxviruses. Gene sequences showed 99% homology with vaccinia virus genes and were clustered together with the isolated virus in the phylogenetic tree. Araçatuba virus is very similar to Cantagalo virus, showing the same signature deletion in the gene. Araçatuba virus could be a novel vaccinialike virus or could represent the spread of Cantagalo virus.     

Waterborne toxoplasmosis, Brazil, from field to gene

Water was the suspected vehicle of Toxoplasma gondii dissemination in a toxoplasmosis outbreak in Brazil. A case-control study and geographic mapping of cases were performed. T. gondii was isolated directly from the implicated water and genotyped as SAG 2 type I.     

Tularemia outbreak, Bulgaria, 1997-2005

The 1997-2005 tularemia outbreak in Bulgaria affected 285 people. Ten strains were isolated from humans, a tick, a hare, and water. Amplified fragment length polymorphism typing of the present isolates and of the strain isolated in 1962 suggests that a new genetic variant caused the outbreak.     

Oral Transmission of Chagas Disease by Consumption of A?aí Palm Fruit,Brazil

In 2006, a total of 178 cases of acute Chagas disease were reported from the Amazonian state of Pará, Brazil. Eleven occurred in Barcarena and were confirmed by visualization of parasites on blood smears. Using cohort and case–control studies, we implicated oral transmission by consumption of açaí palm fruit.     

Cryptosporidium muris, a rodent pathogen, recovered from a human in Perú

Cryptosporidium muris, predominantly a rodent species of Cryptosporidium, is not normally considered a human pathogen. Recently, isolated human infections have been reported from Indonesia, Thailand, France, and Kenya. We report the first case of C. muris in a human in the Western Hemisphere. This species may be an emerging zoonotic pathogen capable of infecting humans.     

Bartonella spp. and Coxiella burnetii Associated with Community-Acquired,Culture-Negative Endocarditis,Brazil

We evaluated culture-negative, community-acquired endocarditis by using indirect immunofluorescent assays and molecular analyses for Bartonella spp. and Coxiella burnetii and found a prevalence of 19.6% and 7.8%, respectively. Our findings reinforce the need to study these organisms in patients with culture-negative, community-acquired endocarditis, especially B. henselae in cat owners.     

Beta-lactam resistance and Enterobacteriaceae, United States

Extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC) are an important drug class for treating severe Salmonella infections. We screened the human collection from the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System 2000 for ESC resistance mechanisms. Of non-Typhi Salmonella tested, 3.2% (44/1,378) contained blaCMY genes. Novel findings included blaCMY-positive Escherichia coli O157:H7 and a blaSHV-positive Salmonella isolate. CMY-positive isolates showed a ceftriaxone MIC > or =2 microg/mL.     

Influenza, Campylobacter and Mycoplasma infections, and hospital admissions for Guillain-Barré syndrome, England

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is the most common cause of acute flaccid paralysis in polio-free regions. Considerable evidence links Campylobacter infection with GBS, but evidence that implicates other pathogens as triggers remains scarce. We conducted a time-series analysis to investigate short-term correlations between weekly laboratory-confirmed reports of putative triggering pathogens and weekly hospitalizations for GBS in England from 1993 through 2002. We found a positive association between the numbers of reports of laboratory-confirmed influenza A in any given week and GBS hospitalizations in the same week. Different pathogens may trigger GBS in persons of different ages; among those <35 years, numbers of weekly GBS hospitalizations were associated with weekly Campylobacter and Mycoplasma pneumoniae reports, whereas among those >35 years, positive associations were with influenza. Further studies should estimate the relative contribution of different pathogens to GBS incidence, overall and by age group, and determine whether influenza is a real trigger for GBS or a marker for influenza vaccination.     

Emergence of Usutu virus,an African mosquito-borne flavivirus of the Japanese encephalitis virus group,central Europe

During late summer 2001 in Austria, a series of deaths in several species of birds occurred, similar to the beginning of the West Nile virus (WNV) epidemic in the United States. We necropsied the dead birds and examined them by various methods; pathologic and immunohistologic investigations suggested a WNV infection. Subsequently, the virus was isolated, identified, partially sequenced, and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. The isolates exhibited 97% identity to Usutu virus (USUV), a mosquito-borne Flavivirus of the Japanese encephalitis virus group; USUV has never previously been observed outside Africa nor associated with fatal disease in animals or humans. If established in central Europe, this virus may have considerable effects on avian populations; whether USUV has the potential to cause severe human disease is unknown.     

Yellow fever virus infectivity for Bolivian Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

The absence of urban yellow fever virus (YFV) in Bolivian cities has been attributed to the lack of competent urban mosquito vectors. Experiments with Aedes aegypti from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, demonstrated infection (100%), dissemination (20%), and transmission of a Bolivian YFV strain (CENETROP-322).     

Viral meningitis epidemics and a single,recent, recombinant and anthroponotic origin of swine vesicular disease virus

Background and objectives: Swine vesicular disease virus (SVDV) is a close relative of the human Enterovirus B serotype, coxsackievirus B5. As the etiological agent of a significant emergent veterinary disease, several studies have attempted to explain its origin. However, several key questions remain, including the full biological ancestry of the virus, and its geographical and temporal origin.Methodology: We sequenced near-complete genomes of 27 SVDV and 13 coxsackievirus B5 samples, all originally isolated between 1966 and 2006, and analysed these in conjunction with existing sequences and historical information.Results: While analyses incorporating 24 additional near-complete SVDV genomic sequences indicate clear signs of within-SVDV recombination, all 51 SVDV isolates remain monophyletic. This supports a hypothesis of a single anthroponotic transfer origin. Analysis of individual coding and non-coding regions supports that SVDV has a recombinant origin between coxsackievirus B5 and another Enterovirus B serotype, most likely coxsackievirus A9. Extensive Bayesian sequence-based analysis of the time of the most recent common ancestor of all analysed sequences places this within a few years around 1961. Epidemiological evidence points to China as an origin, but there are no available samples to test this conclusively.Conclusions and implications: Historical investigation and the clinical aspects of the involved Enterovirus B serotypes, makes the current results consistent with a hypothesis stating that SVDV originated through co-infection, recombination, and a single anthroponotic event, during large viral meningitis epidemics around 1960/1961 involving the ancestral serotypes. The exact geographical origin of SVDV may remain untestable due to historical aspects.     

Outbreak-associated Vibrio cholerae genotypes with identical pulsotypes, Malaysia, 2009

A cholera outbreak in Terengganu, Malaysia, in November 2009 was caused by 2 El Tor Vibrio cholerae variants resistant to typical antimicrobial drugs. Evidence of replacement of treatable V. cholerae infection in the region with antimicrobial-resistant strains calls for increased surveillance and prevention measures.     

Phocine distemper outbreak, The Netherlands, 2002

During the 2002 phocine distemper epidemic, 2,284 seals, primarily harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), were found stranded along the Dutch coast. Stranding pattern varied with age, sex, state of decomposition, wind, and location. Cumulative proportion of deaths (54%) was comparable to that in the first reported epidemic in 1988.     

The Positive Effects of Yerba Maté (Ilex paraguariensis) in Obesity

The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide over the past three decades. Global anti-obesity strategies focus on dietary and lifestyle modifications to slow the development of obesity. Research in the nutrition field has recently aroused considerable interest based on the potential of natural products to counteract obesity. Several studies have identified yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis) as an excellent candidate. In this review, we evaluated the impact of yerba maté on obesity and obesity-related inflammation. Cellular studies demonstrate that yerba maté suppresses adipocyte differentiation and triglyceride accumulation and reduces inflammation. Animal studies show that yerba maté modulates signaling pathways that regulate adipogenesis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and insulin signaling responses. In summary, the data presented here showed that the use of yerba maté might be useful against obesity, improving the lipid parameters in humans and animal models. In addition, yerba maté modulates the expression of genes that are changed in the obese state and restores them to more normal levels of expression. In doing so, it addresses several of the abnormal and disease-causing factors associated with obesity. Protective and ameliorative effects on insulin resistance were also observed. Thus, as a general conclusion, it seems that yerba maté beverages and supplements might be helpful in the battle against obesity.