Atmospheric mercury concentrations in the basin of the amazon, Brazil

A wide regional mercury pollution in Amazon, Brazil is closely associated with goldmining that has been carried out in the basin of tributaries of the Amazon since the eighteenth century. Possible involvement has been discussed on atmospheric circulation in distributing the volatile pollutant. We developed a portable air sampler for the collection of mercury compounds and determined atmospheric mercury concentrations at several sites in Brazil including the basin of the Amazon tributaries. The mean concentration of total mercury was between 9.1 and 14.0 ng/m³ in the basin of the Uatumã River located in the tropical rain forest far from goldmining sites and from urbanized area. These mercury levels exceeded the background level previously reported in rural area and, furthermore, were higher than concentrations observed in Rio de Janeiro and in Manaus that were compatible with the reference values for urban area. Mercury concentrations were also determined in gold refineries in the basin of the Tapajos River, and detected at a significant but not a health deteriorating level. Although only preliminary data were available, the present observations were in favor of the hypothesis that mercury is distributed widely by long distant transport by the atmospheric circulation after released at gold mining sites.     

Comparative analysis of South African norovirus GII.4 strains identifies minor recombinant variants

Recombination within the norovirus (NoV) GII.4 genotype is well documented as a mechanism by which novel variants evolve. Norovirus GII.4 has been the predominant NoV genotype detected in South Africa (SA) in recent years and putative NoV recombinants were previously identified in SA based on partial regions of the viral genome. The objective of this study was to determine the complete genome sequence of representative NoV GII.4 variants that have circulated in SA between 2009 and 2013 and to compare major and minor GII.4 variants based on nucleotide sequence. The complete genomes of 11/27 GII.4 strains could be amplified in three or five overlapping segments, these included major variants New_Orleans_2009 and Sydney_2012 as well as three types of minor GII.4 variants. Phylogenetic and recombination analysis identified GII.4 recombinants with breakpoints located at or near the ORF1/2 junction. Apart from recombinants already recognised as major variants (GII.P4 New_Orleans_2009/GII.4 Sydney_2012 (n = 2) and GII.Pe/GII.4 Sydney_2012 (n = 2)) four further recombinant strains were detected (GII.P4 New_Orleans_2009/GII.4 Hunter_2004 (n = 1) and GII.P4 Yerseke_2006a/GII.4 Apeldoorn_2007 (n = 3)) that were attributed to three distinct minor variants. The encoded proteins with the highest diversity were p48 (Nterm), p22, VP1 and VP2. Analysis of antigenic sites in VP1 revealed mutations at epitopes A, B, C, D and E, with epitopes A and D being most variable. The high variation at epitope D was reflected in structural differences in models of GII.4 variants in the epitope D loop region (aa 393–395). Major and minor variants could not be distinguished based on specific sequence differences. HBGA-binding studies will be necessary to assess the effect of the observed amino acid differences in the P2 domain of these GII.4 strains.     

重组GII型诺如病毒长沙株全基因组序列的测定与分析

目的 对2016年长沙地区一起由GII型诺如病毒引起的急性胃肠炎暴发疫情致病原进行全基因组序列测定,掌握其基因类型、分子进化特征和抗原重组情况。方法 提取疫情中患者粪便标本的总RNA,反转录成cDNA,PCR扩增病毒全基因组并采用Sanger法测序,比对拼接后获得病毒全基因组序列;通过BLAST比对和诺如病毒在线分型工具(typing online tool)确定其基因型别;从GenBank中下载GII型诺如病毒参考序列,采用DNA Star软件进行序列多序列比对和同源性分析,绘制系统遗传进化树,基因重组特征分析采用SimPlot软件。结果 通过一代测序获得病毒基因组序列长7491bp,有3个开放阅读框(ORF),长度分别为5100bp,1647bp,765bp。多序列比对和同源分析发现ORF1区与GII.P12型代表株同源性最高,VP1区则与GII.3型同源性最高;因此,将该毒株命名为Hu/GII.P12-GII.3/CS02/2016 /CHN。分子遗传进化分析显示其与中国其他地区如北京、上海、广东等地流行的GII.P12-GII.3重组型诺如病毒亲缘关系最为接近。抗原重组分析发现Hu/GII.P12-GII.3/CS02/2016 /CHN长沙株重组位点在5080bp,为ORF1与 ORF2重叠区的起点。结论 除了GII.P16-GII.2重组诺如病毒的广泛流行外,长沙地区仍存在GII.P12/GII.3重组诺如病毒的散发流行,需加其强监测。     

2017—2018年成都地区诺如病毒聚集性疫情病原基因型分析

目的 分析2017—2018年成都地区诺如病毒聚集性疫情中病毒基因型构成情况,为疾病防控工作提供依据。方法 选取2017—2018年诺如病毒聚集性疫情标本,对病毒基因RdRp及VP1区片段测序,构建进化树并进行同源性分析。结果 测序结果显示,68份肛拭子标本中 16.2%(11/68)为GⅠ群(包括GⅠ.2、GⅠ.3和GⅠ.5型),83.8%(57/68)为GⅡ群(包括GⅡ.P16-GⅡ.2、GⅡ.P17-GⅡ.17、GⅡ.P8-GⅡ.8、GⅡ.P12-GⅡ.3、GⅡ.P7-GⅡ.6和GⅡ.P15-GⅡ.15型)。2017年以GⅡ.P16-GⅡ.2型为主;2018年GⅠ群及GⅡ.P17-GⅡ.17型均显著增加,同时检出其他4种基因型。各基因型病毒变异不明显,核苷酸同源性为93.4%~100%。结论 2018年成都地区诺如病毒流行株基因型构成较2017年复杂,可能与聚集性疫情增长有关。应持续监测诺如病毒基因型流行情况,及时掌握病毒变异动态,以期提高疾病防控的预警能力。     

Mercury exposure,malaria, and serum antinuclear/antinucleolar antibodies in amazon populations in Brazil: a cross-sectional study

Background  

Mercury is an immunotoxic metal that induces autoimmune disease in rodents. Highly susceptible mouse strains such as SJL/N, A.SW, B10.S (H-2^s) develop multiple autoimmune manifestations after exposure to inorganic mercury, including lymphoproliferation, elevated levels of autoantibodies, overproduction of IgG and IgE, and circulating immune complexes in kidney and vasculature. A few studies have examined relationships between mercury exposures and adverse immunological reactions in humans, but there is little evidence of mercury-associated autoimmunity in humans.     

Detection and analysis of recombination in GII.4 norovirus strains causing gastroenteritis outbreaks in Alberta

Recombination is an important mechanism generating genetic diversity in norovirus (NoV) that occurs commonly at the NoV polymerase-capsid (ORF1/2) junction. The genotyping method based on partial ORF2 sequences currently used to characterize circulating NoV strains in gastroenteritis outbreaks in Alberta cannot detect such recombination events and provides only limited information on NoV genetic evolution. The objective of this study was to determine whether any NoV GII.4 strains causing outbreaks in Alberta are recombinants. Twenty stool samples collected during outbreaks occurring between July 2004 and January 2012 were selected to include the GII.4 variants Farmington Hills 2002, Hunter 2004, Yerseke 2006a, Den Haag 2006b, Apeldoorn 2007, New Orleans 2009, and Sydney 2012 based on previous NoV ORF2-genotyping results. Near full-length NoV genome sequences were obtained, aligned with reference sequences from GenBank and analyzed with RDPv4.13. Two sequences corresponding to Apeldoorn 2007, and Sydney 2012 were identified as recombinants with breakpoints near the ORF1/2 junction and putative parental strains as previously reported. We also identified, for the first time, a non-recombinant sequence resembling the ORF2–3 parent of the recombinant cluster Sydney 2012 responsible for the most recent pandemic. Our results confirmed the presence of recombinant NoV GII.4 strains in Alberta, and highlight the importance of including additional genomic regions in surveillance studies to trace the evolution of pandemic NoV GII.4 strains.     

Wide variety of recombinant strains of norovirus GII in pediatric patients hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Thailand during 2005 to 2015

Norovirus (NoV) has been reported as being a common cause of acute gastroenteritis both in children and adults worldwide. Of the many variants, NoV GII.4 is the most predominant genotype. One of the mechanisms that drives the evolution and emergence of new variants of NoV is homologous recombination. This study describes the genetic recombination involved in cases of NoV GII detected in pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis in Chiang Mai, Thailand during 2005 to 2015. From a total of 1938 stool samples, 3 (0.15%) were positive for NoV GI and 298 (15.38%) were identified as NoV GII. The genotypes detected in this study were GI.6, GI.14, GII.1, GII.2, GII.3, GII.4, GII.6, GII.7, GII.12, GII.13, GII.14, GII.15, GII.16, GII.17, GII.20, and GII.21. The NoV recombinant strains were verified by analysis of the partial sequence of ORF1 (RdRp)/ORF2 (capsid) junction. Phylogenetic analyses of partial ORF1 and ORF2 regions resulted in the identification of 21 (6.98%) NoV recombinant strains. Among these, 9 recombination patterns were detected in this study; GII.Pe/GII.4, GII.Pg/GII.1, GII.Pg/GII.12, GII.P7/GII.6, GII.P7/GII.14, GII.P12/GII.4, GII.P16/GII.2, GII.P16/GII.13, and GII.P21/GII.3. The findings demonstrated the wide variety of recombinant strains of NoV GII strains detected in pediatric patients admitted to the hospitals with acute gastroenteritis in Chiang Mai, Thailand during the past decade.     

一起急性胃肠炎疫情中重组诺如病毒基因特征分析

目的 明确成都市2018年5月某建筑工地发生的一起急性胃肠炎疫情中的诺如病毒的基因型别,并对其遗传进化和分子流行病学特征进行分析研究。方法 对实时荧光定量PCR检测结果为阳性的标本采用常规RT - PCR扩增其RNA依赖的RNA聚合酶区和衣壳蛋白区并测序,与国内外参考株进行序列比对和构建进化树等基因特征分析。结果 序列比对和进化树分析结果显示:此次疫情中检出的诺如病毒核苷酸同源性为100%;其RNA依赖的RNA聚合酶区与北京株处于同一分支,同源性95.4%;而衣壳蛋白区与莫斯科株同源性最高,为96.4%。结合SimPlot对其进行分析,重组可能位点在213 bp处,定位在ORF1/2交叠区。结论 引起本次急性胃肠炎疫情的重组诺如病毒基因型为GI.P4 - GI.5,这是成都市首次检出诺如病毒GI群重组株。     

861株多药耐药菌耐药表型回顾性分析

目的 了解医院多药耐药菌(MDROs)的分布及流行情况.方法 收集医院2006年1月-2010年12月住院患者各类标本中分离出的非重复菌株资料,以WHONET5.4软件进行数据分析.结果 23 405份标本中检出病原菌6779株,检出阳性率为29.0％,其中革兰阳性菌704株占10.4％、革兰阴性菌4480株占66.1％、真菌1750株占25.8％;检出MDROs 861株,占12.7％,其中,产ESBLs细菌307株、耐碳青霉烯类肠杆菌科细菌(CRE)18株、耐甲氧西林凝固酶阴性葡萄球菌(MRCNS) 137株、耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA) 127株、耐碳青霉烯类鲍氏不动杆菌(CRAB) 103株、多药耐药铜绿假单胞菌(MDRPA) 72株、泛耐药铜绿假单胞菌(PDRPA)19株及耐万古霉素肠球菌(VRE)2株;主要来源于下呼吸道457株占53.1％、尿液152株占17.7％、脓性分 泌物150株占17.4％、血液56株占6.5％,MDROs在ICU检出率最高占21.7％,其次为脑外科占10.7％、呼吸科占9.1％、肿瘤科占8.9％.结论 MDROs耐药表型中以产ESBLs细菌、MRCNS、MRSA为主;MDROs在下呼吸道、尿液、脓性分泌物标本中检出率较高,在ICU、脑外科、呼吸科、肿瘤科,MDROs流行情况严重.     

广西首起诺如病毒感染性腹泻病原基因测序分析

目的对广西首起诺如病毒急性胃肠炎疫情进行病原基因测序分析,以确证其病原体,并对其基因分型。方法采用荧光定量PCR法对8份疫情病例样本进行诺如病毒RNA检测,取其中4份阳性标本再经RT-PCR扩增,然后纯化、克隆、测序和进化树分析。结果8份标本均测出诺如病毒RNA,阳性率100%;其中4株病毒的N/S区序列与GenBank中的雪山病毒参考株同源性最高,达95%。结论序列测定结果证实广西大新县的急性胃肠炎疫情是诺如病毒感染所致,其病毒基因型为GⅡ.2型。     

One year monitoring of norovirus in a sewage treatment plant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Norovirus (NoV) is one of the most important aetiological agents of acute gastroenteritis both in developed and developing countries. NoV is shed in high concentrations by infected persons and contaminates recreational and drinking water through sewage discharge into the environment. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, genotypes and removal ratio of NoV by PCR, seminested-PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays in a sewage treatment plant in Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, during one year of surveillance. NoV was detected in 7 (15%), 14 (29%) and 28 (58%) samples using PCR, seminested-PCR and qPCR, respectively. The mean removal ratio for the activated sludge process was 0.6 log₁₀ for NoV genogroup I (GI) and 0.32 log₁₀ for NoV genogroup II (GII). The peak NoV concentration was detected in the coldest months, with 53,300 genomic copies/litre. Nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that five strains clustered with GI strains and six with GII strains. This study demonstrates that NoV spreads into the environment despite the sewage treatment process and remains a source of waterborne outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis.     

Unintended pregnancy in the amazon basin of Ecuador: a multilevel analysis

Background  

It has been estimated that each year 80 million women in the world experience an unintended pregnancy. In Ecuador, recent research has revealed that 36.3% of total births are unintended; the research also details significant geographical, ethnic and socioeconomic variations. These studies focused on individual risk factors and were based on large national surveys where local samples, particularly from rural remote areas, were small. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of contextual and individual factors on unintended pregnancies in the Amazon Basin of Ecuador.     

长沙地区诺如病毒基因型分析

目的确定长沙地区引起急性胃肠炎诺如病毒的类型。方法从128例腹泻患者粪便中,提取RNA。将RNA进行逆转录、扩增、测序,并通过构建基因进化树进行分析导致长沙地区患者感染的诺如病毒的主要种类。结果63个样品中含有诺如病毒,分别为GII-3、GII-4、GII-12三种类型,其中GII-4为主要病原体。结论在长沙地区,诺如病毒GII-4是引起病毒性胃肠炎的的主要致病株。GII-4基因进化快速,已成为全球范围内导致急性胃肠炎的最常见病毒株。     

Detection,risk factors and molecular diversity of norovirus GIII in cattle in Uruguay

Uruguay is a leading exporter of bovine meat and dairy products, and cattle production is one of the principal economic backbones in this country. A main clinical problem faced by livestock farmers is neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD); however, causes of NCD have not been extensively studied in Uruguay. Bovine norovirus (BoNoV) has been proposed as one of the possible etiologies of NCD as experimentally infected calves developed diarrhea and enteropathy, although limited information is available from field surveys. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of infection, to investigate possible risk factors, and to determine the molecular diversity of BoNoV in Uruguay. A total of 761 samples of feces or intestinal contents from dairy and beef calves were analyzed through RT-qPCR. The overall frequency of detection of BoNoV was 66.1% with higher frequency in dairy (70.5%) than beef (15.9%) calves (p < 0.01). BoNoV was detected similarly in diarrheic (78.8%) and non-diarrheic (76.2%) dairy calves (p = 0.50). Calves ≤2 weeks of age (84%) were infected more often than older (62.7%) calves (p < 0.01). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the presence of GIII.1 and GIII.2 genotypes. In addition, we reported the circulation of recombinant strains and the detection of a strain with the recently described novel VP1 genotype. This study represents the first report describing the circulation, the associated risk factors, and the molecular diversity of BoNoV in Uruguay.     

Mercury persistence in indoor environments in the Amazon region, Brazil

We evaluated the indoor atmospheric Hg contamination in gold trade shops in two Brazilian cities of the Legal Amazon area using the Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides, Bromeliaceae) as a sentinel species. Plants inside plastic cages were exposed to a controlled atmosphere to evaluate the rate of Hg retention over time and then distributed in several stores with different characteristics to enable a relative comparison. Hg concentrations were determined by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Plants exposed in active stores with good air circulation exhibited lower levels. Ex-gold trade shops that were kept closed for long periods exhibited higher values. Stores that have been restored before being transformed into new businesses exhibited lower values than nonrestored ones. Direct measurements suggest that indoor Hg air concentrations were below the threshold limit recommended by the World Health Organization to occupational exposure; nevertheless, restoring ex-gold trade shops could ensure a healthier working environment.     

Detection and molecular characterization of a canine norovirus

We identified a novel calicivirus in a pup with enteritis. The isolate was related genetically (90.1% aa identity in the capsid protein) to a lion norovirus strain.     

Food taboos in the northern region of Brazil

A study was carried out into alimentary taboos in two localities (S?o Félix and Murumuru) in the county of Marabá, State of Pará, Brazil. Ninety families were studied in S?o Félix and thirty-five in Murumuru. As regards the feeding taboos found, the most frequent was that prohibiting the simultaneous ingestion of milk and various types of fruit, including especially mango, orange, cashew and pineapple. The ingestion of eggs with fruit was also considered harmful as well as the eating of mammalian flesh at the same time as fish. Restrictions based on taboos were more frequent during breast feeding than during pregnancy, especially those regarding game flesh and fish that abound in the region under study. The most frequently mentioned reasons for the restrictions were: "the combination causes harm", "the combination kills", "the combination causes congestion" and "it causes vomiting".     

2014年北京市东城区诺如病毒疫情特征分析

摘要:目的　分析北京市东城区诺如病毒疫情流行特征及分布特点,为疫情防控措施的完善提供参考。方法　采用现场流行病学调查方法及描述性分析方法,对2014年处理的诺如病毒疫情报告及个案资料进行分析。结果　共处理 6起由诺如病毒所致疫情,累计病例174例,其中实验室确诊病例41例（41/174,23.56%）,病原携带者1例（1/38,2.63%）,无重症和死亡病例,罹患率波动在9.00%～46.51%之间。疫情集中在初夏季节（3-6月）和秋冬季节（11月）,其他月份无疫情发生。病例全部为学生,平均年龄（6.70±1.32）岁,男女性别比为1.20∶1。检出诺如病毒RNA阳性标本44件（44/135,32.59%）,经基因分型结果显示,3起疫情是由如病毒GⅡ6型引起的,另3起疫情分别由GⅡ4型、GⅡ7型和GⅡ17型诺如病毒引起。结论　对托幼机构及中小学校等集体单位是今后诺如病毒疫情防控工作的重点,对疫情防控关键点的控制至关重要。     

Molecular epidemiology of norovirus strains circulating in Ireland from 2003 to 2004

Since 2002, the burden of norovirus (NoV) infection in Ireland has increased. Outbreaks in institutional settings are the most common causing widespread disruption to health service delivery. This is the first national study of NoV in the Republic of Ireland and its aim was to identify the major NoV strains circulating in Ireland over a 13-month period between November 2003 and November 2004, inclusive. A prospective study screened faecal samples (n = 478) for NoV RNA. Positive samples (n = 116) were further analysed by a second PCR, targeted to the orf1/orf2 junction of the virus. Phylogenetic analysis was based on sequence alignments of this domain. GII/4 viruses represented 92.2% of sequences, 2.7% were GII/2, GII/3 and GGIIB cluster-like strains. The remaining 5.2% were of GI origin. NoV was detectable throughout the study period, although two peaks of infection were observed. The majority of infections were caused by a range of closely related GII/4 NoV strains.