Biomedical subjects

Cláudio L Mafra

Publications and source records attributed to Cláudio L Mafra.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Human ehrlichioses in Brazil: first suspect cases.

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) rickettsiosis is the most common and recognized of the human rickettsioses in Brazil. It is difficult to establish the diagnosis of human rickettsiosis infection by routine microbiologic methods, creating a false idea that Rickettsia and Ehrlichia infections are rare and without importance. New tick-borne diseases, like human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) and human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), have been described in many countries. These diseases can present symptoms similar to rickettsioses of the spotted fever group, and they are transmitted by ixodid ticks. The first two suspected cases of human ehrlichiosis in Brazil were first considered to be cases of BSF. The differential diagnosis was made at the Minas Gerais Rickettsiosis Public Health Laboratory. The clinical and laboratory findings, with positive serology for the HME agent, indicated suspected cases of human ehrlichioses in Brazil.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Rickettsiosis of the genus Rickettsia in South America.

In South America, human cases of infection by the genus Rickettsia have been described in several countries in the last twenty years. The role of international organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA and the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA, was very important in the last twenty years for the development of surveillance systems and for the increase in notification of rickettsial diseases by the countries of South America. We hope that the next goal will be prevention and control of rickettsial diseases in the countries of South America, as well as maintaining the programs developed during the last twenty years, so that a good health system and improved social conditions will be possible.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Emerging and reemerging rickettsiosis in an endemic area of Minas Gerais State, Brazil].

This article describes a serological survey for rickettsiosis in the county of Novo Cruzeiro, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, in 1998, testing schoolchildren and dogs. Sera included 331 samples from schoolchildren from an endemic area and 142 samples from schoolchildren from a non-endemic area in the county. All children examined were healthy and had not reported clinical symptoms of Brazilian spotted fever prior to the serological survey. Some 35 children in the endemic area were reactive to Rickettsia rickettsiiby indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) with a titer of 1:64, corresponding to 10.6%. Sera from 73 dogs were tested, showing seroreactivity (IFA 1:64) to Rickettsia rickettsi, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Ehrlichia canisin 3 (4.11%), 11 (15.07%), and 13 (17.81%), respectively. The results in schoolchildren and the presence of canine seroreactivity to Ehrlichiaspecies that are potentially pathogenic to humans suggests the risk of transmission of other Rickettsiaein the study area.

Animals↗