RESUMEN
This study aimed to survey the environmental dissemination of enterovirus (EV) in a site of organic lettuce situated in the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For this purpose, a total of 96 environmental samples, including water and lettuce samples obtained in different stages of the production chain (e.g., irrigation water, seedlings, lettuces grown, and washed lettuces ready-to-eat), were analyzed. EV genomes were detected in 12.5% (12/96) of the tested samples (eight from irrigation water and 4 from lettuce samples). Levels of viral concentration ranged from 3.37 × 103 to 4.72 × 106 genomic copies per liter (gc L-1 ) and from 2.14 × 104 to 5.56 × 104 genome copies per 25 grams (gc 25 g-1 ) for the water and lettuce samples, respectively. Such findings suggest that the use of viruses as human fecal contamination markers must be considered in order to improve food safety in organic supply chains.
Asunto(s)
Enterovirus/aislamiento & purificación , Microbiología Ambiental , Contaminación de Alimentos , Microbiología de Alimentos , Lactuca/virología , Brasil , Humanos , Carga ViralRESUMEN
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of three in-house PCR techniques for HBV DNA detection and compare it with commercial quantitative methods to evaluate the usefulness of in-house methods for HBV diagnosis. Three panels of HBsAg reactive sera samples were evaluated: (i) 50 samples were examined using three methods for in-house qualitative PCR and the Cobas Amplicor HBV Monitor Assay; (ii) 87 samples were assayed using in-house semi-nested PCR and the Cobas TaqMan HBV test; (iii) 11 serial samples obtained from 2 HBV-infected individuals were assayed using the Cobas Amplicor HBV test and semi-nested PCR. In panel I, HBV DNA was detected in 44 samples using the Cobas Amplicor HBV test, 42 samples using semi-nested PCR (90% concordance with Cobas Amplicor), 22 samples using PCR for the core gene (63.6% concordance) and 29 samples using single-round PCR for the pre-S/S gene (75% concordance). In panel II, HBV DNA was quantified in 78 of the 87 HBsAg reactive samples using Cobas TaqMan but 52 samples using semi-nested PCR (67.8% concordance). HBV DNA was detected in serial samples until the 17th and 26th week after first donation using in-house semi-nested PCR and the Cobas Amplicor HBV test, respectively. In-house semi-nested PCR presented adequate concordance with commercial methods as an alternative method for HBV molecular diagnosis in low-resource settings.
Asunto(s)
ADN Viral/análisis , Virus de la Hepatitis B/aislamiento & purificación , Hepatitis B/diagnóstico , Hepatitis B/virología , Técnicas de Diagnóstico Molecular/métodos , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa/métodos , Adulto , Anciano , ADN Viral/genética , Femenino , Virus de la Hepatitis B/genética , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana EdadRESUMEN
Com o objetivo de verificar o grau de infecçäo pelo vírus de hepatite B dentro de uma unidade de diálise, foram determinados os marcadores sorológicos da hepatite B em 11 pacientes portadores de insuficiência renal crônica terminal em amostras mensais durante o período de um ano. Os pacientes foram classificados em 3 grupos, sendo que a prevalência média encontrada foi de 40,7% de pacientes susceptíveis de HBV, 12,1% portadores de HBsAg e 47,1% imunes ao vírus da hepatite B. Os pacientes com quadro agudo apresentaram antigenemia média de HBsAg de 3 meses e 20% evoluíram para o estado crônico. Alteraçöes dos níveis de enzimas hepáticas apresentam-se em cerca de 50% dos pacientes agudos e crônicos, sendo estes últimos com presença de HBeAg. Foi evidenciada a ausência de correlaçäo entre a transfusäo e infecçäo, uma vez que semelhante distribuiçäo do número de unidade transfundidas foi observada indistintamente nos 3 grupos classificados em relaçäo ao HBV. A taxa de ataque do período foi de 3,35%. Estudo de marcadores de HBV foram também realizados em 57 funcionários, sendo observada prevalência média de 55,2% de susceptíveis, 1,9% infectados e 42,9% de imunes, apresentando taxa de ataque de 0,48% durante o período de 1 ano