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Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical

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2013

Characterization of an insect-specific flavivirus (OCFVPT) co-isolated from Ochlerotatus caspius collected in southern Portugal along with a putative new Negev-like virus

We describe the isolation and characterization of an insect-specific flavivirus (ISF) from Ochlerotatus caspius (Pallas, 1771) mosquitoes collected in southern Portugal. The RNA genome of this virus, tentatively designated OCFVPT, for O. caspius flavivirus from Portugal, encodes a polyprotein showing all the features expected for a flavivirus. As frequently observed for ISF, the viral genomes seems to encode a putative Fairly Interesting Flavivirus ORF (FIFO)-like product, the synthesis of which would occur as a result of a -1 translation frameshift event. OCFVPT was isolated in the C6/36 Stegomyia albopicta (= Aedes albopictus) cell line where it replicates rapidly, but failed to replicate in Vero cells in common with other ISFs.
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Kerion caused by Microsporum audouinii in a child

Kerion celsi is rarely associated with Microsporum audouinii infection. We report the case of a 3-year-old girl with a kerion celsi caused by M. audouinii and successfully treated with oral terbinafine. Fungi identification was made by macro and microscopical colony morphology analyses and molecular (genotypic) studies.
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Generation and Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies against Rift Valley Fever Virus Nucleoprotein

Due to the unpredictable and explosive nature of Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks, rapid and accurate diagnostic assays for low-resource settings are urgently needed. To improve existing diagnostic assays, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for the nucleocapsid protein of RVF virus (RVFV) were produced and characterized. Four IgG2a MAbs showed specific binding to denatured nucleocapsid protein, both from a recombinant source and from inactivated RVFV, in Western blot analysis and in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
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Study of the epidemiology of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. suis in abattoir swine in Portugal

Pneumocystis has been identified in various mammalian species, including domestic, wild and zoo animals. This study’s main objectives were: (1) to estimate the prevalence of the Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. suis infection in slaughtered pigs in Portugal, (2) assess the prevalence differences within distinct age groups of animals, (3) determine the possible associations between pulmonary lesions and the infection, and (4) genetically characterize the P. carinii f. sp. suis isolates recovered from infected animals using PCR with DNA sequencing.
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A divergent insect-specific flavivirus that causes overt cytopathic effect in a mosquito cell-line

This work reports the initial characterization, including near full-length sequence analysis, of an ISF which seems to form a divergent lineage within the ISF radiation, as indicated by phylogenetic analysis based on ac multiple sequence alignment of the NS5 flavivirus coding sequence.
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Congenital syphilis: A sentinel event in antenatal care quality

A cross-sectional study was designed to be representative of low-risk pregnancies in women cared for at the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) network in the city of Rio de Janeiro, from November 2007 to July 2008. Pregnant women diagnosed with syphilis were identified through interviews, checking their antenatal care card and searching for reported cases in the public health information systems. Cases of congenital syphilis were sought at the disease reporting system (Sinam), the Mortality Information System (SIM) and the SUS’s Hospital Information System (SIH).
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From multidrug-resistant to extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in Lisbon, Portugal: The stepwise mode of resistance acquisition

The development and transmission of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) constitutes a serious threat to the effective control of TB in several countries. Here, in an attempt to further elucidate the dynamics of the acquisition of resistance to second-line drugs and investigate an eventual role for eis promoter mutations in aminoglycoside resistance, we have studied a set of multidrug-resistant (MDR)/XDR-TB isolates circulating in Lisbon, Portugal.
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Approaches towards tick and tick-borne diseases control

Ticks are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites of wild and domestic animals as well as humans, considered to be second worldwide to mosquitoes as vectors of human diseases. Tick-borne diseases are responsible worldwide for great economic losses in terms of mortality and morbidity of livestock animals. This review concerns to the different tick and tick-parasites control methods having a major focus on vaccines.
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