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The initial phase of the COVID-19 vaccination in Ecuador occurred between April and November 2021. Initially, it focused on priority populations, including health professionals and other front-line workers. During this period, there was limited knowledge about the vaccine's adverse effects. A non-probability, observational study was conducted among university staff in Guayaquil, Ecuador, who received the AstraZeneca vaccine (n = 423) between April and November 2021. This study aimed to compare the acute adverse reactions by doses and to report the incidence of long-term adverse reactions within the AstraZeneca group. As a result, comparing acute adverse reactions between doses, the odds ratio for local pain, headache, muscle pain, fever, and chills are statistically higher after the first dose than the second dose. Survival curves indicated these symptoms appeared mainly within the first 6 h post-vaccination. This is the first pharmacovigilance study from Ecuador that analyzes survival probabilities for the AstraZeneca vaccine's adverse effects.
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The Antarctic continent is one of the most inhospitable places on earth, where living creatures, mostly represented by microorganisms, have specific physiological characteristics that allow them to adapt to the extreme environmental conditions. These physiological adaptations can result in the production of unique secondary metabolites with potential biotechnological applications. The current study presents a genetic and antibacterial characterization of four Antarctic fungi isolated from soil samples collected in Pedro Vicente Maldonado Scientific Station, at Fort William Point, Greenwich Island, Antarctica. Based on the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the fungi were identified as Antarctomyces sp., Thelebolus sp., Penicillium sp., and Cryptococcus gilvescens. The antibacterial activity was assessed against four clinical bacterial strains: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus, by a modified bacterial growth inhibition assay on agar plates. Results showed that C. gilvescens and Penicillium sp. have potential antibiotic activity against all bacterial strains. Interestingly, Thelebolus sp. showed potential antibiotic activity only against E. coli. In contrast, Antarctomyces sp. did not show antibiotic activity against any of the bacteria tested under our experimental conditions. This study highlights the importance of conservation of Antarctica as a source of metabolites with important biomedical applications.
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Ascomicetos , Penicillium , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Antibacterianos/metabolismo , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Fungos/genética , Ascomicetos/genética , Bactérias/metabolismo , Penicillium/genética , Penicillium/metabolismo , Regiões AntárticasRESUMO
More than one year since Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, the gold standard technique for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection is still the RT-qPCR. This is a limitation to increase testing capacities, particularly at developing countries, as expensive reagents and equipment are required. We developed a two steps end point RT-PCR reaction with SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid (N) gene and Ribonuclease P (RNase P) specific primers where viral amplicons were verified by agarose gel electrophoresis. We carried out a clinical performance and analytical sensitivity evaluation for this two-steps end point RT-PCR method with 242 nasopharyngeal samples using the CDC RT-qPCR protocol as a gold standard technique. With a specificity of 95.8%, a sensitivity of 95.1%, and a limit of detection of 20 viral RNA copies/uL, this two steps end point RT-PCR assay is an affordable and reliable method for SARS-CoV-2 detection. This protocol would allow to extend COVID-19 diagnosis to basic molecular biology laboratories with a potential positive impact in surveillance programs at developing countries.
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Teste de Ácido Nucleico para COVID-19/métodos , COVID-19/diagnóstico , SARS-CoV-2/genética , COVID-19/genética , Teste de Ácido Nucleico para COVID-19/economia , Teste para COVID-19/métodos , Proteínas do Nucleocapsídeo de Coronavírus/genética , Primers do DNA , Eletroforese em Gel de Ágar/métodos , Humanos , Laboratórios , Nasofaringe/virologia , RNA Viral/genética , Ribonuclease P/genética , Ribonuclease P/metabolismo , SARS-CoV-2/patogenicidade , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Micronutrients are known to modulate host immunity, and there is limited literature on this association in the context of dengue virus infection (DENV). METHODS: Using a nested case-control design in a surveillance program, we measured the following: anthropometry; nutritional biomarkers including serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor, retinol-binding protein (RBP), 25-hydroxy vitamin D, folate, and vitamin B12; and a panel of immune response markers. We then compared these measures across 4 illness categories: healthy control, nonfebrile DENV, other febrile illness (OFI), and apparent DENV using multivariate polytomous logistic regression models. RESULTS: Among 142 participants, serum ferritin (ng/mL) was associated with apparent DENV compared to healthy controls (odds ratio [OR], 2.66; confidence interval [CI], 1.53-4.62; P = .001), and RBP concentrations (µmol/L) were associated with apparent DENV (OR, 0.03; CI, 0.00-0.30; P = .003) and OFI (OR, 0.02; CI, 0.00-0.24; P = .003). In a subset of 71 participants, interleukin-15 levels (median fluorescent intensity) were positively associated with apparent DENV (OR, 1.09; CI, 1.03-1.14; P = .001) and negatively associated with nonfebrile DENV (OR, 0.89; CI, 0.80-0.99; P = .03) compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for the acute-phase response, serum ferritin and RBP concentrations were associated with apparent DENV and may represent biomarkers of clinical importance in the context of dengue illness.
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Dengue/sangue , Dengue/imunologia , Interleucina-15/sangue , Vigilância da População , Adolescente , Biomarcadores/sangue , Índice de Massa Corporal , Tamanho Corporal , Proteína C-Reativa/metabolismo , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Equador , Feminino , Ferritinas/sangue , Febre/sangue , Febre/virologia , Humanos , Masculino , Micronutrientes , Estado Nutricional , Orosomucoide/metabolismo , Proteínas Plasmáticas de Ligação ao Retinol/metabolismo , Vitamina D/sangue , Adulto JovemRESUMO
An adult olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea with lesions suggestive of fibropapillomatosis was rescued on the coast of San Antonio, central Chile. Histopathologic analysis showed an exophytic and pedunculated mass formed by epidermal papillary projections supported by fibrovascular cores, epidermal hyperplasia and marked orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis. ChHV5 unique long genes UL27, UL28 and UL30 were amplified from tumor lesions and sequenced for phylogeny. Phylogenetic reconstruction showed the Chilean sequences clustering with the Eastern Pacific group. This is the first case of fibropapillomatosis in an olive ridley turtle diagnosed in Chile and in the southeastern Pacific region. Our results suggest a regional grouping of ChHV5 variants independent of the marine turtle's species.
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Olea , Tartarugas , Animais , Sequência de Bases , Chile , FilogeniaRESUMO
Fibropapillomatosis is a neoplastic disease that afflicts sea turtles. Although it is disseminated worldwide, cases of the disease have not been reported in the southeastern Pacific region. We describe a case of fibropapillomatosis in a green sea turtle ( Chelonia mydas) during its rehabilitation at the Machalilla National Park Rehabilitation Center, Ecuador. Viral presence was confirmed by PCR, targeting fragments of the chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) unique long (UL) genes, UL27, UL28, and UL30. The amplicons were sequenced and included in a global phylogenetic analysis of the virus with other reported sequences from GenBank. Results showed that the available viral sequences segregated into five phylogeographic groups: western Atlantic and eastern Caribbean, central Pacific, western Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Pacific groups. The concatenated ChHV5 sequences from Ecuador clustered with the eastern Pacific sequences.
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Alphaherpesvirinae/genética , Infecções por Herpesviridae/veterinária , Neoplasias Cutâneas/veterinária , Tartarugas/virologia , Animais , Infecções por Herpesviridae/epidemiologia , Infecções por Herpesviridae/virologia , Oceano Pacífico/epidemiologia , Filogenia , Neoplasias Cutâneas/virologiaRESUMO
Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne arbovirus, is a major public health concern in Ecuador. In this study, we aimed to describe the spatial distribution of dengue risk and identify local social-ecological factors associated with an outbreak of dengue fever in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. We examined georeferenced dengue cases (n = 4248) and block-level census data variables to identify social-ecological risk factors associated with the presence/absence and burden of dengue in Guayaquil in 2012. Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA), specifically Anselin’s Local Moran’s I, and Moran’s I tests were used to locate hotspots of dengue transmission, and multimodel selection was used to identify covariates associated with dengue presence and burden at the census block level. We identified significant dengue transmission hotspots near the North Central and Southern portions of Guayaquil. Significant risk factors for presence of dengue included poor housing conditions, access to paved roads, and receipt of remittances. Counterintuitive positive correlations with dengue presence were observed with several municipal services such as garbage collection and access to piped water. Risk factors for increased burden of dengue included poor housing conditions, garbage collection, receipt of remittances, and sharing a property with more than one household. Social factors such as education and household demographics were negatively correlated with increased dengue burden. These findings elucidate underlying differences with dengue presence versus burden, and suggest that vulnerability and risk maps could be developed to inform dengue prevention and control; this is information that is also relevant for emerging epidemics of chikungunya and Zika viruses.
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Dengue/epidemiologia , Surtos de Doenças/estatística & dados numéricos , Cidades , Equador/epidemiologia , Habitação , Humanos , Saúde Pública , Características de Residência , Fatores de Risco , Meio Social , Fatores Socioeconômicos , Análise EspacialRESUMO
Here, we report the findings from the first 2 years (2014-2015) of an arbovirus surveillance study conducted in Machala, Ecuador, a dengue-endemic region. Patients with suspected dengue virus (DENV) infections (index cases, N = 324) were referred from five Ministry of Health clinical sites. A subset of DENV-positive index cases (N = 44) were selected, and individuals from the index household and four neighboring homes within 200 m were recruited (N = 400). Individuals who entered the study, other than the index cases, are referred to as associates. In 2014, 70.9% of index cases and 35.6% of associates had acute or recent DENV infections. In 2015, 28.3% of index cases and 12.8% of associates had acute or recent DENV infections. For every DENV infection captured by passive surveillance, we detected an additional three acute or recent DENV infections in associates. Of associates with acute DENV infections, 68% reported dengue-like symptoms, with the highest prevalence of symptomatic acute infections in children aged less than 10 years. The first chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infections were detected on epidemiological week 12 in 2015; 43.1% of index cases and 3.5% of associates had acute CHIKV infections. No Zika virus infections were detected. Phylogenetic analyses of isolates of DENV from 2014 revealed genetic relatedness and shared ancestry of DENV1, DENV2, and DENV4 genomes from Ecuador with those from Venezuela and Colombia, indicating the presence of viral flow between Ecuador and surrounding countries. Enhanced surveillance studies, such as this, provide high-resolution data on symptomatic and inapparent infections across the population.
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Febre de Chikungunya/epidemiologia , Febre de Chikungunya/virologia , Dengue/epidemiologia , Dengue/virologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Vírus Chikungunya/genética , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Vírus da Dengue/genética , Equador/epidemiologia , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Filogenia , Vigilância da População , Prevalência , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Cholera emergence is strongly linked to local environmental and ecological context. The 1991-2004 pandemic emerged in Perú and spread north into Ecuador's El Oro province, making this a key site for potential re-emergence. Machala, El Oro, is a port city of 250,000 inhabitants, near the Peruvian border. Many livelihoods depend on the estuarine system, from fishing for subsistence and trade, to domestic water use. In 2014, we conducted biweekly sampling for 10 months in five estuarine locations, across a gradient of human use, and ranging from inland to ocean. We measured water-specific environmental variables implicated in cholera growth and persistence: pH, temperature, salinity, and algal concentration, and evaluated samples in five months for pathogenic and non-pathogenic Vibrio cholerae, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We found environmental persistence of pandemic strains O1 and O139, but no evidence for toxigenic strains. Vibrio cholerae presence was coupled to algal and salinity concentration, and sites exhibited considerable seasonal and spatial heterogeneity. This study indicates that environmental conditions in Machala are optimal for cholera re-emergence, with risk peaking during September, and higher risk near urban periphery low-income communities. This highlights a need for surveillance of this coupled cholera-estuarine system to anticipate potential future cholera outbreaks.
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Vibrio cholerae/isolamento & purificação , Microbiologia da Água , Cólera/transmissão , Equador , Estuários , Humanos , Reação em Cadeia da PolimeraseRESUMO
To determine whether guinea pigs are infected with influenza virus in nature, we conducted a serologic study in domestic guinea pigs in Ecuador. Detection of antibodies against influenza A and B raises the question about the role of guinea pigs in the ecology and epidemiology of influenza virus in the region.