scholarly journals High incidence of Trypanosoma cruzi infections in dogs directly detected through longitudinal tracking at 10 multi-dog kennels, Texas, USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0009935
Author(s):  
Rachel E. Busselman ◽  
Alyssa C. Meyers ◽  
Italo B. Zecca ◽  
Lisa D. Auckland ◽  
Andres H. Castro ◽  
...  

Canine Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is increasingly recognized as a health concern for dogs in the USA, and infected dogs may signal geographic regions of risk for human disease. Dogs living in multi-dog kennel environments (kennels with more than one dog) where triatomine vectors are endemic may be at high risk for infection. We monitored a cohort of 64 T. cruzi-infected and uninfected dogs across 10 kennels in Texas, USA, to characterize changes in infection status over one year. We used robust diagnostic criteria in which reactivity on multiple independent platforms was required to be considered positive. Among the 30 dogs enrolled as serologically- and/or PCR-positive, all but one dog showed sustained positive T. cruzi diagnostic results over time. Among the 34 dogs enrolled as serologically- and PCR-negative, 10 new T. cruzi infections were recorded over a 12-month period. The resulting incidence rate for dogs initially enrolled as T. cruzi-negative was 30.7 T. cruzi infections per 100 dogs per year. This study highlights the risk of T. cruzi infection to dogs in kennel environments. To protect both dog and human health, there is an urgent need to develop more integrated vector control methods as well as prophylactic and curative antiparasitic treatment options for T. cruzi infection in dogs.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel E Busselman ◽  
Alyssa C Meyers ◽  
Italo B Zecca ◽  
Lisa D Auckland ◽  
Andres H Castro ◽  
...  

Canine Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is increasingly recognized as a health concern for dogs in the USA, and infected dogs may signal geographic regions of risk for human disease. Dogs living in multi-dog kennel environments where triatomine vectors are endemic may be at high risk for infection. We monitored a cohort of 64 T. cruzi -infected and uninfected dogs from across 10 kennels in Texas, USA, to characterize changes in infection status over time. We used robust diagnostic criteria in which reactivity on multiple independent platforms was required to be considered positive. Among the 30 dogs enrolled as serologically- and/or PCR-positive, all but one dog showed sustained positive T. cruzi diagnostic results over time. Among the 34 dogs enrolled as serologically- and PCR-negative, 10 new T. cruzi infections were recorded over a 12-month period. The resulting incidence rate was 30.7 T. cruzi infections per 100 dogs per year. This study highlights the risk of T . cruzi infection to dogs in kennel environments, despite multiple vector control methods employed by kennel owners. To protect both dog and human health, there is an urgent need to develop more integrated vector control methods as well as prophylactic and curative antiparasitic treatment options for T. cruzi infection in dogs.


Author(s):  
Magdalena Zalacain ◽  
Clarisse Lozano ◽  
Agustina Llanos ◽  
Nicolas Sprynski ◽  
Thomas Valmont ◽  
...  

The global dissemination of metallo-ß-lactamase (MBL)-producing carbapenem resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) is a serious public health concern. Specifically, NDM (New Delhi MBL) has been a major cause of carbapenem therapy failures in recent years, particularly as effective treatments for serine-ß-lactamase (SBL)-producing Enterobacterales are now commercially available. Since the NDM gene is carried on promiscuous plasmids encoding multiple additional resistance determinants, a large proportion of NDM-CREs are also resistant to many commonly used antibiotics, resulting in limited and sub-optimal treatment options. ANT2681 is a specific, competitive inhibitor of MBLs with potent activity against NDM enzymes, progressing to clinical development in combination with meropenem (MEM). Susceptibility studies have been performed with MEM-ANT2681 against 1,687 MBL-positive Enterobacterales, including 1,108 NDM-CRE. Addition of ANT2681 at 8 μg/ml reduced MEM MIC50/MIC90 from >32/>32 μg/ml to 0.25/8 μg/ml. Moreover, the combination of 8 μg/ml of both MEM and ANT2681 inhibited 74.9% of the VIM-positive and 85.7% of the IMP-positive Enterobacterales tested. The antibacterial activity of MEM-ANT2681 against NDM-CRE compared very favourably to that of cefiderocol (FDC) and cefepime (FEP)-taniborbactam, which displayed MIC90 values of 8 μg/ml and 32 μg/ml, respectively, whereas aztreonam-avibactam (ATM-AVI) had an MIC90 of 0.5 μg/ml. Particularly striking was the activity of MEM-ANT2681 against NDM-positive E. coli (MIC90 1 μg/ml), in contrast to ATM-AVI (MIC90 4 μg/ml), FDC (MIC90 >32 μg/ml) and FEP-taniborbactam (MIC90 >32 μg/ml) which were less effective due to the high incidence of resistant PBP3-insertion mutants. MEM-ANT2681 offers a potential new therapeutic option to treat serious infections caused by NDM-CRE.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina V. Poncini ◽  
Alejandro F. Benatar ◽  
Karina A. Gomez ◽  
Gabriel A. Rabinovich

Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan parasite causative agent of Chagas disease, affects about seven million people worldwide, representing a major global public health concern with relevant socioeconomic consequences, particularly in developing countries. In this review, we discuss the multiple roles of galectins, a family of β-galactoside-binding proteins, in modulating both T. cruzi infection and immunoregulation. Specifically, we focus on galectin-driven circuits that link parasite invasion and inflammation and reprogram innate and adaptive immune responses. Understanding the dynamics of galectins and their β-galactoside-specific ligands during the pathogenesis of T. cruzi infection and elucidating their roles in immunoregulation, inflammation, and tissue damage offer new rational opportunities for treating this devastating neglected disease.


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Venkata Vijaya K. Dalai ◽  
Jason E. Childress ◽  
Paul E Schulz

Dementia is a major public health concern that afflicts an estimated 24.3 million people worldwide. Great strides are being made in order to better diagnose, prevent, and treat these disorders. Dementia is associated with multiple complications, some of which can be life-threatening, such as dysphagia. There is great variability between dementias in terms of when dysphagia and other swallowing disorders occur. In order to prepare the reader for the other articles in this publication discussing swallowing issues in depth, the authors of this article will provide a brief overview of the prevalence, risk factors, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, current treatment options, and implications for eating for the common forms of neurodegenerative dementias.


2020 ◽  
pp. 20-25
Author(s):  
Denise Sackett ◽  
Tala Dajani ◽  
David Shoup ◽  
Uzoma Ikonne

The benefits of breastfeeding are well established. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that mothers breastfeed infants for at least one year, but most children are not breastfed that long because of many factors. Breastfeeding mothers face many challenges to continued breastfeeding, including medical conditions that arise during this period, such as postpartum depression and lactational mastitis. Because of a perceived lack of consistent guidance on medication safety, it can be difficult for the family physician to treat these conditions while encouraging mothers to continue breastfeeding. The purpose of the current review is to summarize and clarify treatment options for the osteopathic family physician treating lactating mothers. We specifically focus on the pharmacological management of contraception, postpartum depression, and lactational mastitis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Xinyu Chi ◽  
Kexin Fang ◽  
Liza Koster ◽  
Jevan Christie ◽  
Chaoqun Yao

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a cosmopolitan protozoan parasite that infects all warm-blooded species including humans. The definitive hosts of T. gondii are felid vertebrates including the domestic cat. Domestic cats shed oocysts for approximately two weeks in their feces after the primary infection. It has been shown that feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) positive cats have a higher prevalence of and a higher titer of antibodies to T. gondii than those of FIV-negative cats. The main purposes of this study were to determine FIV prevalence and to investigate the oocysts shedding in FIV-positive and FIV-negative feral cats on St. Kitts. Fecal samples were collected from feral cats while their FIV statues were determined using a commercial SNAP kit. Total fecal DNA of each cat was tested for the presence of T. gondii DNA using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) consistently detecting one genome equivalent. A FIV-positive status was detected in 18 of 105 (17.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 9.9%−24.3%) feral cats sampled. Furthermore, males were three times more likely to be FIV positive than females (p = 0.017) with an odds ratio of 3.93 (95% CI: 1.20–12.89). Adults were found to have at least twice the prevalence of FIV compared to cats younger than one year of age (p = 0.056) with an odds ratio of 3.07 (95% CI: 0.94–10.00). Toxoplasma gondii DNA was not detected in the feces of any of the 18 FIV-positive (95% CI: 0%−0.18%) and 87 FIV-negative cats (95% CI: 0%−0.04%). A follow-up study with a much bigger sample size is needed to prove or disprove the hypothesis that FIV-positive cats have a higher prevalence of shedding T. gondii oocysts than FIV-negative cats.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 985-985
Author(s):  
RIF S. EL-MALLAKH

To the Editor.— Mitochondrial failure, manifest by changes in mitochondrial enzyme activity1-3 and morphology,4-5 is central to Reye's syndrome (RS).6 Although it has been variously hypothesized that the mitochondrial changes are secondary to an exogenous toxin,7-12 or an intrinsic mitochondrial defect,6 the actual cause remains obscure. Electron microscopic studies have shown sweelling and loss of cristate in mitochondria of patients with RS. It is interesting that very similar changes occur in Trypanosoma cruzi.13-16 T cruzi is an extracellular/intracellular protozoan parasite which causes Chagas' disease.17


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Salari ◽  
Hedyieh Karbasforooshan ◽  
Hesamoddin Hosseinjani

Background: The initial reports of a contagious novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome – Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) were proclaimed by Wuhan, Hubei province, China. This pathogen quickly became a health concern due to the World Health Organization's (WHO) alarm of its pandemic essence. Hence, there is an urgent need for efficacious and curative therapy against COVID-19. Objective: Theoretically, repurposing anti-viral drugs, specifically HIV treatments, could help the urgent need for treating COVID-19 due to the structural similarities of their critical enzyme substrates. Integrase inhibitors are a category of anti-HIV drugs that inhibit integrase strand transfer. In this review, we investigate the binding affinity and stability of raltegravir, dolutegravir, bictegravir, and elvitegravir in interactions with crucial enzymes of coronavirus. Methods: A literature search was conducted using scientific databases such as Web of Science, Medline (PubMed), Scopus, Google Scholar, and Embase from commencement to September 2020. The most relevant articles regarding the potential effects of integrase inhibitors against COVID-19 were gathered. Ultimately, ten original articles related to the searched terms were selected for this narrative review. Results: Apparently, in addition to the recent drugs prescribed to cure SARS-CoV-2, integrase inhibitors are promising drugs for repurposing in COVID-19 treatment. Several studies on raltegravir, dolutegravir, bictegravir and elvitegravir were conducted using virtual screening to guess either they are effective or not. Encouraging results were mostly reported for raltegravir and dolutegravir. Nevertheless, bictegravir and elvitegravir need more investigations. Conclusion: Further experimental and clinical studies of antiviral drugs are necessary to introduce appropriate treatment options for COVID-19.


2004 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia B Petray ◽  
María J Morilla ◽  
Ricardo S Corral ◽  
Eder L Romero

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document