Prevalence of Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) and Salmonella spp. with zoonotic potential in urban rats in Salvador, Brazil

Studies evaluating the occurrence of enteropathogenic bacteria in urban rats (Rattus spp.) are scarce worldwide, specifically in the urban environments of tropical countries. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) and Salmonella spp. with zoonotic potential in urban slum environments. We trapped rats between April and June 2018 in Salvador, Brazil. We collected rectal swabs from Rattus spp., and cultured for E. coli and Salmonella spp., and screened E. coli isolates by polymerase chain reaction to identify pathotypes. E. coli were found in 70% of Rattus norvegicus and were found in four Rattus rattus. DEC were isolated in 31.3% of the 67 brown rats (R. norvegicus). The pathotypes detected more frequently were shiga toxin E. coli in 11.9%, followed by atypical enteropathogenic E. coli in 10.4% and enteroinvasive E. coli in 4.5%. From the five black rats (R. rattus), two presented DEC. Salmonella enterica was found in only one (1.4%) of 67 R. norvegicus. Our findings indicate that both R. norvegicus and R. rattus are host of DEC and, at lower prevalence, S. enterica, highlighting the importance of rodents as potential sources of pathogenic agents for humans.

Longitudinal surveillance for meningitis by Acinetobacter in a large urban setting in Brazil

The study aim was to describe the emergence of carbapenem resistance and clonal complexes (CC), defined by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), in Acinetobacter baumannii in a surveillance system for meningitis. Starting in 1996 in an urban setting of Brazil, surveillance detected meningitis by Acinetobacter sp for the first time in 2002. Up to 2008, 35 isolates were saved. Carbapenem resistance emerged in 2006, reaching 70% of A. baumannii isolates in 2008, including one that was colistin resistant. A. baumannii belonged to CC113/79 (University of Oxford/Institute Pasteur schemes), CC235/162 and CC103/15. Dissemination of infections resistant to all antimicrobial agents may occur in the future.

Clonally related penicillin-nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 14 from cases of meningitis in Salvador, Brazil

Active hospital-based surveillance in the city of Salvador, Brazil, from December 1995 through October 1998, identified 221 patients with confirmed pneumococcal meningitis. Of these 221 patients, 29 (13%) had isolates with intermediate-level resistance to penicillin. Infection with these penicillin-nonsusceptible isolates was significantly associated with age of <2 years (P<.0019), previous antibiotic use (P<.0006), and coresistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (P<.0000). Serotype 14 was the most prevalent serotype (55.2%) of penicillin-nonsusceptible isolates. Strain typing by repetitive element BOX polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that penicillin-nonsusceptible serotype 14 isolates had closely related BOX PCR patterns, whereas penicillin-susceptible serotype 14 isolates each had distinct, unrelated patterns. Penicillin-nonsusceptible serotype 14 isolates from Salvador and other Brazilian cities had similar BOX PCR patterns. These observations indicate that in Brazil a large proportion of cases of penicillin-nonsusceptible pneumococcal meningitis appear to be caused by a closely related group of serotype 14 strains that may have disseminated to widely separate geographic areas.

[Comparative study of the names of subjects in the official curriculum with those used by nursing schools in the southeast of Brazil]

The authors compared the names of the subjects that form the official curriculum to those offered by the schools of nursing in the South East of Brazil. Forty eight schools replied to the questionnaire, a variance in the names and numbers of the subjects offered was found, indicating a difference in the way each school performs the curriculum.