Areas In Brazilian Amazon Research Articles

Epidemiology and Control of Rabies in Cattle and Equines in Rondônia State, a Brazilian's Legal Amazon Area.

Rabies is a fatal neglected tropical zoonosis, and its significance for domestic herbivores in the rural cycle is probably associated with rainforest deforestation, livestock, and agricultural expansion. This epidemiological survey aimed to study the occurrence of rabies in bovines and equines in the state of Rondônia, located in the Brazilian's Legal Amazon, between the years 2002 and 2021, correlating these findings with the prophylactic strategies adopted by the local sanitary agency for rabies control. During this period, 201 cases were observed in bovines and 23 in equines. A downward trend in rabies incidence was observed for both domestic herbivores. Rabies did not show a higher occurrence in any specific time of the year, and epidemic periods varied during some years for bovines and equines. Using the Generalized estimating equations (GEE) method, a multiple model approach was obtained with the explanatory variables significantly associated with the decrease in rabies incidence in cattle and horses during the study period: the ratio of treated bats and ratio of vaccine doses sold. Furthermore, the ratio of printed educative material was positively associated with rabies incidence. Despite a decreasing trend in rabies occurrences in this Amazon rainforest area, likely due to the actions taken by the animal sanitary agency, rabies remains endemic and requires monitoring, as well as prophylactic strategies to control this disease.

Transformers for mapping burned areas in Brazilian Pantanal and Amazon with PlanetScope imagery

Transformers for mapping burned areas in Brazilian Pantanal and Amazon with PlanetScope imagery

Essential fatty acids in farmed tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) from the Brazilian Amazon Area

The goal of this study was to determine the essential fatty acids of the total lipids of the fillet, head and orbital cavity tissue from farmed tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) fish from a Brazilian Amazon area. The tambaqui were acquired from different fish farms in the Roraima state, located at Western Brazilian Amazon. The meat, the head and the fatty tissue from orbital cavity were dissected for lipid extraction and analysis of fatty acids by gas chromatography. The fatty acids were quantified in mg g-1 of total lipids using C23:0 as an internal standard. The nutritional quality of the lipids was determined by using the atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices, and also by the ratio between hypocholesterolemic / hypercholesterolemic fatty acids. The orbital cavity tissue had the higher concentration amount of linoleic and α-linolenic acid, whereas the fillet had higher docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentration was: 1.28, 0.97, 1.71 mg g-1 of total lipids, in the filet, in head, and in orbital cavity tissue, respectively. All essential fatty acids were detected in the three parts analyzed. The nutritional quality of the total lipids from the head and from the orbital cavity tissue was similar to the fillet.

A COMPARISON OF CLOUD REMOVAL METHODS FOR DEFORESTATION MONITORING IN AMAZON RAINFOREST

Abstract. Deforestation in tropical rainforests is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, an important driver of climate change. For decades, the Brazilian government has maintained monitoring programs for deforestation detection in the Brazilian Legal Amazon area based on remotely sensed optical images in a protocol that involves considerable efforts of visual interpretation. However, the Amazon region is covered with clouds for most of the year, and deforestation assessment can rely only on images acquired in the dry season when cloud-free images are more likely to capture. One possibility to lessen that restriction and enable deforestation detection throughout the year is to synthesize cloud-free optical images from corresponding SAR images, which are only marginally influenced by atmospheric conditions. This work compares a set of such image synthesis methods, considering deforestation detection in the Amazon forest as the target application. Specifically, we evaluate three deep learning methods for cloud removal in Sentinel-2 images: a conditional Generative Adversarial Network (cGAN) based on the pix2pix architecture; an extension of that method, which uses atrous convolutions (Atrous cGAN) to enhance fine image details; and a non-generative method (DSen2-CR) based on residual networks. In the evaluation, we assess both the quality of the generated images and the accuracy obtained when performing deforestation detection from those images. We further compare those methods with an image aggregation tool available in Google Earth Engine (GEE Tool), which creates cloud-free mosaics from sequences of images acquired at nearby dates. In this study, we considered two sites in the Brazilian Amazon, characterized by distinct vegetation and deforestation patterns. In terms of the quality metrics and classification accuracy, the Atrous cGAN was the best performing deep learning method. The GEE Tool outperformed all those methods when dealing with images from the dry season but turned out to be the poorest performing method in the wet season.

Helminth parasites of Hoplias malabaricus (Bloch, 1794) in areas of Brazilian Amazon with different degree of deforestation

Os parasitas são considerados elementos integrantes dos ecossistemas aquáticos e fornecem informações sobre a influência da degradação ambiental na riqueza e distribuição de espécies. Relatar a distribuição das espécies de Helmintos de Hoplias malabaricus em regiões da Amazônia com diferentes graus de desmatamento. O estudo foi realizado por meio de bancos de dados online sobre a fauna parasitária de H. malabaricus em Estados da Amazônia Legal e dados de amostragem da fauna parasitária de peixes no Acre e sul do Amazonas. A helmintofauna de H. malabaricus foi analisada e identificada em laboratório. Índices parasitários e análises estatísticas avaliaram a influência do desmatamento na riqueza e composição de espécies parasitárias. Um total de 42 espécies de parasitas de H. malabaricus foram distribuídos em seis estados da Amazônia legal. Nos níveis local (Municípios) e regional (Estados), o tamanho das áreas desmatadas influenciou negativamente a riqueza de espécies parasitárias, quanto maior a taxa de desmatamento nos ambientes, menor a riqueza de espécies parasitárias. Em conclusão, H. malabaricus apresentou uma fauna parasitária rica e bem distribuída por toda a Amazônia. Além disso, os efeitos do desmatamento em algumas regiões foram mais pronunciados em táxons de parasitas heteroxenos do que em monoxenos.

Entomological survey of phlebotominae sand flies (diptera: psychodidae) and vector species in the tegumentary leishmaniasis endemic area in eastern brazilian Amazon, Amapá state

Abstract: American tegumentary leishmaniasis is an endemic that has increased considerably in recent decades in the Amazon region, sand flies are the vectors of the transmission of the protozoan that causes leishmaniasis, so the objective of this study was to carry out a survey of the diversity of species and the presence of Leishmania DNA in vectors circulating in three endemic counties for tegumentary leishmaniasis in the eastern Brazilian Amazon (Amapá state, Brazil). Using CDC light traps, a total of 10,773 specimens were collected between February 2019 and February 2020, representing 64 species in 15 genera. The vector specie Nyssomyia umbratilis Ward and Frahia, 1977 was the predominant species (13.20% of the total), being collected in all three counties, followed by Trichopygomyia trichopyga Floch & Abonnenc, 1945 (11.41%), Trichophoromyia ubiquitalis Mangabeira,1942 (9.47%) and Nyssomyia anduzei Rozeboom, 1942 (7.61%). For the identification of Leishmania DNA, 775 pools of unengorged females were used, of which 5 tested positive, 2 of Nyssomya umbratilis Ward & Fraiha,1977, 1 of Nyssomyia anduzei and 2 of Psychodopygus davisi Root,1934, demonstrating a natural total infection rate of 0.64%. This study increases the knowledge of vector diversity, as well as identifying Leishmania spp. in circulation in the eastern region of the Amazon.

Disparities in Excess Mortality Between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Brazilians in 2020: Measuring the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aimed to estimate the number of excess deaths among Indigenous Peoples associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and to assess the disparities in excess mortality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Brazilians. A time series analysis of weekly mortality data including all deaths from January 2015 to December 2020 was conducted. The number of expected deaths for 2020 was estimated using an over-dispersed Poisson model that accounts for demographic changes, temporal trends, and seasonal effects in mortality. Weekly excess deaths were calculated as the difference between the number of observed deaths and the expected deaths. Regional differences in Indigenous mortality were investigated. A significant increase in Indigenous mortality was observed from April 1 to December 31, 2020. An estimated 1149 (95% CI 1018–1281) excess deaths was found among Indigenous Brazilians in 2020, representing a 34.8% increase from the expected deaths for this population. The overall increase in non-Indigenous mortality was 18.1%. The Indigenous population living in the Brazilian Amazon area was the earliest-affected Indigenous group, with one of the highest proportional increases in mortality. Disparities in excess mortality revealed a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 among Indigenous Brazilians compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Findings highlight the importance of implementing an effective emergency plan that addresses the increased vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples to COVID-19.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40615-021-01162-w.

Do spatial and temporal scales affect the efficiency of surrogates in ant monitoring on the hydroelectric power-plant area in Brazilian Amazon?

In the last decade, we have experienced a huge loss of biodiversity on the planet. One of the possible ways to overcome this loss is to focus on places of human interest, monitoring the changes and the impacts on biodiversity. In general, impact assessments of hydroelectric power-plants on terrestrial invertebrates have been conducted after installation of the dam. Monitoring biodiversity is expensive, and shortcuts are often used to access this information. Therefore the use of the higher-taxon approach seems appropriate for this purpose. We investigated the effectiveness of ant genus-level at predicting ant species-level responses overtime in two grains of the spatial scale (site and plot) in the area of influence of a hydroelectric power-plant in the Amazon basin. We used a database from six sites, sampled over seven years in 14 ant collection events. The samplings were standardized, with five collection points along with 250 m plots. We tested whether the variation in the spatio-temporal scales affected the predictive power of genus-level for the metrics of richness and composition. We investigated if there is a difference in the predictive response of genera as surrogates for the species when using different spatial scales (site and plot) and also if the effectiveness of the prediction of genera changes over time. Also, we evaluated the effects of the species: genus ratio on the prediction of genera as a surrogate for species richness and composition.We recorded a high positive correlation between the richness of genera and species. Also, detected high congruence among the composition of genera and species, and no species:genus ratio effect in the evaluated spatio-temporal scales. Thus, the robustness of genus data to predict the species-level does not change over time at both spatial scales under the influence area of ​​a hydroelectric power-plant in the Amazon basin. It reinforces the use of the higher-taxon approach, which can be a useful and efficient tool in biodiversity studies or long-term monitoring.

Diet overlap of three sympatric species of Leptodactylus Fitzinger (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in a Protected area in the Brazilian Amazon

Closely related species are often similar in morphological and ecological characters, which maylead them to compete when occurring in sympatry. In this sense, we analyzed trophic nicheoverlap among three Leptodactylus species, Leptodactylus macrosternum, L. fuscus and L. aff.podicipinus, in a floodplain environment from a Protected area in the Brazilian Amazon. Inaddition, we applied Network and Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis. Wefound 18 prey categories, most of them belonging to Arthropoda (94.4%). Coleoptera, Isoptera,Diptera and Hymenoptera were the most abundant prey on the diet shared among the threespecies. The rarefaction curve of prey richness did not reach an asymptote, indicating that thediet composition may be higher by increase the sample. The species presented a broad nichebreadth, however, no relationship between jaw width and prey size were found in the studiedspecies. Despite the line-up in NMDS with Bray Curtis Index indicated that the species’ diets aresimilar with few different attributes, with some food items overlapping among species (Stress=0.00201), the niche overlap between the pair of species was not high (Ojk < 0.7). Therefore, webelieve interactions such as competition would be better demonstrated addressing data on preyavailability and microhabitat use patterns.

Economic Analysis of Production Systems of Small Farmers that Adopt “Bacurizeiro” Management in Pará State, Brazilian Amazon

Platonia insignis Mart., known as “bacurizeiro”, is a medium to large tree species whose fruit (called “bacuri”), wood and energy are used for many purposes. Its origin center is in the Eastern Amazon. This paper carries out an economic analysis of the production systems management performed by small producers that manage bacurizeiro in natural occurrence areas in Brazilian Amazon, highlighting aspects of their importance for the social reproduction strategy of small farmers. The management is understood as an improving process of the simple extractivism of collect, seeking to increase the land and labor productivity, increasing the density or creating more favorable conditions for bacurizeiro. In order to perform the field survey, an intentional sampling was chosen, considering only the small farmers who had bacurizeiro in their establishments and who commercialized their products to limited degree. A total of 77 questionnaires were applied among the 7 assessed municipalities, which 57 were in the Northeastern Para Mesoregion and 20 in Marajó, conducted from November 2016 to March 2017. A typology of production systems was carried out, where four types were found: bacurizeiro and small farming, bacurizeiro and fruit orchard, bacurizeiro and fishing and bacurizeiro and social security. It was found that the production systems with the highest degree of species diversification possess the highest potential of income generation besides the highest agricultural income and the highest small farmers income. Those are the production systems belonging to bacurizeiro and fruit orchard (T2). Bacurizeiro significantly contributes to all types of production systems found, representing a minimum average participation in agricultural income of 19.99% (bacurizeiro and fishing). The sale of fruits and pulp of represents an essential social reproduction strategy to small producers in Northeastern of Pará and in Marajó.

Signs and strategies to deal with food insecurity and consumption of ultra-processed foods among Amazonian mothers

ABSTRACT Although food insecurity configures a public health issue in developing countries going through nutrition transition, there is still lack of evidence on how it is affected by social determinants and its relationship with ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption. Using qualitative methods, we investigated the experience of food (in)security among mothers living in the Brazilian Amazon area, identifying aspects of food insecurity promoting UPF consumption. In-depth interviews were performed with 40 women and inductive content analysis was used. Signs of food insecurity included difficulties in food affordability and irregular access to food. Strategies to deal with lack of food quantity took place during food production (growing foods and raising animals), acquisition (gaining food, shopping incentives and food substitutions) and preparation (creativity in cooking). Not being able to afford staple foods was the main aspect of food insecurity promoting UPF consumption, as fresh foods were substituted by UFP options. Our study contributes to the current literature by presenting explanatory insights about the inconclusive quantitative results on the relationship between food insecurity and UPF consumption. Additionally, it supports the need of policies and interventions focused on promoting sustainable food systems and the regional food culture, which may approach food insecurity through an intersectional perspective.

Extensive genetic diversity of Plasmodium vivax dbp-II in Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest and Brazilian Amazon Basin: evidence of positive selection

BackgroundPlasmodium vivax is the most widespread human malaria parasite outside Africa and is the predominant parasite in the Americas. Increasing reports of P. vivax disease severity, together with the emergence of drug-resistant strains, underscore the urgency of the development of vaccines against P. vivax. Polymorphisms on DBP-II-gene could act as an immune evasion mechanism and, consequently, limited the vaccine efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the pvdbp-II genetic diversity in two Brazilian regions with different epidemiological patterns: the unstable transmission area in the Atlantic Forest (AF) of Rio de Janeiro and; the fixed malaria-endemic area in Brazilian Amazon (BA).Methods216 Brazilian P. vivax infected blood samples, diagnosed by microscopic examination and PCR, were investigated. The region flanking pvdbp-II was amplified by PCR and sequenced. Genetic polymorphisms of pvdbp-II were estimated based on the number of segregating sites and nucleotide and haplotype diversities; the degree of differentiation between-regions was evaluated applying Wright’s statistics. Natural selection was calculated using the rate of nonsynonymous per synonymous substitutions with the Z-test, and the evolutionary distance was estimated based on the reconstructed tree.Results79 samples from AF and 137 from BA were successfully sequenced. The analyses showed 28 polymorphic sites distributed in 21 codons, with only 5% of the samples Salvador 1 type. The highest rates of polymorphic sites were found in B- and T cell epitopes. Unexpectedly, the nucleotide diversity in pvdbp-II was higher in AF (0.01) than in BA (0.008). Among the 28 SNPs detected, 18 are shared between P. vivax isolates from AF and BA regions, but 8 SNPs were exclusively detected in AF—I322S, K371N, E385Q, E385T, K386T, K411N, I419L and I419R—and 2 (N375D and I419M) arose exclusively in BA. These findings could suggest the potential of these geographical clusters as population-specific-signatures that may be useful to track the origin of infections. The sample size should be increased in order to confirm this possibility.ConclusionsThe results highlight that the pvdbp-II polymorphisms are positively selected by host’s immune pressure. The characterization of pvdbp-II polymorphisms might be useful for designing effective DBP-II-based vaccines.

Análise dos programas ambientais de saúde no licenciamento ambiental de hidrelétricas na Amazônia legal brasileira

Objetivo: Analisar de forma crítica no âmbito dos processos de licenciamentos ambientais em hidrelétricas no Brasil, referentes aos programas ambientais de saúde direcionados para as populações afetadas nos reservatórios hidrelétricos de Belo Monte, Estreito e Santo Antônio, localizados na Amazônia Legal brasileira. Métodos: Pesquisa documental descritiva qualitativa em 3 áreas na Amazônia Legal brasileira, duas na região norte; UHE Belo Monte, localizada no rio Xingu e UHE Santo Antônio, no rio Madeira e uma área na região nordeste do Brasil, UHE Estreito, no rio Tocantins. Público estimado em 772.061. Instrumento de pesquisa elaborado pelo método Delphi. Resultados: Das 3 áreas de estudo, 107 programas ambientais, apresentaram se descritos no estudo de impacto ambiental (EIA), dentre os quais (10) programas e projetos referentes a saúde da população afetada. A estruturação e sistematização, apresentam incipiência no padrão técnico científico, referente a temática do estudo e ressaltam apenas uma doença como potencial de risco, a Malária. Conclusão: Evidencia-se a necessidade de um balanço crítico do modelo que vem sendo usado para a construção dos programas ambientais de saúde. Medidas técnicas, científicas e epidemiológicas efetivas devem ser introduzidas, além das considerações ambientais no processo decisório do licenciamento ambiental.

Two new species of the tribe Sipaneeae (Rubiaceae) from white-sand areas of Brazilian and Colombian Amazon

As a result of the ongoing taxonomic revision of the tribe Sipaneeae, a new species of Dendrosipanea and Sipaneopsis from the Brazilian and Colombian Amazon are here described and illustrated; both taxa are endemic to the Brazilian white-sand areas locally called campinas and campinaranas. Their conservation status is assessed, and all specimens examined are cited. A key to the three recognized species of Dendrosipanea is included.

Challenges of Participatory Community Monitoring of Biodiversity in Protected Areas in Brazilian Amazon

Participatory community monitoring programs (PCM) have become an important methodological innovation for the management of biodiversity conservation in protected areas. Based on the participation of the local communities, they are presented as less costly programs than conventional ones. However, in practical terms, such programs pose serious implementation challenges. In this article, we identify the achievements, obstacles, and perspectives of four PCM implemented in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Based on bibliographical and documentary research, direct observations and in-person interviews with program managers and specialists, we qualitatively evaluated these programs with respect to participation, data production and retrieval, and financing. We found that the performances of these programs were not yet adequate to their protected areas management priorities and that they had not yet generated perceptible benefits enough to enhance community trust and full appropriation of the programs’ outcomes by resource users and by conservation unit management teams.

Factors associated with timely treatment of malaria in the Brazilian Amazon: a 10-year population-based study

ABSTRACTObjective.To identify factors associated with timely treatment of malaria in the Brazilian Amazon. Malaria, despite being treatable, has proven difficult to control and continues to be an important public health problem globally. Brazil accounted for almost half of the 427 000 new malaria cases notified in the Americas in 2013.Methods.This was a cross-sectional study using secondary data on all notified malaria cases for the period from 2004 – 2013. Timely treatment was considered to be all treatment started within 24 hours of symptoms onset. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent factors associated with timely treatment.Results.The proportion of cases starting treatment on a timely basis was 41.1%, tending to increase in more recent years (OR = 1.40; 95%CI: 1.37 – 1.42 in 2013). Furthermore, people starting within < 24 hours were more likely to: reside in the states of Rondônia (OR = 1.50; 95%CI: 1.49 – 1.51) or Acre (OR = 1.53; 95%CI: 1.55 – 1.57); be 0 – 5 years of age (OR = 1.39; 95%CI: 1.34 – 1.44) or 6 – 14 years of age (OR = 1.34; 95%CI: 1.32 – 1.36); be indigenous (OR = 1.41; 95%CI: 1.37 – 1.45); have a low level of schooling (OR = 1.20; 95%CI: 1.19 – 1.22); and be diagnosed by active detection (OR = 1.39; 95%CI: 1.38 – 1.39).Conclusion.In the Brazilian Amazon area, individuals were more likely to have timely treatment of malaria if they were young, residing in Acre or Rondônia states, have little schooling, and be identified through active detection. Identifying groups vulnerable to late treatment is important for preventing severe cases and malaria deaths.

Plasmodium vivax infection: atypical memory B cells are expanded and associated with the persistence of Duffy binding protein II (DBPII) antibody response

Antibody responses generated during malaria infection represent an important component of acquired clinical immunity. Despite that, B cell subpopulations induced by the Plasmodium vivax (Pv) infection remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that activated as well as “atypical” memory B cells (MBCs) are expanded in peripheral blood of Pv-exposed individuals, but their frequencies were not associated with acute infection. Aiming to investigate the association between peripheral B cells subsets and Pv-specific antibodies, we further followed-up 34 individuals exposed to P. vivax in the Brazilian Amazon area, an area of markedly unstable malaria transmission; after three cross-sectional survey (at 6-months intervals), ELISA-detected specific IgG (AMA-1, MSP1-19, DBPII) allowed the classification of those individuals as non-responder (NR), temporary (TR) or persistent responder (PR). For AMA-1 and MSP1-19 serological groups, the frequencies of MBCs (classical and atypical) and plasma cells (PCs) were similar among the groups. For DBPII group, we found a trend toward decreases classical MBCs according to the antibody response (NR>TR>PR). On the other hand, the frequencies of atypical MBCs increased according to the presence and persistence of DBPII antibody response (PR>TR>NR). Altogether, these results showed that atypical MBCs are expanded in Pv-exposed individuals (infected and non-infected), and it seems to be associated with the persistence of DBPII antibody response. Although preliminary, these results suggest that atypical MBCs contribute in generation of malarial antibody responses and provide insight into the role of atypical MBCs in P. vivax malaria immunity.

DOENÇA DE JORGE LOBO: RELATO DE CASO E REVISÃO DE LITERATURA

Introduction and objectives: Jorge Lobo’s disease is a rare chronic disease caused by the fungus Lacazia loboi, characterized by keloid lesions on the skin. The objective is to perform a review of the literature and report the first case of Jorge Lobo’s disease treated at the University Hospital Cassiano Antônio Moraes (HUCAM). Materials and methods: The study data were obtained retrospectively from the analysis and systematic review of the medical records of a patient with Jorge Lobo’s diseaseidentified in HUCAM. Case Report: A male patient aged 37 years was referred to HUCAM in April 2010 presenting with keloid lesions and a previous diagnosis of lobomycosis by histopathology examination. On December 2011 a partial removal of the lesions with grafting was performed. Three months later, there was recurrence of lobomycosis on the grafted tissue. In June 2012 drug treatment with clofazimine associated with fluconazole was started. The lack of satisfactory clinical responseafter two months meant that the disease was considered beyond cure. Discussion and literature review: lobomycosis is an endemic disease in the brazilian Amazon and other humid tropical areas of Central and South America, and its transmission occurs by inoculation of the fungus through breaks in the skin. Diagnosis is made by clinical examination and histopathologiy or cytology The choice of therapy varies with the extent of lesions. However, none of the therapies described in the literature is fully effective. Conclusion: In this case, the two main therapeutic approaches failed, andthe disease was considered incurable.

Antiophidic activity of the extract of the Amazon plant Humirianthera ampla and constituents

Ethnopharmacological relevanceAlthough serotherapy against snakebite has been discovered more than one hundred years ago, antivenom is not available all over Brazil. The use of plants from folk medicine is common mainly in the Brazilian Amazon area. One of these plants is named Humirianthera ampla (HA). Materials and MethodsWe have investigated HA extract and constituents’ antiophidic activity in different experimental protocols against some Bothrops snake venoms (Bothrops jararacussu, Bothrops atrox and Bothrops jararaca). The protocols investigated include phospholipase, proteolytic, pro-coagulant, hemorrhagic, edematogenic and myotoxic activities induced by these venoms in Swiss mice. ResultsAll the venoms caused an increase in the rate of creatine kinase (CK) release from isolated muscles, indicating damage to the sarcolemma. The crude extract of HA decreased the myotoxic activity in a concentration-dependent fashion. The presence of HA 300μg/mL decreased up to 96% of Bothrops jararacussu and 94% of Bothrops atrox myotoxicity after 90min of exposure. In vivo myotoxicity of Bothrops atrox venom was decreased in 75% when the venom was preincubated with HA 500mg/kg. Similar results were observed with lupeol against Bothrops jararacussu and Bothrops atrox venoms. The hemorrhagic activity was evaluated by intradermal injection of Bothrops atrox venom. Preincubation and oral pre- and posttreatment with HA decreased hemorrhage by 100%, 45% and 45%, respectively. Bothrops atrox venom also induced formation of edema, which was significantly inhibited by pre- and posttreatment with HA. All the venoms showed extensive pro-coagulating properties, and these activities were inhibited by up to 90% with HA, which presented concentration-dependent inhibition. Finally, proteolytic and phospholipase activities of the venoms were all inhibited by increasing concentrations of HA, lupeol and sitosterol. The inhibition of these activities might help explain the actions against in vivo myotoxicity and the in vivo effects observed, i.e., edema, myotoxicity, pro-coagulation and hemorrhage. ConclusionsAltogether, our results give support for the popular use of HA extracts in cases of accidents with snakes, suggesting that it can be used as an adjunct in the management of venomous snakebites.

Effect of artesunate-mefloquine fixed-dose combination in malaria transmission in amazon basin communities

BackgroundStudies in South-East Asia have suggested that early diagnosis and treatment with artesunate (AS) and mefloquine (MQ) combination therapy may reduce the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and the progression of MQ resistance.MethodsThe effectiveness of a fixed-dose combination of AS and MQ (ASMQ) in reducing malaria transmission was tested in isolated communities of the Juruá valley in the Amazon region.Priority municipalities within the Brazilian Legal Amazon area were selected according to pre-specified criteria. Routine national malaria control programmatic procedures were followed. Existing health structures were reinforced and health care workers were trained to treat with ASMQ all confirmed falciparum malaria cases that match inclusion criteria. A local pharmacovigilance structure was implemented. Incidence of malaria and hospitalizations were recorded two years before, during, and after the fixed-dose ASMQ intervention. In total, between July 2006 and December 2008, 23,845 patients received ASMQ. Two statistical modelling approaches were applied to monthly time series of P. falciparum malaria incidence rates, P. falciparum/Plasmodium vivax infection ratio, and malaria hospital admissions rates. All the time series ranged from January 2004 to December 2008, whilst the intervention period span from July 2006 to December 2008.ResultsThe ASMQ intervention had a highly significant impact on the mean level of each time series, adjusted for trend and season, of 0.34 (95%CI 0.20 – 0.58) for the P. falciparum malaria incidence rates, 0.67 (95%CI 0.50 – 0.89) for the P. falciparum/P. vivax infection ratio, and 0.53 (95%CI 0.41 – 0.69) for the hospital admission rates. There was also a significant change in the seasonal (or monthly) pattern of the time series before and after intervention, with the elimination of the malaria seasonal peak in the rainy months of the years following the introduction of ASMQ. No serious adverse events relating to the use of fixed-dose ASMQ were reported.ConclusionsIn the remote region of the Juruá valley, the early detection of malaria by health care workers and treatment with fixed-dose ASMQ was feasible and efficacious, and significantly reduced the incidence and morbidity of P. falciparum malaria.