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We describe an outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the Burruyacú Department, Province of Tucumán. The detection in 2016 of a case of hantavirosis affecting a 23-year-old woman, considered at that time to be the first case occurred in that province, promoted a thorough epidemiological study. The investigation allowed the retrospective detection of another case occurred one month earlier in a 5-year-old child in the same Department. In both cases, the infection was confirmed by serology (case 1 at days 4 and 7 of disease onset, case 2 at day 4) and the viral genotype was characterized as HU39694. The contacts of both cases were serologically negative for hantavirus. The rodents captured in the area belonged to genus Akodon, genus Calomys and species Mus musculus. Oligoryzomys, the known reservoir for this viral genotype, was not found. Specific anti-hantavirus antibodies were not detected in the captured rodents. Given that the patients had not visited hantavirus endemic areas and their contacts were negative for hantavirus, we infer that the patients were locally exposed to fluids of infected rodents during their usual social or recreational outdoor activities. In conclusion, we demonstrate that hantavirus HU39694 -a genotype until now considered to be restricted to the Central Pampas of the country- is circulating in the North Western province of Tucumán. The endemic area of hantavirosis is thus expanded to this province but the viral reservoir in the area has not yet been identified.

We present a case of spotted fever occurred in an adult residing in Ensenada, Buenos Aires province in February 2016. The patient presented with an acute febrile syndrome associated with a skin necrotic lesion on the left leg secondary to a tick bite. The general symptoms were a maculopapular rash, headache, myalgia, and arthralgias. Seroconversion of anti-Rickettsia specific IgG antibodies confirmed recent infection. The nucleotidic and aminoacidic sequences of a gltA gen fragment matched 100% the sequences of R. parkeri strains from Argentina and other countries of America. The patient responded well to treatment with doxycycline.

The present work studied the effect of cold on oxygen consumption (OC) and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase activity (alpha-GPD) in heart mitochondria of hypothyroid rats (hypo) treated with T3, T4 or T4 plus Iopanoic Acid (IOP). 200 g male Wistar rats were made hypothyroid by 131I administration. Animals were injected s.c., in divided doses, for 10 days, with one of the following substances: T3, 300 ng/100 g BW/day; T4, 2 micrograms/100 g BW/day or T4 plus IOP, 5 mg/100 g BW/day, for 72 h preceding the experiment. One half of each group was housed in a cold room at 4 degrees C and the other at 22 degrees C, for 25 h, and thereafter decapitated. Heart mitochondria were isolated by routine methods. The OC was measured polarographically using L-malate, L-glutamate and malonate as substrates. Intramitochondrial alpha-GPD activity was measured by a microcolorimetric assay. The results from 16 or 20 rats/group (4 or 5 pools of 4 hearts each) were: In the rats kept at 22 degrees C the OC (in ng at. oxyg./min/mg prot.; State 3) in the hypo+T4 group was 69 +/- 10; in the rats treated with T4+IOP, 75 +/- 11 and in the hypo+T3, 102 +/- 5. When the animals were exposed to 4 degrees C no change was observed in the hypo+T4 and hypo+T4IOP groups. On the other hand, OC was significantly lower in the T3-treated animals (p less than 0.001, versus their controls at 22 degrees C). This group of rats did not survive when exposed to cold.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)