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Brucellosis is a prevalent disease in Costa Rica (CR), with an increasing number of human infections. Close to half of homes in CR have one or more dogs, corresponding to ∼1.4 million canines, most of them in the Central Valley within or near the cities of San José, Heredia, and Alajuela. From 302 dog sera collected from this region, 19 were positive for Brucella canis antigens, and five had antibodies against smooth lipopolysaccharide, suggesting infections by both B. canis and other Brucella species. B. canis strains were isolated in the Central Valley from 26 kennel dogs and three pet dogs, all displaying clinical signs of canine brucellosis. We detected three recent introductions of different B. canis strains in kennels: two traced from Mexico and one from Panama. Multiple locus-variable number tandem repeats (MLVA-16) and whole-genome sequencing (WGSA) analyses showed that B. canis CR strains comprise three main lineages. The tree topologies obtained by WGSA and MLVA-16 just partially agreed, indicating that the latter analysis is not suitable for phylogenetic studies. The fatty acid methyl ester analysis resolved five different B. canis groups, showing less resolution power than the MLVA-16 and WGSA. Lactobacillic acid was absent in linages I and II but present in linage III, supporting the recent introductions of B. canis strains from Mexico. B. canis displaying putative functional cyclopropane synthase for the synthesis of lactobacillic acid are phylogenetically intertwined with B. canis with non-functional protein, indicating that mutations have occurred independently in the various lineages., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The authors examined material from the respiratory tract obtained from 55 patients, with silver Methenamine and Giemsa stains to detect Pneumocystis carinii. Twenty five patients were positive. All had fever and fatigue, 80% had dyspnea, 72% had productive cough, and significant weight loss occurred in 48%. None of the patients had signs of pulmonary consolidation. Chest X-Ray showed diffuse infiltrates in 55.2%. Nodular lesions in both lung fields were present in 6.9%. A local infiltrate was seen in 13.6% and no infiltrates were seen in 10.3%. LDH was elevated in all (ranging from 885 4500 UI), 84% of the patients had a PO2 of 70 mmHg or less. Most of the patients, 80%, responded to therapy with Trimethoprim-Sulfa.

The incidence of nosocomial urinary tract infections (UTI) in the medical services of Santo Tomás Hospital from 1980 to 1985 was 56% in Neurology Section, 73% in cardiology and 74% in nephrology. These percentages declined, with epidemiological surveillance, to 21%, 31% and 53% respectively, for the period between 1986 and 1990. In the surgical services the incidence of nosocomial UTI was 85% in urology and 15% in general surgery, from 1980 to 1985. The incidence remained unchanged in urology (81%) and general surgery (17%) despite epidemiological surveillance, but decreased in neurosurgery (from 55% to 37%) for the period between 1986 and 1990. Between 1985 and 1990, Staphyloccocus aureus was the most frequently isolated bacterium from surgical wounds (34%) and from patients with intravenous catheters (23%). Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most frequently isolated bacterium in nosocomial UTI (26%) and respiratory tract infections (45%) and in patients with nosocomial septicemia, it was a species of Klebsiella.

Intradermal application of yeast phase paracoccidioidin antigen obtained by sonication and lysis from the fungus to 111 residents of Veraguas province (68 men and 43 women) and 130 Cocle province residents (57 men and 73 women) elicited a positive reaction in 9.01% (1/111) and 26.15% (34/30) of the Veraguas and Cocle residents respectively. Positive reactions ranged between papules of 5 and 27 mm in diameter, the majority being between 11 and 20 mm. Infection was more frequent in men (1:1.47 for Veraguas and 1:1.28 for Coclé) and in those involved in farming. A prevalence of 21.95% P. brasiliensis infection is demonstrated for the Republic of Panama.