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Introduction: Brazil is a world leader in bariatric surgery. However, the actual number of surgeries performed in the country is still unknown. It is necessary to implement an instrument to monitor the quality of care provided. This study evaluated the implementation of a Bariatric Surgery Data Registry in Brazil. Methodology: the registry was developed with Dendrite Clinical Systems Ltd., with data collected prospectively on an internet-based software. Seven centers were selected based on surgical volume and data entry commitment. The project covered three years after system implementation. Results: 1,363 procedures performed by 17 surgeons were included. Most patients were female (67.2%), with average age of 39 years old and average baseline BMI of 41.5kg/m2. Diabetes mellitus was present in 34.5%, and hypertension in 40.1%. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was performed in 79.3%, 95.5% by laparoscopy. There was one in-hospital death of cardiovascular cause. The average hospital stay was 2.03 days. The surgery-related complication rate was 0.97% in the first month, with three reoperations. Short-term follow-up was recorded in 75.6% and one-year follow-up in 21.64%. Total body weight loss was 10% in 30 days, rising to 33.3% after one year, with no difference between surgical techniques. Conclusions: the population profile was in accordance with the global registry of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders. The main difficulty encountered was low postoperative data entry. The experience acquired in this project will help advance data collection and knowledge of the safety and effectiveness of bariatric surgery in Brazil. RESUMO Introdução: o Brasil é líder mundial em cirurgia bariátrica. No entanto, o número de cirurgias realizadas no país ainda é desconhecido. É necessário um instrumento para monitorar a qualidade da assistência prestada. Este estudo avaliou a implantação de um Registro de Dados de Cirurgia Bariátrica no Brasil. Metodologia: O registro foi desenvolvido com a Dendrite Clinical Systems Ltd., com dados coletados prospectivamente em software na internet. Sete centros foram selecionados, baseado no volume cirúrgico e compromisso de inserção de dados. O projeto abrangeu três anos após implementação. Resultados: foram incluídos 1.363 procedimentos realizados por 17 cirurgiões. A maioria dos pacientes eram mulheres (67,2%), com idade média de 39 anos e IMC basal médio de 41,5kg/m2. Diabetes mellitus estava presente em 34,5% e hipertensão em 40,1%. Bypass gástrico em Y de Roux foi realizado em 79,3%, 95,5% por laparoscopia. Houve um óbito hospitalar de causa cardiovascular. A média de permanência hospitalar foi de 2,03 dias. A taxa de complicações relacionadas à cirurgia foi 0,97% no primeiro mês, com três reoperações. Seguimento de curto prazo foi registrado em 75,6% e de um ano em 21,64%. A perda de peso corporal total foi de 10% em 30 dias, aumentando para 33,3% após um ano, sem diferença entre técnicas cirúrgicas. Conclusões: o perfil populacional está de acordo com o registro global da IFSO. A principal dificuldade encontrada foi a baixa inserção de dados pós-operatórios. A experiência adquirida neste projeto ajudará no conhecimento da segurança e eficácia da cirurgia bariátrica no Brasil.

International audience; During embryonic development, several independent generations of hematopoietic cells were identified. They occur in the yolk sac and the intra-embryonic major arteries, in a narrow window of development. They arise sequentially, starting with primitive erythrocytes in the yolk sac blood islands, progressing to less differentiated erythromyeloid progenitors still in the yolk sac, and culminating with multipotent progenitors, some of which will generate the adult hematopoietic stem cell compartment. All these cells contribute to the formation of a layered hematopoietic system that reflects adaptative strategies to the fetal environment and the embryo's needs. It is mostly composed, at these stages, of erythrocytes and tissue-resident macrophages both of yolk sac origin, the latter persisting throughout life. We propose that subsets of lymphocytes of embryonic origin derive from a different intra-embryonic generation of multipotent cells occurring before the emergence of hematopoietic stem cell progenitors. These multipotent cells have a limited lifespan and generate cells that provide basic protection against pathogens before the adaptive immune system is functional, contribute to tissue development and homeostasis, and shape the establishment of a functional thymus. Understanding the properties of these cells will impact the understanding of childhood leukemia and of adult autoimmune pathology and thymic involution.

Banded Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) was a common bariatric procedure in the 2000s, and the ring slippage is one of its late adverse events. Both plastic and metallic stents have been reported as adjunct methods to induce erosion and facilitate endoscopic removal of the ring. To compare the safety and effectiveness of self-expanding metallic stents (SEMS) and plastic stents (SEPS) to treat ring slippage. We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study analyzing consecutive patients with ring dysfunction treated with stents plus endoscopic removal. Ninety patients were enrolled (36 SEMS vs. 54 SEPS). The mean age was 48.56 ± 13.07 and 45.6 ± 12.1 in the SEMS and SEPS groups, respectively. All patients had band slippage, but 24 from SEMS group and 23 from SEPS group had further complications. There were more complications in metallic stent concerning mean absolute number of therapy-related adverse events (1.33 ± 0.48 vs. 1.72 ± 0.5, p > 0.05) and time until erosion (14.9 ± 1.6 vs. 13.8 ± 1.4 days, p > 0.05). Female sex and age > 41 years old correlated with longer time to band erosion and higher incidence of adverse events in SEMS patients. In SEPS group, only female sex was a risk factor for adverse events. Both procedures were efficient at inducing band erosion with similar safety profiles. Older and female patients are at a higher risk of treatment-related adverse events, especially those receiving SEMS.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is considered to cause an acute self-limited infection in adults, and microcephaly in fetus. Presence of the virus for long periods has been detected in body fluids; however, persistent viremia in serum for more than 1 year has not yet been reported. We have investigated persistence of ZIKV in serum samples of 77 subjects who were infected by the virus between 18 months and 3 years before the start of this study. The subjects included children with microcephaly and their parents. Serum samples were subjected to routine RT-qPCR assay for ZIKV, Chikungunya virus, and Dengue virus. From the 77 subjects, five showed positive for the presence of ZIKV particles by RT-qPCR, including four members of the same family. Viral isolation in Vero cells and C6/36 cells confirmed the result and showed the viral particles were active. We have detected viremia in healthy carriers up to 3 years after symptom onset. Humans acting as potential viral reservoirs have major implication for the current understanding of ZIKV infection.

Summary Background From late 2016 to early 2021, cases of Haff disease, a rare cause of rhabdomyolysis, possibly due to poisoning by palytoxin-like compounds in seafood, were detected in Salvador, Brazil. Surveillance was established to detect additional cases aiming at describing the clinical characteristics of the cases, identifying associated factors, estimating disease attack rate, and investigating the presence of biotoxins and trace metals in selected fish specimens obtained from cases. Method Between December/2016-January/2021, surveillance investigated Haff disease suspected cases, and obtained clinical and fish samples to test. Findings Of 65 cases investigated during the 2016-2017 outbreak, 43 (66%) had high creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels. Among those with laboratory-confirmed rhabdomyolysis, 38 (88%) were hospitalized, 11 (26%) required intensive care, and three (7%) dialysis. Ingestion of marine fish 24h before disease onset was reported by 74% of the cases with elevated CPK and by 41% of those without CPK measurement (P=0·02). Attack rate for individuals who ate fish related to the outbreak was 55%. Following this outbreak, surveillance identified 12 suspected cases between 2017-2019, and a second outbreak in 2020-2021, with 16 laboratory-confirmed rhabdomyolysis patients (five required intensive care; one died). No traces of ciguatoxins and metals were detected in fish specimens obtained in 2016, found to be Seriola rivoliana. Some fish samples from 2020 were screened for palytoxin (PlTX)-like compounds and contained detectable levels of molecule fragments characteristics of isobaric PlTX, ovatoxin-a (OVTX-a), OVTX-b and OVTX-d. Interpretation These findings support the hypothesis that compounds related to PlTX accumulated in marine fish may be the toxic agent causing the disease. Haff disease is a life-threatening condition, requiring clinical suspicion for patients with sudden-onset myalgia following fish ingestion. Suspected cases should be reported to health authorities for investigation.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that has emerged as a global concern because of its impact on human health. ZIKV infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly and other severe brain defects in the developing fetus and there have been reports of the occurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome in areas affected by ZIKV. NK cells are activated during acute viral infections and their activity contributes to a first line of defense because of their ability to rapidly recognize and kill virus-infected cells. To provide insight into NK cell function during ZIKV infection, we have profiled, using mass cytometry, the NK cell receptor-ligand repertoire in a cohort of acute ZIKV-infected female patients. Freshly isolated NK cells from these patients contained distinct, activated, and terminally differentiated, subsets expressing higher levels of CD57, NKG2C, and KIR3DL1 as compared with those from healthy donors. Moreover, KIR3DL1+ NK cells from these patients produced high levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α, in the absence of direct cytotoxicity, in response to in vitro stimulation with autologous, ZIKV-infected, monocyte-derived dendritic cells. In ZIKV-infected patients, overproduction of IFN-γ correlated with STAT-5 activation (r = 0.6643; p = 0.0085) and was mediated following the recognition of MHC class 1–related chain A and chain B molecules expressed by ZIKV-infected monocyte-derived dendritic cells, in synergy with IL-12 production by the latter cells. Together, these findings suggest that NK cells contribute to the generation of an efficacious adaptive anti-ZIKV immune response that could potentially affect the outcome of the disease and/or the development of persistent symptoms.

During embryonic development, multiple waves of hematopoietic progenitors with distinct lineage potential are differentially regulated in time and space. Two different waves of thymic progenitors colonize the fetal thymus where they contribute to thymic organogenesis and homeostasis. The origin, the lineage differentiation potential of the first wave, and their relative contribution in shaping the thymus architecture, remained, however, unclear. Here, we show that the first wave of thymic progenitors comprises a unique population of bipotent T and innatel lymphoid cells (T/ILC), generating a lymphoid tissue inducer cells (LTi's), in addition to invariant Vγ5+ T cells. Transcriptional analysis revealed that innate lymphoid gene signatures and, more precisely, the LTi-associated transcripts were expressed in the first, but not in the second, wave of thymic progenitors. Depletion of early thymic progenitors in a temporally controlled manner showed that the progeny of the first wave is indispensable for the differentiation of autoimmune regulator–expressing medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs). We further show that these progenitors are of strict hematopoietic stem cell origin, despite the overlap between lymphopoiesis initiation and the transient expression of lymphoid-associated transcripts in yolk sac (YS) erythromyeloid-restricted precursors. Our work highlights the relevance of the developmental timing on the emergence of different lymphoid subsets, required for the establishment of a functionally diverse immune system.

A large amount of Brazilian electricity consumption is building related, and mainly consumed by air-conditioning systems due to the warm tropical weather; therefore, geothermal energy piles integrated with heat pump seem to be an interesting alternative for the building cooling demand in this country. Tropical residual soils in unsaturated condition cover a significant part of the Brazilian territory, and due to the alternation of dry and rainy periods the groundwater level and the gravimetric water content of the soils vary seasonally. Considering that the efficiency of energy piles as heat exchangers is highly dependent on soil thermal properties, which in turn rely on the soil saturation, to evaluate the seasonal effects on the thermal response of energy piles in a typical site of Brazilian unsaturated tropical soil, an extensive program of field tests and monitoring supplemented by laboratory work was carried out during a period of four years, and is reported in this paper. The results demonstrate that the thermal response of the energy pile investigated is variable throughout the year. The thermal conductivity of the soil surrounding the pile determined at the end of the rainy season can be reduced approximately 32% at the end of the dry season. This finding indicates that the seasonal variation of soil thermal properties should be considered in the design of GSHP systems with energy piles in similar soil and climate conditions.

SUMMARYMultiple waves of hematopoietic progenitors with distinct lineage potentials are differentially regulated in time and space. We show that the first thymic seeding progenitors comprise a unique population of bipotent cells that generate lymphoid tissue inducer and invariant Vγ5+ T cells. Both populations are of embryonic origin and induce the maturation of medullary thymic epithelial cells. Indeed, temporal depletion of the first wave of thymocytes results in a five-fold reduction of mature medullary thymic epithelial cells, after birth. We further show that these progenitors are of hematopoietic stem cell, and not, of yolk sac origin, despite the temporal overlap between the onset of lymphopoiesis and the transient expression of lymphoid transcripts in yolk sac precursors, that does not impact their strict erythro-myeloid potential. Our work highlights the relevance of the developmental timing on the emergence of different lymphoid subsets required for the establishment of a functionally diverse immune system.

to present a descriptive analysis of the results of a care bundle applied to obese patients submitted to bariatric surgery, regarding infection control.a care bundle was designed to control surgical site infection (SSI) rates in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The bundle included smoking cessation, bathing with 4% chlorhexidine two hours before surgery, cefazolin (2g bolus) in anesthetic induction associated with a continuous infusion of the same drug at a dose of 1g over a two-hour period, appropriate trichotomy, glycemic control, supplemental oxygen, normothermia, intraspinal morphine for the relief of pain, and sterile dressing removal 48 hours after surgery. All patients were followed up for 30 days.among the 1,596 included patients, 334 (20.9%) underwent open surgery and 1,262 (79.1%) underwent videolaparoscopic surgery. SSI rates were 0.5% in the group submitted to laparoscopic surgery and 3% in the one submitted to open surgery. The overall incidence of SSI was 1%. Intra-abdominal, respiratory tract, and urinary tract infections occurred in 0.9%, 1.1%, and 1.5% of the sample, respectively. Higher body mass index was associated with higher incidence of SSI (p=0.001). Among patients with diabetes, 2.2% developed SSI, while the rate of infection among non-diabetics was only 0.6%.the established care bundle, structured by core evidence-based strategies, associated with secondary measures, was able to maintain low SSI rates after bariatric surgery.apresentar uma análise descritiva dos resultados de um pacote de cuidados aplicado em pacientes obesos submetidos à cirurgia bariátrica, no que diz respeito ao controle de infecção.um pacote de cuidados foi estruturado, visando a conter as taxas de infecção de sítio cirúrgico (ISC) em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia bariátrica. O pacote incluiu interrupção de tabagismo, banho com clorexidina 4% duas horas antes da cirurgia, cefazolina 2g em bolus na indução anestésica associada à administração da mesma droga com dose de 1g em infusão contínua, tricotomia apropriada, controle glicêmico, oxigênio suplementar, normotermia, controle da dor com morfina intrarraquidiana e remoção do curativo estéril 48 horas após a cirurgia. Todos os pacientes foram seguidos por 30 dias.entre os 1.596 pacientes incluídos, 334 (20,9%) foram submetidos à cirurgia aberta e 1.262 (79,1%) à cirurgia videolaparoscópica. As taxas de ISC foram de 0,5% no grupo submetido à cirurgia laparoscópica e de 3% nos submetidos à cirurgia aberta. A incidência geral de ISC foi de 1%. Infecções intra-abdominal, do trato respiratório e do trato urinário ocorreram em 0,9%, 1,1% e 1,5% da amostra, respectivamente. Faixas mais elevadas de índice de massa corporal foram associadas a maiores incidências de ISC (p=0,001). Entre os pacientes com diabetes, 2,2% desenvolveram ISC, enquanto a taxa de infecção entre os não diabéticos foi de apenas 0,6%.o pacote de cuidados instituído, estruturado por estratégias centrais baseadas em evidências, associadas à medidas secundárias, foi capaz de manter baixas taxas de ISC após cirurgia bariátrica.

International audience; During development innate lymphoid cells and specialized lymphocyte subsets colonize peripheral tissues, where they contribute to organogenesis and later constitute the first line of protection while maintaining tissue homeostasis. A few of these subsets are produced only during embryonic development and remain in the tissues throughout life. They are generated through a unique developmental program initiated in lympho-myeloid-primed progenitors, which lose myeloid and B cell potential. They either differentiate into innate lymphoid cells or migrate to the thymus to give rise to embryonic T cell receptor-invariant T cells. At later developmental stages, adaptive T lymphocytes are derived from lympho-myeloid progenitors that colonize the thymus, while lymphoid progenitors become specialized in the production of B cells. This sequence of events highlights the requirement for stratification in the establishment of immune functions that determine efficient seeding of peripheral tissues by a limited number of cells.

Congenital Zika virus syndrome (CZS) is associated with damage to neural progenitor cells by ZIKA virus infection. There are no accurate statistics on the percentage of pregnant mothers who have had babies affected by the syndrome. Few cases of discordant twins have been described in the literature and, therefore, we hypothesize that the genetic background of the progeny and/or mother may play a role in the fate of the syndrome. We performed a complete exome sequencing in a set of dizygotic individuals and their parents. After that, we selected discordant variants on the MTOR gene between the affected and unaffected twin and we observed a mutation (rs2295079), placed in a region restricted to proximal 5′-UTR, as a strong possible causal variant. In addition, in most brain tissues (including fetal brain) evaluated for expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), this locus is strongly correlated with post-translational modifications of histones (promoter and enhancer marks) and hypersensitivity to DNAse I (open chromatin mark). Taken together, our data suggest that changes in the MTOR gene may be related to CZS. Additional functional studies should be carried out to prove how and why a MTOR mutation can predispose the fetus to the syndrome., Zika Virus; mTOR; Whole-exome sequencing; Twins; polymorphisms

University of California San Francisco. San Francisco, California, USA. University of Oxford. Oxford, UK. Federal University of Bahia. Salvador, BA, Brasil. University of California San Francisco. San Francisco, California, USA. University of Washington. Seattle, Washington, USA. Hospital Alian?a. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Federal University of Bahia. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Funda??o Gon?alo Moniz. Centro de Pesquisas Gon?alo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil. Minist?rio da Sa?de. Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil. University of Oxford. Oxford, UK. University of California San Francisco. San Francisco, California, USA. Sequencing of isolates from patients in Bahia, Brazil, where most Zika virus cases in Brazil have been reported, resulted in 11 whole and partial Zika virus genomes. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a well-supported Bahia-specific Zika virus lineage, which indicates sustained Zika virus circulation in Salvador, Bahia's capital city, since mid-2014 .

Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of samples from 15 patients with documented Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in Bahia, Brazil, from April 2015 to January 2016 identified coinfections with chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in 2 of 15 ZIKV-positive cases by PCR (13.3%). While generally nonspecific, the clinical presentation corresponding to these two CHIKV/ZIKV coinfections reflected infection by the virus present at a higher titer. Aside from CHIKV and ZIKV, coinfections of other viral pathogens were not detected. The mNGS approach is promising for differential diagnosis of acute febrile illness and identification of coinfections, although targeted arbovirus screening may be sufficient in the current ZIKV outbreak setting.

The role of naturally occurring CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 + regulatory T cells (nTreg) in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria (CM), which involves both pathogenic T cell responses and parasite sequestration in the brain, is still unclear. To assess the contribution and dynamics of nTreg during the neuropathogenesis, we unbalanced the ratio between nTreg and naive CD4 + T cells in an attenuated model of Plasmodium berghei ANKA-induced experimental CM (ECM) by using a selective cell enrichment strategy. We found that nTreg adoptive transfer accelerated the onset and increased the severity of CM in syngeneic C57BL/6 (B6) P. berghei ANKA-infected mice without affecting the level of parasitemia. In contrast, naive CD4 + T cell enrichment prevented CM and promoted parasite clearance. Furthermore, early during the infection nTreg expanded in the spleen but did not efficiently migrate to the site of neuroinflammation, suggesting that nTreg exert their pathogenic action early in the spleen by suppressing the protective naive CD4 + T cell response to P. berghei ANKA infection in vivo in both CM-susceptible (B6) and CM-resistant (B6-CD4 −/− ) mice. However, their sole transfer was not sufficient to restore CM susceptibility in two CM-resistant congenic strains tested. Altogether, these results demonstrate that nTreg are activated and functional during P. berghei ANKA infection and that they contribute to the pathogenesis of CM. They further suggest that nTreg may represent an early target for the modulation of the immune response to malaria.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has never been detected in human breast milk. This is a brief report of CHIKV infection in a breastfeeding woman of a 3-month-old baby. The mother's CHIKV-RT PCR was positive in serum, urine and milk. The baby's CHIKV serology and reverse transcription polimerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were negative. The detection of CHIKV in milk raises clinical and epidemiologic questions.

to compare the improvements in lipid profile in patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).in a mixed cohort study, we evaluated 334 patients undergoing SG and 178 patients undergoing RYGB at the University Hospital of the Federal University of Pernambuco and at the Real Hospital Português de Beneficência, Recife, PE, Brazil. We measured serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides preoperatively and at three, six, 12 and 24 months follow-up.the SG group consisted of 58 men and 276 women. In the group submitted to RYGB, there were 64 men and 114 women. The mean age was 37.2±20.5 years in the SG group and 41.9±11.1 years in the RYGB group. The preoperative mean BMI was 39.4±2.6kg/m2 and 42.7±5.8kg/m2 for the SG and RYGB groups, respectively. In the preoperative period, 80% of the patients had at least one abnormality in the lipid profile. Two years after surgery, there was improvement in total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides in the group submitted to RYGB. In the group submitted to SG, after two years there was improvement in total cholesterol, HDL and triglyceride levels.both techniques resulted in improvements in the lipid profile, but the RYGB was more effective.comparar as melhorias no perfil lipídico de pacientes submetidos à gastrectomia vertical (GV) e à derivação gástrica em Y de Roux (DGYR).estudo de coorte misto, em que foram avaliados 334 pacientes submetidos à GV e 178 pacientes submetidos à DGYR no Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco e no Real Hospital Português de Beneficência, Recife, PE, Brasil. Foram realizadas dosagens séricas de colesterol total, LDL, HDL e triglicerídeos no pré-operatório e com três, seis, 12 e 24 meses de seguimento.o grupo submetido à GV foi composto por 58 homens e 276 mulheres. No grupo submetido à DGYR, foram analisados 64 homens e 114 mulheres. A média de idade foi de 37,2±20,5 anos no grupo da GV e de 41,9±11,1 anos no grupo da DGYR. O IMC médio pré-operatório foi de 39,4±2,6kg/m2 e 42,7±5,8kg/m2, para o grupo da GV e da DGYR, respectivamente. No pré-operatório, 80% dos pacientes tinha, no mínimo, uma anormalidade no perfil lipídico. Dois anos após a cirurgia houve melhora do colesterol total, LDL, HDL e triglicerídeos no grupo submetido à DGYR. No grupo submetido à GV, após dois anos houve melhora dos níveis de colesterol total, HDL e triglicerídeos, apenas.ambas as técnicas resultaram em melhorias no perfil lipídico, porém a DGYR foi mais efetiva.

Purpose To report the first case of Chikungunya encephalitis acquired in the perinatal period during the current outbreak in Brazil Methods Case report. Results A male neonate with 3500 g developed macular erythematous rash, hypoactivity and fever progressing to generalized seizures. His mother had experienced a disseminated rash and fever before delivery. EEG showed diffuse slowing and cranial NMR was suggestive of encephalitis. Rt-PCR for Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was positive in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, urine and saliva. The newborn was discharged home with neurological improvement. Conclusion We report the first case of a perinatal CHIKV infection associated with a rapidly evolving encephalitis and an extensive dissemination of the virus as documented by positive rt-PCR results in CSF, blood, urine and saliva in the present outbreak in Brazil. In countries experiencing outbreaks of CHIKV infections, clinicians and neonatologists must be familiar with the possibility of the occurrence of neurologic complications and its possible consequences.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an RNA virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The clinical manifestations include fever, arthralgia, rash, and other atypical clinical findings including ocular lesions. We report the case of a 57-year-old man with meningoencephalitis and anterior uveitis due to CHIKV. The patient had developed bilateral anterior uveitis with iris atrophy and a cotton wool spot on the left eye, and his serum, urine, saliva, and cerebrospinal fluid were positive for CHIKV by RT-PCR. The spectrum of the ophthalmologic manifestations and its pathophysiology in cases of CHIKV infections needs to be better understood. Additional studies examining the ocular lesions caused by CHIKV could improve the therapeutic goals of reducing the morbidity and sequels.

We describe a series of 15 Haff disease cases from an outbreak in Salvador, Brazil, starting early December 2016. Eleven cases were grouped in four family clusters of two to four individuals, four were isolated cases. All but one patient consumed cooked fish; 11 within 24h before symptoms onset. Cases consumed ‘Olho de Boi’ (Seriola spp.) and ’Badejo’ (Mycteroperca spp.). A total of 67 cases were detected, the last case was reported on 5 April 2017.

Extrathymically induced Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells contribute to the pool of Treg cells and are implicated in the maintenance of immune tolerance at environmental interfaces. The impact of T-cell senescence on their generation and function is, however, poorly characterized. We report here that steady-state induction of Foxp3 is impaired in aged T cells in vivo. In vitro assays further revealed that this defective generation of Treg cells was independent from the strength of TCR stimulation and arose before T-cell proliferation. Importantly, they also revealed that this impairment of Foxp3 induction is unrelated to known age-related T-cell defects, such as IL-2 secretion impairment, accumulation of activated T-cell populations, or narrowing of the T-cell repertoire. Finally, a loss of extrathymic induction of Foxp3 and tolerance to minor-mismatched skin graft were observed in aged mice treated by nondepleting anti-CD4 antibody. The T-cell intrinsic impairment of Treg-cell generation revealed here highlights age as a key factor to be considered in immune tolerance induction.

Absract We report the presence of Chikungunya (CHIKV) RNA in the blood, urine and semen during the acute phase of the disease in an adult with a dual infection with Dengue virus type 3. The patient, a 25 yr-old man from Salvador, Brazil, reported a 6-day duration of high fever, arthralgia, myalgia, headache and photophobia.Blood and semen specimens were positive for CHIKV in the first collected samples; semen and urine specimens were positive for CHIKV after 30 days of symptoms onset. DENV-3 RNA was positive in blood specimen when first collected 6 days after the initiation of symptoms.We describe for the first time the presence of CHIKV RNA in urine and semen for an extended period of time and we address the possible implications of these findings for diagnosis and transmission dynamics.

Since isolation of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Uganda from Zika forest in the 1947, for sixty years the virus has caused only scattered human cases in Africa and Southeast Asia. From 2007, outbreaks with an increasing number of cases, including cases with neurological manifestations, have been occurring in Pacific islands. In 2015, ZIKV reached Brazil with an explosive number of cases and a severe neurological impact on fetuses and newborns. The natural history and several immunological aspects of ZIKV infection need to be characterized. In this review it is summarized the spread of ZIKV around the world and pointed out some gaps on the immunological knowledge related to the infection. The characterization of the immunodominant/protective immune response would contribute to vaccine and diagnosis tests development.

Metagenomic next-generation sequencing coupled with capture probe enrichment was used to recover 11 whole and partial Zika virus (ZIKV) genomes from patients in Bahia, Brazil from April 2015 to January 2016, where the majority of suspected Brazilian ZIKV cases have been reported. Phylogenetic reconstructions and molecular clock analyses using the newly generated data uncovered the existence of a Bahia-specific ZIKV lineage sharing a common ancestor in mid-2014, indicating sustained circulation of this strain in Bahia since that date.