To describe and analyze the clinical and epidemiological status in 28 confirmed cases of human le... more To describe and analyze the clinical and epidemiological status in 28 confirmed cases of human leptospirosis at the main public hospital of Cordoba. Between 2012 and 2013, we conducted an active surveillance at the main hospital of Cordoba to establish the etiologic diagnosis of the undifferentiated tropical febrile illness (UTFI) cases. UTFI is defined as a fever without an infection focus in the initial physical examination or in basic laboratory tests. Patients in acute phase were accompanied by prodromal symptoms, including myalgia, arthralgia, headache, asthenia, chills, icterus, dyspnea, abdominal pain, rash, and nausea. Samples were collected on admission and at discharge. Clinical and epidemiological data were collected for each patient. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was performed. The 28 leptospirosis cases presented the following gender distribution: male (n=24) and female (n=4). The duration of hospitalization was 10.39 days. The main symptoms and clinical manifest...
Rickettsia amblyommii has been commonly detected in ticks worldwide and several reports suggest t... more Rickettsia amblyommii has been commonly detected in ticks worldwide and several reports suggest that this bacterium could be a human pathogen. In this study, 356 Amblyomma mixtum adults and 66 Amblyomma sp. nymphs were collected from a Cuban rural community and screened with Rickettsia -specific PCR primers followed by amplicon sequencing. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 73% of tested tick pools. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated the presence of R. amblyommii . In addition, strain identity analysis, using ompA gene, revealed that the Cuban strains were closely related to strains from USA and South America. The detection of this Rickettsia may be of public health concern in the studied area. This is the first report of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in Cuba.
Biomédica : revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud, 2011
Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are considered amplifying hosts of Rickettsia sp. These rod... more Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are considered amplifying hosts of Rickettsia sp. These rodents are usually parasitized by the tick vector, Amblyomma cajennense, the main vector of rickettsioses in humans and animals in South America. Capybaras can be used as sentinels in detection of circulation of rickettsiae. Antibodies to rickettsiae of spotted fever group were detected in capybaras in a rural area of Cordoba Province, northern Colombia. Sera were analyzed from 36 capybaras in a rural area of Monteria (village of San Jeronimo) in Córdoba. For the detection of IgG antibodies, indirect immunofluorescence was performed. The antigens were derived from R. rickettsia strain Taiaçu isolated in Brazil. Capybara sera were diluted 1:64 for IFA analysis. Ticks were collected from each capybara (also known as chigüiro) and identified to species. The seroprevalence of spotted fever group Rickettsia was 22% (8 capybaras). Four sera had a titer of 1:64, 3 had a titer of 1:128 and one ser...
The purpose of this study was to provide molecular evidence of Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected... more The purpose of this study was to provide molecular evidence of Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected from 2 sites of Cordoba. From May to June 2009, 1069 Amblyomma cajennense ticks were removed from 40 capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in a rural locality of Monteria. Furthermore, 458 Amblyomma sp. larvae and 20 Amblyomma sp. nymphs were collected in a rural locality of Los Cordobas (Cordoba) by drag sampling on vegetation (n=1547). Ticks were grouped into pools and tested for rickettsial infection by real-time PCR targeting the rickettsial gene gltA. Subsequently, PCR targeting for gltA, ompA, ompB, and 16S rRNA, sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses were undertaken. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 10 (4.6%) out of 214 pools of ticks by RT-PCR. Five (33%) of free-living Amblyomma sp. larval pools were positive, as well as 5 (2.6%) pools from A. cajennense. Only the gltA gene was amplified from 5 pools of free-living larvae. The nucleotide sequences were 100% identical to R. bellii by BLAST. Only one pool from A. cajennense was positive for gltA, ompA, ompB, and 16S rRNA. The partial nucleotide sequences of these genes were 100% identical to nucleotide sequences of the same genes of a new proposed species Candidatus Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi. This is the first report of R. bellii in ticks in Colombia and the second report of detection of Candidatus Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi. These Rickettsia species are still considered of unknown pathogenicity. Further studies are needed to characterize the ecological and potential pathogenic role of these 2 Rickettsia species found in Cordoba.
To describe and analyze the clinical and epidemiological status in 28 confirmed cases of human le... more To describe and analyze the clinical and epidemiological status in 28 confirmed cases of human leptospirosis at the main public hospital of Cordoba. Between 2012 and 2013, we conducted an active surveillance at the main hospital of Cordoba to establish the etiologic diagnosis of the undifferentiated tropical febrile illness (UTFI) cases. UTFI is defined as a fever without an infection focus in the initial physical examination or in basic laboratory tests. Patients in acute phase were accompanied by prodromal symptoms, including myalgia, arthralgia, headache, asthenia, chills, icterus, dyspnea, abdominal pain, rash, and nausea. Samples were collected on admission and at discharge. Clinical and epidemiological data were collected for each patient. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was performed. The 28 leptospirosis cases presented the following gender distribution: male (n=24) and female (n=4). The duration of hospitalization was 10.39 days. The main symptoms and clinical manifest...
Rickettsia amblyommii has been commonly detected in ticks worldwide and several reports suggest t... more Rickettsia amblyommii has been commonly detected in ticks worldwide and several reports suggest that this bacterium could be a human pathogen. In this study, 356 Amblyomma mixtum adults and 66 Amblyomma sp. nymphs were collected from a Cuban rural community and screened with Rickettsia -specific PCR primers followed by amplicon sequencing. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 73% of tested tick pools. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated the presence of R. amblyommii . In addition, strain identity analysis, using ompA gene, revealed that the Cuban strains were closely related to strains from USA and South America. The detection of this Rickettsia may be of public health concern in the studied area. This is the first report of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in Cuba.
Biomédica : revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud, 2011
Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are considered amplifying hosts of Rickettsia sp. These rod... more Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are considered amplifying hosts of Rickettsia sp. These rodents are usually parasitized by the tick vector, Amblyomma cajennense, the main vector of rickettsioses in humans and animals in South America. Capybaras can be used as sentinels in detection of circulation of rickettsiae. Antibodies to rickettsiae of spotted fever group were detected in capybaras in a rural area of Cordoba Province, northern Colombia. Sera were analyzed from 36 capybaras in a rural area of Monteria (village of San Jeronimo) in Córdoba. For the detection of IgG antibodies, indirect immunofluorescence was performed. The antigens were derived from R. rickettsia strain Taiaçu isolated in Brazil. Capybara sera were diluted 1:64 for IFA analysis. Ticks were collected from each capybara (also known as chigüiro) and identified to species. The seroprevalence of spotted fever group Rickettsia was 22% (8 capybaras). Four sera had a titer of 1:64, 3 had a titer of 1:128 and one ser...
The purpose of this study was to provide molecular evidence of Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected... more The purpose of this study was to provide molecular evidence of Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected from 2 sites of Cordoba. From May to June 2009, 1069 Amblyomma cajennense ticks were removed from 40 capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in a rural locality of Monteria. Furthermore, 458 Amblyomma sp. larvae and 20 Amblyomma sp. nymphs were collected in a rural locality of Los Cordobas (Cordoba) by drag sampling on vegetation (n=1547). Ticks were grouped into pools and tested for rickettsial infection by real-time PCR targeting the rickettsial gene gltA. Subsequently, PCR targeting for gltA, ompA, ompB, and 16S rRNA, sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses were undertaken. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 10 (4.6%) out of 214 pools of ticks by RT-PCR. Five (33%) of free-living Amblyomma sp. larval pools were positive, as well as 5 (2.6%) pools from A. cajennense. Only the gltA gene was amplified from 5 pools of free-living larvae. The nucleotide sequences were 100% identical to R. bellii by BLAST. Only one pool from A. cajennense was positive for gltA, ompA, ompB, and 16S rRNA. The partial nucleotide sequences of these genes were 100% identical to nucleotide sequences of the same genes of a new proposed species Candidatus Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi. This is the first report of R. bellii in ticks in Colombia and the second report of detection of Candidatus Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi. These Rickettsia species are still considered of unknown pathogenicity. Further studies are needed to characterize the ecological and potential pathogenic role of these 2 Rickettsia species found in Cordoba.
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Papers by Jorge Yoel Rodríguez Miranda