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This is the first reported case of Bertiella mucronata infection in a black-and-gold howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) in Brazil. The present study confirms the widespread of B. mucronata in South America and suggest that black-and-gold howler monkeys may serve as viable reservoirs for B. mucronata., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study reports the occurrence of metacercariae of Austrodiplostomum compactum in Pimelodus platicirris from a Neotropical reservoir in the Grande River, SP, Brazil. A total of 164 fish were collected, of which 12.80% were infected with metacercariae in the eyes. The mean intensity of infection and mean abundance were 1.52±0.14 (1‒3) and 0.23±0.05 (0‒3), respectively. The presence of this parasite with a high intensity of infection can cause exophthalmos, retinal displacement, opacity of the lens, blindness or even death. This is the first record of ocular metacercariae for P. platicirris, thus increasing the number of hosts for A. compactum.

Onychomychosis, a nail fungus infection is the most frequent nail ailment, constituting about half of all nail disorders. It can be caused by dermatophytes, non-dermatophytes, yeasts and Prothoteca spp. Methods include 5407 samples of patients with suspected onychomycosis, studied from January 2002 to December 2006, by direct mycological examination and fungi culture. The diagnosis of onychomycosis was confirmed in samples from 3822 direct mycological and/or culture positive. The diagnosis was established by culture for fungi. Among the 1.428 identified agents, the dermatophytes were responsible for 68.6% (N = 980) of cases, followed by yeasts with 27.6% (N = 394), non-dermatophytes fungi with 2.2% (N = 31), Prothoteca spp with 0.1% (N = 2), and associations with 1.5% (N = 22). Females were more affected, with 66% (N = 2527) of cases, and the most affected age group ranged from 31 to 60 years of age (median 47 years). Fungal microbiota is often changed in the world, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and is affected by several environmental factors. Thus, the periodic review of the composition of this microbiota is important to evaluate the epidemiology and thus proportion a better therapeutic response.