Search

To determine the prevalence rates and serovar distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis cervical infections in Cuban women, two different groups were selected. Group I consisted of 60 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) seropositive women from different regions of Cuba and group II of 60 randomly selected women HIV seronegative and apparently healthy. C. trachomatis was detected in cervical scrapes by mean of nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specific for major out membrane protein. The overall prevalence rate of C. trachomatis in cervical scrapes determined by nested PCR was 10% in group I and the estimated prevalence was 6.6% for group II; 83.3% of HIV seropositive women with C. trachomatis infection reported history of pelvic inflammatory disease followed by cervicitis (50%). The control group C. trachomatis-infected women referred a history of cervicitis in 75% of cases. Other reports in the latter group included infertility and pelvic inflamatory disease in 50%. The present study is the first report of C. trachomatis prevalence in Cuba. It showed that there was not significantly difference in the prevalence rate of C. trachomatis between both groups.

A surveillance system to detect West Nile virus (WNV) was established in Cuba in 2002. WNV infection was confirmed by serologic assays in 4 asymptomatic horses and 3 humans with [...]

To the Editor: During 2005-2008, the Cuban National Influenza Center (NIC) at the Pedro Kouri Institute in Havana, Cuba, implemented a protocol for influenza surveillance proposed by the Pan American [...]

Copyright of Biomédica: Revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud is the property of Instituto Nacional de Salud of Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In order to characterize Haemophilus influenzae isolates responsible for invasive disease (ID) in Cuba during the post-vaccination period, we studied the total isolates recovered from 2008 to 2011 and submitted to the Institute «Pedro Kouri» from different provinces. Specie confirmation and serotype determination were performed by considering the factors V and X requirements and using the agglutination plate method, respectively. Biotypes were defined by testing indol, urea and ornithine. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was assessed by ellipsometer test for ampicillin, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol and rifampicin. Twenty three isolates were identified as H. influenzae; of them, 21 were serotyped and two non-typable (HNT). Near ninety percent of the serotyped isolates were classified as serotype b and only 2 as serotype a. Nine isolates of H. influenzae b belonged to biotype I while serotype a and HNT isolates corresponded to biotype II. In one strain it was demonstrated production of Β -lactamase enzyme as well as resistance to ampicillin (MIC=8 µg/mL) and chloramphenicol (MIC=12 µg/mL). It was evident that despite the decline in the incidence of Hib ID, this serotype is still the most common in Cuba, and highlights the need for ongoing monitoring to detect vaccine failures. The antimicrobial susceptibility observed during this period might be considered as an additional benefit of vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic relationships and the antibiotic resistance determinants were studied for a total of 55 Enterococcus faecalis isolates recovered from children in a pediatric hospital in Cuba between January 2001 and December 2004. These isolates were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and presence of some resistance genes to aminoglycosides, macrolides and tetracycline were examined by polymerase chain reaction. A total of 17 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns were identified among 54 different patterns of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Particular multi-resistant E. faecalis clones were detected in different wards from the pediatric hospital. The aac(6')-aph(2")} and aph(3') genes was detected in all the isolates with high-level resistance to gentamicin and amikacin, respectively, whereas the ant(6) gene was detected in the 75% of isolates showing high-level resistance to streptomycin. The erm(B) gene was found in 72% of the erythromycin-resistant strains, and tet(M) was detected in all tetracycline resistant strains. The circulation of particular clones exhibiting antibiotic resistance in the pediatric hospital and the dissemination of drug-resistance genes among these strains indicated the need for the monitoring of antibiotic susceptibility to prevent the selection or dispersion of resistant strains in this hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Antituberculosis-drug resistance surveillance is very important to identify multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates., Objective: To determine the prevalence of resistance in M. tuberculosis strains isolated between 2010 and 2011, and to demonstrate the laboratory performance in the external quality control of drug susceptibility testing., Materials and Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was carried out to determine antituberculosis-drug resistance in 657 M. tuberculosis isolates obtained throughout the country. The nitrate reductase assay was used to detect resistance to isoniazid and rifampin. The proportion method was performed to confirm resistance to these drugs and to further investigate in multidrug-resistant isolates their susceptibility to streptomycin, ethambutol, ofloxacin, kanamycin and capreomycin. Additionally, as part of external quality control, susceptibility was evaluated in two M. tuberculosis strain panels., Results: In 95.69% of the isolates recovered from new tuberculosis cases, and in 72.64 % of isolates from previously treated patients we found susceptibility to isoniazid and rifampicin; multidrug resistance was 1,03 and 10.38%, respectively. We found two extensively resistant isolates. Except for ethambutol and capreomycin, the efficiency of all other drugs was 100% in the external quality control., Conclusion: The study confirmed the low prevalence of M. tuberculosis multidrug-resistant isolates in Cuba. This result was confirmed by the external quality control of drug susceptibility testing.

Objective: To identify infection-causing Enterococcus species in Cuban hospitals and determine their susceptibility to antimicrobial drugs, as well as their resistance mechanisms., Methods: A total of 687 Enterococcus isolates from 30 Cuban hospitals in nine provinces of the country were studied over the period 2000-2009. The species were identified using both the conventional method and the automatic API(®) system. The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined for 13 antimicrobial drugs following the standards recommended by the Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute. The polymerase chain reaction technique was used to characterize the genes that were resistant to aminoglycosides, erythromycin, tetracycline, and glucopeptides. The presence of beta-lactamase was determined by the chromogenic cephalosporin test., Results: The most prevalent species were Enterococcus faecalis (82.9%) and E. faecium (12.2%). Resistance to glucopeptides (1.0%) was mediated by the vanA and vanB genes. The strains resistant to ampicillin (6%) did not produce beta-lactamases. A high percentage of resistance to aminoglycosides was observed. Gentamicin (31.0%) and streptomycin and amikacin (29.1%) were mediated by the aac(6')Ie-aph(2")Ia, aph(3')-IIIa, ant(6)Ia, and ant(3")(9) genes. A correlation was found between resistance to tetracycline (56.0%) and presence of the tet(M) (75.1%) and tet(L) genes (7.0%), while resistance to erythromycin (34.1%) was due to the erm(B) gene (70.9%)., Conclusions: Resistance to vancomycin is infrequent in Cuba, as opposed to a high level of resistance to aminoglycosides, which may be indicative of treatment failures. The microbiology laboratory is a cornerstone of Enterococcus infection surveillance, along with ongoing monitoring of the susceptibility of these infections to antimicrobial drugs at a time when resistance of this microorganism is on the rise.

Objective: Determine the prevalence of resistance to antitubercular drugs in Cuba in the 2000-2009 decade., Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted. The sample group consisted of 2,285 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates obtained from throughout the country in the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2009. The proportion method was used in Löwenstein-Jensen media with the first-line drugs: isoniazid, streptomycin, ethambutol, and rifampicin., Results: In the new cases and patients with a history of previous treatment, resistance was 8.5% and 37.0%, respectively. In these case categories, multidrug resistance was 0.4% and 8.8%, respectively., Conclusions: This study shows low prevalence of multidrug-resistant strains in Cuba. The results reflect the progress made by the national control program, which is currently working on the elimination of tuberculosis as a public health problem in the country.

The study of 422 non-01 Vibrio cholerae strains from nine provinces, 9 of them isolated from a water-borne disease outbreak, was performed. All the strains exhibited antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence factors. The nine strains from the outbreak were subjected to a DNA macrorestriction study based on the pulsed field electrophoresis technique. For the first time in Cuba and the Caribbean. The circulation of atypical non-01 V cholerae strains (resistent to vibriostatic compound 0129 and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole). The behavior of antimicrobial susceptibility evinced for the first time the circulation of two different resistence patterns in Cuba (ampicilline, trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole, sulfonamide and tetracycline, trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole, sulfonamide). The frequency of trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole-resistent strains was similar during the whole period of study. However, resistance to ampicilline decreased whereas resistance to tetracycline increased. The main found virulence factors were gelatinase, hemolysine, elastase and adherence to Hep-2 cells. On the other hand, the outbreak strains showed higher percentages than the others due to the presence of heat-liable toxin and fimbriae. The results of the molecular and epidemiological studies allowed giving a speedy and accurate response that explained the etiology of the first food-borne disease outbreak.

Forty strains of Escherichia coli isolated from children under 5 years of age with acute diarreas, coming from different provinces of the country , were analyzed. Four important phenotypical determinants were tested: sorbosa, sorbitol, enterohemolysin and 0157:H7 serology, in order to select those strains from enterohemorrhagic or Shiga toxin-producing category. Likewise, they were characterized by biotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility methods. The use of phenotypical tests showed six strains with presumptive characteristics, four of which were most likely to be Shiga toxin-producing strains. In antimicrobial susceptibility test, the strains showed high resistance mainly to ampicillin and trimethrophin-sulfamethoxasole. Another interesting finding were intermediate resistance and susceptibility values to augmentin, aztreonan and ceftriaxone. There were 12 antimicrobial resistance patterns of which 10 were multi-resistant.

The seroconversion of 408 vaccinated individuals and 135 placebo included in 2 clinical trials of the Cuban vaccine against human leptospirosis was studied. 2 vaccine doses and 5 schemes were studied. Of 38 vaccinated subjects (Phase I), 11 (29 %) seroconverted by MAT and 12 (32 %) by ELISA, whereas in 33 placebo, seroconversion was observed in 2 (6 %) and 3 (9 %), respectively. In Phase II, of 68 vaccinated individuals (doses of 0.25 mL) and of 65 (doses of 0.50 mL), seroconversion was attained in 21 (31 %) and 16 (25 %) by ELISA, respectively, 9 by MAT (13 %) and 7 (11 %) were positive. There were no significant differences between the doses used. The seroconversion by MAT in 237 subjects vaccinated with different schemes was 22.4 %. No marked differences were observed between them. In most of the reactive individuals, antibody levels were found in at least one of the vaccine strains. It was recommended to search and evaluate other methods to show in vivo the level of protection of this vaccine.

The non-treponemic fast detection test of plasmatic reagines (RPR) and the treponemic hemagglutination test of Treponema pallidum were used in the detection of infection due to T. pallidum in 60 males presenting HIV/AIDS infection with clinicoepidemiological diagnosis of syphilis. It was confirmed that 30% presented recently acquired symptomatic or latent syphilis and that 10% had markers of past treated infection or of late acquired latent syphilis, whereas in the other 60% no serological reactivity was detected. A seroprevalence study of reaginic antibodies was conducted by RPR in 59 HIV/AIDS females, using 67 women negative to this virus as controls. All of them had no symptoms compatible with the syphilitic infection. It was concluded that 20.3% and 11.9%, respectively, presented reactivity, which established a probable diagnosis of syphilis or a seroresistance to a previouos syphilis. These results showed a close association between syphilis and HIV/AIDS and that both diseases may coexist in a same patient.