Human Botfly Infestation in an Amerindian Girl in Southern Venezuela.
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SUBMITTER: Gabaldon-Figueira JC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8045653 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BACKGROUND:Warao Amerindians, who inhabit the Orinoco Delta, are the second largest indigenous group in Venezuela. High Warao general mortality rates were mentioned in a limited study 21 years ago. However, there have been no comprehensive studies addressing child survival across the entire population. OBJECTIVES:To determine the Child Survival-Index (CSI) (ratio: still-living children/total-live births) in the Warao population, the principal causes of childhood death and the socio-demographic factors associated with childhood deaths. METHODS:We conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological survey of 688 women from 97 communities in 7 different subregions of the Orinoco Delta. Data collected included socio-demographic characteristics and the reproductive history of each woman surveyed. The multidimensional poverty index (MPI) was used to classify the households as deprived across the three dimensions of the Human Development Index. Multivariable linear regression and Generalized Linear Model Procedures were used to identify socioeconomic and environmental characteristics statistically associated with the CSI. FINDINGS:The average CSI was 73.8% ±26. The two most common causes of death were gastroenteritis/diarrhea (63%) and acute respiratory tract Infection/pneumonia (18%). Deaths in children under five years accounted for 97.3% of childhood deaths, with 54% occurring in the neonatal period or first year of life. Most of the women (95.5%) were classified as multidimensionally poor. The general MPI in the sample was 0.56. CSI was negatively correlated with MPI, maternal age, residence in a traditional dwelling and profession of the head of household other than nurse or teacher. CONCLUSIONS:The Warao have a low CSI which is correlated with MPI and maternal age. Infectious diseases are responsible for 85% of childhood deaths. The low socioeconomic development, lack of infrastructure and geographic and cultural isolation suggest that an integrated approach is urgently needed to improve the child survival and overall health of the Warao Amerindians.
| S-EPMC3877389 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesAcceptance of childhood vaccination varies between societies, affecting worldwide vaccination coverage. Low coverage rates are common in indigenous populations where parents often choose not to vaccinate their children. We aimed to gain insight into reasons for vaccine acceptance or rejection among Warao Amerindians in Venezuela.MethodsBased on records of vaccine acceptance or refusal, in-depth interviews with 20 vaccine-accepting and 11 vaccine-declining caregivers were performed. Parents' attitudes were explored using a qualitative approach.ResultsAlthough Warao caregivers were generally in favor of vaccination, fear of side effects and the idea that young and sick children are too vulnerable to be vaccinated negatively affected vaccine acceptance. The importance assigned to side effects was related to the perception that these resembled symptoms/diseases of another origin and could thus harm the child. Religious beliefs or traditional healers did not influence the decision-making process.ConclusionsParental vaccine acceptance requires educational programs on the preventive nature of vaccines in relation to local beliefs about health and disease. Attention needs to be directed at population-specific concerns, including explanation on the nature of and therapeutic options for side effects.
| S-EPMC5249092 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: The Venezuelan Amerindians were, until recently, free of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. However, in 2007, HIV-1 infection was detected for the first time in the Warao Amerindian population living in the Eastern part of Venezuela, in the delta of the Orinoco river. The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity of the HIV-1 circulating in this population. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The pol genomic region was sequenced for 16 HIV-1 isolates and for some of them, sequences from env, vif and nef genomic regions were obtained. All HIV-1 isolates were classified as subtype B, with exception of one that was classified as subtype C. The 15 subtype B isolates exhibited a high degree of genetic similarity and formed a highly supported monophyletic cluster in each genomic region analyzed. Evolutionary analyses of the pol genomic region indicated that the date of the most recent common ancestor of the Waraos subtype B clade dates back to the late 1990s. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: At least two independent introductions of HIV-1 have occurred in the Warao Amerindians from Venezuela. The HIV-1 subtype B was successfully established and got disseminated in the community, while no evidence of local dissemination of the HIV-1 subtype C was detected in this study. These results warrant further surveys to evaluate the burden of this disease, which can be particularly devastating in this Amerindian population, with a high prevalence of tuberculosis, hepatitis B, among other infectious diseases, and with limited access to primary health care.
| S-EPMC3395626 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Past human societies have left persistent marks on forests worldwide. However, the degree to which pre-colonial Amerindian societies have affected forest structure is still not fully understood, especially in southern Brazil. This study investigated the influence of two distinct Amerindian groups (Southern-Jê and Guarani) over tree composition of forest fragments in the State of Santa Catarina. Vegetation data was obtained from the Santa Catarina Forest and Floristic Inventory (SCFFI): a statewide systematic vegetation sampling project. Archaeological data was collated from literature reviews as well as existing databases for archaeological sites occupied by Guarani and Southern-Jê groups. Using these sites of known Amerindian occupation, and corresponding environmental variables, ecological niche models were developed for each Amerindian group, predicting potential archaeological sites occupied by these groups across southern Brazil. Maps of these potential occupation sites of pre-colonial Amerindian groups were compared with 417 corresponding floristic inventory plots. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to identify floristic composition patterns linked to areas with a high probability of Southern-Jê or Guarani presence. Southern-Jê and Guarani pre-colonial occupations overlapped near main rivers; however, Southern-Jê groups generally occupied elevated areas whereas Guarani occupied mostly coastal areas. We observed differences in forest composition associated with the predicted occurrence of these pre-colonial Amerindian groups. Based on these results, we argue there is a relationship between tree species distribution and pre-colonial human occupation by these two Amerindian groups.
| S-EPMC7377383 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is characterized by the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in the absence of HBsAg in the serum of patients. The aim of this study was to characterize HBV infection among a Piaroa community, an Amerindian group which exhibits significant evidence of exposure to HBV but relatively low presence of HBsAg, and to explore the presence of OBI in this population. RESULTS: Of 150 sera, with 17% anti-HBc and 1.3% HBsAg prevalence, 70 were tested for the presence of HBV DNA. From these, 25 (36%) were found positive for HBV DNA by PCR in the core region. Two of these 25 sera were HBsAg positive, indicating an overt infection. Of the remaining 68 sera tested, 23 exhibited OBI. Of these, 13 were HBV DNA out of 25 anti-HBc positive (52%) and 10 HBV DNA positive, out of 43 anti-HBc negative (23%), with a statistical significance of p = 0.03. Viral DNA and HBsAg were present intermittently in follow up sera of 13 individuals. Sequence analysis in the core region of the amplified DNA products showed that all the strains belonged to HBV genotype F3. The OBI isolates displayed 96-100% nucleotide identity between them. One isolate exhibited the co-circulation of a wild type variant with a variant with a premature stop codon at the core protein, and a variant exhibiting a deletion of 28 amino acids. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of OBI found in this Amerindian group warrants further studies in other communities exhibiting different degrees of HBV exposure.
| S-EPMC3253065 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Malaria elimination in Latin America is becoming an elusive goal. Malaria cases reached a historical ~1 million in 2017 and 2018, with Venezuela contributing 53% and 51% of those cases, respectively. Historically, malaria incidence in southern Venezuela has accounted for most of the country's total number of cases. The efficient deployment of disease prevention measures and prediction of disease spread to new regions requires an in-depth understanding of spatial heterogeneity on malaria transmission dynamics. Herein, we characterized the spatial epidemiology of malaria in southern Venezuela from 2007 through 2017 and described the extent to which malaria distribution has changed country-wide over the recent years. We found that disease transmission was focal and more prevalent in the southeast region of southern Venezuela where two persistent hotspots of Plasmodium vivax (76%) and P. falciparum (18%) accounted for ~60% of the total number of cases. Such hotspots are linked to deforestation as a consequence of illegal gold mining activities. Incidence has increased nearly tenfold over the last decade, showing an explosive epidemic growth due to a significant lack of disease control programs. Our findings highlight the importance of spatially oriented interventions to contain the ongoing malaria epidemic in Venezuela. This work also provides baseline epidemiological data to assess cross-border malaria dynamics and advocates for innovative control efforts in the Latin American region.
| S-EPMC7861532 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) is hyperendemic in Amerindian populations, but its modes of transmission are unknown.Antibodies against either HHV-8 lytic antigen or HHV-8 latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) were detected, by immunofluorescence assays, in 339 Amerindians and 181 non-Amerindians from the Brazilian Amazon. Serological markers of oro-fecal (hepatitis A), parenteral (hepatitis B and C), and sexual (herpes simplex virus type 2 and syphilis) transmission were measured by specific ELISAs. Salivary HHV-8 DNA was detected by use of a nested polymerase chain reaction assay and was sequenced.Antibodies against either lytic antigen or LANA were detected in 79.1% of Amerindians and in 6.1% of non-Amerindians (adjusted seroprevalence ratio [SR], 12.63 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 7.1-22.4]; P<.0001). HHV-8 seroprevalence increased with age among Amerindians (P(Trend) < .001) and already had high prevalence in childhood but was not sex specific in either population. The 2 populations did not differ in seroprevalence of oro-fecal or parenteral markers, but seroprevalence of markers of sexual transmission was lower among Amerindians. HHV-8 DNA in saliva was detected in 47 (23.7%) of 198 HHV-8 seropositive Amerindians. Detection of HHV-8 DNA decreased with age (P(Trend) < .04) and was more common in men (SR, 2.14 [95% CI, 1.3-3.5]; P=.003). A total of 36 (76.6%) of the 47 saliva HHV-8 DNA samples were sequenced, and all clustered as subtype E.The data support the hypothesis of early acquisition and horizontal transmission, via saliva, of HHV-8 subtype E in Amerindian populations.
| S-EPMC3543984 | biostudies-literature
Project description:As an initial step to explore the cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) root transcriptional response to the southern Root-Knot Nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne incognita infestation, conventional heirloom G. hirsutum (Gh) cultivars [susceptible Acala SJ-2 (SJ2), moderately resistant Upland Wild Mexico Jack Jones (WMJJ), and resistant Acala NemX] that have been shown to be useful as an informative genetic model for detecting and introgressing RKN resistance genes into commercial Upland cotton were used to enlighten the molecular mechanisms and gene expression of RKN resistance. Using the next generation sequencing (NGS) Illumina MiSeq and HiSeq, we performed RNA-seq profiling in roots with disease progression of 10 days and collected from 23 days old plants of SJ2, WMJJ, and NemX. With three biological replicates of each treatment from each cultivar, plants were subjected to RKN-infestation and non-infested control developing a total of 18 RNA-seq libraries
2022-04-01 | GSE190503 | GEO
Project description:Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea, a member of the Dipterocarpaceae endemic in the Guayana region, is associated with a diverse community of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. Amongst the 41 ECM fungal species detected in a 400 m2 P. dipterocarpacea ssp. nitida plot in Southern Venezuela, three species belonged to the Sebacinales. We tested whether ECM anatomotype characterization can be used as a feasible element in an integrative taxonomy in this diverse fungal group, where the relevance of fruitbody morphology for species delimitation seems limited. Using a combination of ECM morpho-anatomical characterizations and phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ITS and LSU sequences, we report three new species. The main distinguishing features of Sebacina guayanensis are the yellowish cell walls together with conspicuous undifferentiated, uniform compact (type B) rhizomorphs. Staghorn-like hyphae are characteristic of S. tomentosa. The combination of clusters of thick-walled emanating hyphae, including hyphae similar to awl-shaped cystidia with basal dichotomous or trichotomous ramifications, and the presence of type B rhizomorphs were characteristic of a third, yet unnamed species. The three species belong to three different, possibly specifically tropical clades in Sebacinales Group A. The geographic distribution of phylogenetically related strains was wide, including a Dicymbe forest in Guyana and an Ecuadorian rainforest with Coccoloba species. We show that ECM morpho-anatomy can be used, in combination with other analyses, to delineate species within Sebacinales Group A. In addition to phylogenetic information, type B rhizomorphs observed in different Sebacinales clades have important ecological implications for this fungal group. The phylogeography of Sebacinales suggests that dispersion and host jump are important radiation mechanisms that shaped P. dipterocarpacea ECM fungal community. This study emphasizes the need for more sequence data to evaluate the hypothesis that phylogeographic relationships between neo- and paleotropical ECM fungal species could be attributed to the vicariance of cross-continental hosts such as the Dipterocarpacae.
| S-EPMC4114518 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionControl of triatomine infestation is a key strategy for the prevention of Chagas disease (CD). To promote this strategy, it is important to know which antecedents to behavioral change are the best to emphasize when promoting prevention.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine predictors for intention to prevent home infestation based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), a commonly used health intervention planning theory.Materials & methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 112 heads of household in six communities with endemic and high rates of triatomine infestation in Loja province, Ecuador. The data was collected by a questionnaire including perceived severity, susceptibility, benefits to action, barriers to action, and self-efficacy. These data were also used to predict actual infestation of homes.ResultsCommunity members reported strong intentions to prevent home infestation. HBM constructs predicted about 14% of the observed variance in intentions. Perceived susceptibility and severity did not predict behavioral intention well; perceived barriers to small-scale action that reduce likelihood of infestation and self-efficacy in participating in surveillance systems did. Self-efficacy and perception of barriers were equally powerful predictors. The HBM constructs, however, did not predict well actual infestation.ConclusionThe findings supported the HBM as a way to predict intentions to prevent infestation of the home by triatomine bugs. The findings highlight that messages emphasizing self-efficacy in participating in surveillance systems and overcoming barriers to small-scale action that reduce likelihood of infestation, rather than a focus on risk, should be central messages when designing and implementing educational interventions for CD. The gap between behavioral intention and actual infestation reveals the need to assess home practices and their actual efficacy to fully enact and apply the HBM.
| S-EPMC6991950 | biostudies-literature